Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines - July 2010

• Responsive
There is a commitment to consider views and respond to participants.
Consultation should be transparent. All people involved should have a clear
understanding of how their feedback and comments are to be used.
The proponent should maintain openness during the consultation process and be
willing to consider new ideas.
There is respect for the diverse range of interests that may be represented during
a consultation.
All reasonable attempts should be made to resolve conflicts.
• Open and transparent provision of information
Information relating to the consultation program should be readily available to
allow participants to make informed and timely contributions.
Information relating to the consultation process can be accessed easily by those
involved before key decisions are made.
Relevant information should be presented in an easily understood/appropriate
level format.
Confidential or commercial details about an issue may not be disclosed to the
public.
Clear expectations and responsibilities should be set for the provision and
management of information, including issues around commercial-sensitivity of
some information.
• Timely feedback and evaluation
Participants should receive timely feedback about the outcomes of the
consultation, and how the final decisions regarding design were reached.
If a difference occurs between the inputs into the consultation and the final
decision, the reasons for this should be clearly documented. The consultation
process should be documented to provide:
◦ Clear evidence of the activities that were undertaken
◦ The input that was received
◦ The decisions that were made.
In addition to these five principles, wind farm developers should also be prepared to
acknowledge uncertainties in the development process where they exist. Furthermore, it
may benefit some developers to obtain professional advice and assistance from an
experienced community consultation practitioner when preparing and delivering activities
to ensure the sensitive management of community and stakeholder issues, and to
maximise the effectiveness of participation activities.
A.4 Planning for stakeholder participation
A.4.1 Commitment to level of stakeholder participation
Developers are encouraged to make a commitment to the level of stakeholder
participation that should occur in the development process, prior to the commencement
of engagement activities.
This commitment should be clearly communicated to stakeholders, so that they may have
a clear understanding of their ability to contribute to the planning, design and delivery of
the wind farm project.
Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines – 2 July 2010 Page 23