Regis Resources court win sends blocked New South Wales gold project back to minister

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Regis court win reopens gold project

Highlights

Federal Court rules the Aboriginal Protection Order over part of the McPhillamys Gold Project invalid, requiring the environment minister to redetermine the approval process.
Regis Resources claims the blocked tailings dam site is critical for project viability, while local Aboriginal groups assert cultural heritage significance, prompting renewed environmental review.
In its August 2026 report, Regis Resources states alternative tailings facility work is well advanced and targets a final investment decision for McPhillamys in the first half of 2028.

Federal Court ruling resets mine approval process

As reported by ABC News, Justice James Stellios rules that the Aboriginal Protection Order covering part of the McPhillamys Gold Project is invalid and sends the proposal back to the federal minister for environment and water for redetermination.

Regis Resources began legal action in August 2024 against then environment minister Tanya Plibersek, challenging the validity of the order over part of the project near Blayney. The declaration covered 400 hectares of the site, including land earmarked for a tailings dam, after the mining project received approval in 2023.

In his decision delivered today, Justice Stellios says information before the minister constituted a new application and should have been referred to the government reporter for consideration and a public consultation process. He says the declaration was made without authority, while adding that the court's reasons do not address the merits of whether the area is significant or under threat, matters he says fall within the minister's authority rather than the court's jurisdiction.

Justice Stellios also orders the parties to file written submissions on costs by October 27. The environment and water portfolio is now held by Murray Watt, who is to oversee the redetermination.

Project economics and regional mining outlook

At the time the order was made, Plibersek says it would protect the headwaters and springs of the Belubula River and that the company could place its tailings storage elsewhere. Regis Resources disputes that view, arguing the decision affects a critical part of the development site and leaves the project no longer financially feasible.

The protection order followed a 2020 application by Wiradyuri elder Aunty Nyree Reynolds under Section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. The court hears the application is supported by the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation and refers to a Dreaming story known as the Blue Banded Bee.

In its 2026 annual report published in August, Regis Resources says work on an alternative tailings facility is well advanced and reiterates its commitment to McPhillamys. The company says the project has the potential to become a long-life, low-cost operation and the core of a broader mining hub, with a final investment decision targeted for the first half of 2028.

Our earlier article examined the renewed dispute over Woodside’s Browse gas project in Western Australia, focusing on competing claims about a possible domestic gas shortfall from 2030 and whether existing projects could cover local demand if more supply shifted from exports. It also highlighted the project’s reliance on export economics and the broader policy and investment constraints that can determine whether large energy developments proceed.

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