Decision Brief Regarding The Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex - EPBC 2021/9013.

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The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water approved the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex near Sleaford, South Australia (EPBC 2021/9013) on 25 October 2024 under sections 18, 18A, 20, 20A, 23, and 24A of the EPBC Act, covering listed threatened species and communities, migratory species, and Commonwealth marine area protections. This approval decision brief represents the first space rocket launch facility assessed in South Australia. The department received 9,251 public comments, with significant opposition from community groups and NGOs alongside local business support. The assessment identified challenges in quantifying potential noise impacts on matters of national environmental significance, but the department determined risks were acceptable through proposed avoidance and mitigation measures and approval conditions. A Technical Safeguards Agreement with the United States relevant to the project was noted as of 26