Complete our survey to help shape the

New England Renewable Energy Zone

Introduction

Welcome!

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Thanks for visiting this page. We value the insights you are about to share with us.

To get us started...

Your privacy is important, you have the option to leave some of your personal details, like your name, email, region where you live and other things. A company called SEC Newgate is assisting with the survey, and their privacy policy is here: Privacy Policy - SEC Newgate Australia.

What is this survey about?

This survey is about the development of the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) and the area in which the network infrastructure project will be built. These questions help EnergyCo to understand:

what needs to be in place or planned when we are in the peak of construction
where we should place our focus to make sure this REZ can have positive outcomes for the community.

EnergyCo will consider the community’s feedback and the technical studies, which can be found on EnergyCo’s website, to develop community benefit initiatives and strategies to manage impacts.

We will provide regular updates to the community on the progress of this work, including sharing the findings from this survey early next year.

Now, we are going to ask you questions about yourself, then your views about your locality and then the broader region of the REZ and network infrastructure project.

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The survey should only take about 10 minutes to complete.

You do need to do the survey in one go – if you leave it your answers won’t be there when you re-open.

The good news is many of the questions just need you to tick your issue.

If you get stuck call 1800 412 878 and the team at SEC Newgate will help.

If you need to skip a question – you can! Its important we get as many of your views as possible.

Survey submissions close at 11:59pm Friday 20 February 2026

The bigger region

Now, about the region (the REZ and the network infrastructure project)!

Think about this region in five years’ time. The REZ will bring change - there will be a number of construction projects across the region. In the long-term community investment will provide ongoing benefits, but in the short term there may be issues raised with all these changes.

Government is looking at each of these things carefully and is keen to understand your priorities for this region.

View a map of the area

Thinking about the bigger region, please tick one of the columns for each issue below:

Housing and accommodation

How important are the below issues when thinking about housing and accommodation?

	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
The availability of rental homes across the region	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
The availability of homes to buy across the region	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
The availability of short stay accommodation (e.g. hotel rooms in key centres)	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view

Roads and transport

How important are the below issues when thinking about roads and transport?

	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
The quality of major roads to hold construction traffic and large pieces of equipment (e.g. wind turbine blades)	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
Road traffic congestion from the new workforce	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
Airport capacity and the availability of flights	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view

Water

How important are the below issues when thinking about water?

	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
More demand on drinking water (investing in new water sources, treatment sites, pipelines etc)	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
Availability of water (such as river and groundwater) to other users	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view

Local supply chain

How important are the below issues when considering the local supply chain?

	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
The workforce demands for REZ development placing resourcing strain on existing businesses	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
Providing support to local businesses to access the opportunities brought by the REZ	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
Regional demand on materials (e.g. sand, quarries, concrete, road base, steel)	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view

Waste management

How important are the below issues when thinking about waste management?

	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
Regional waste disposal and recycling facilities	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view
Finding markets for the reuse and recycling of items such as wind turbine blades, solar panels, batteries	This issue is extremely important to address	This issue is somewhat important to address	This issue is not important to address	I don’t have a view

Still thinking about the bigger region, is there something else that is an important issue for the region, that is not listed above?

Ideas for the future

Exploring some more specific ideas for the future

Next we want to explore some specific ideas for new skills for a local workforce

EnergyCo is thinking about how to boost local employment opportunities and build skills in the renewable energy sector.

Can you please rank the ideas below in their order of importance, with 1 being the most important idea for us to work on?

Drag and drop to reorder, then tick the checkbox to confirm your order.

Skills: Programs to re-skill workers from other industries (e.g. mining) into these renewable energy industries. For example, partnerships with local TAFEs and universities to provide new training

Access to training: Supporting people in regional areas to access specialised training to upskill locals for new job opportunities, like providing transport services or mobile training courses

Availability of new workers: Monetary initiatives to attract skilled workers to the area (e.g. housing support, relocation assistance)

Assisting young people: New or increased trainee and apprentice programs, (e.g. scholarships, subsidised training)

Assisting unemployed people: To enter the workforce with training and help

School programs: To create pathways for students, (e.g. career roadshows to share information about employment and training opportunities)

I confirm the order above is correct

Do you have any ideas on how to boost local employment and build skills in the renewable energy sector?

A new workforce coming into the region

Construction of the New England REZ will require both local workers as well as temporary workers from outside the region.

Can you please rank these considerations in order of their importance, with 1 being most important to consider when planning for workforce accommodation?

Drag and drop to reorder, then tick the checkbox to confirm your order.

Reducing the impacts to local tourism caused by workers taking hotel rooms

Providing temporary worker accommodation in a way that minimises impacts to local residents and landowners e.g. traffic, noise, safety

Planning for long-term housing solutions once temporary accommodation needs are over

Incentivising temporary workers to stay permanently in the local community

Planning to provide temporary worker accommodation solutions that encourage workers to use local businesses and boost economic growth

Coordinating workforce accommodation sites that combine projects into larger camps in the area

I confirm the order above is correct

There are options to distribute workforce accommodation across the project area or to have it in centralised locations. Do you have a preference? Why is that?

Helping local suppliers to benefit

Development of the New England REZ will increase demand on local supply chains but can also deliver local economic benefits, especially where we could set a minimum target for projects to use local suppliers.

Can you rank these ideas in order of importance, with 1 being most important, to ensure local businesses can benefit from this increased demand?

Drag and drop to reorder, then tick the checkbox to confirm your order.

Local suppliers receiving early information on potential opportunities to do business with renewable energy projects

Access for small-medium business to free or subsidised support and advice on tendering and doing business with renewable energy projects

Helping small-medium businesses to find partners to tender together on large projects, e.g. through job forums, conferences, registers, roadshows

Helping businesses with local council planning approvals to expand to meet new demand for their services or goods

Providing grants and/or low-cost loans to support local businesses to access opportunities

Offering free or subsidised training to help local businesses upskill their staff

Encouraging renewable energy projects to use simpler procurement processes when they are purchasing their goods and services

I confirm the order above is correct

Is there anything else EnergyCo should consider to ensure local businesses can benefit from this new demand on goods and services?

Managing water in this region

We know water is a critical resource, and that water security in the region is an important community issue.

To address this increased demand, how important do you think it is for the following ideas to be considered? Please rank the following ideas in order of importance.

Drag and drop to reorder, then tick the checkbox to confirm your order.

Saving water: Promoting the efficient use of drinking water, e.g. education campaigns and manuals on how to reduce water consumption at home, installation of smart meters to help save water

Additional treatment: Funding for infrastructure improvements (e.g. water treatment plants)

Alternative sources of water: Asking renewable energy projects to consider alternative sources of water, e.g. recycled water, groundwater, rainwater harvesting

Reducing water loss: Actions intended to reduce water loss, e.g. fixing and replacing water pipes, organising ongoing preventive pipes maintenance schedules

Responsible industry practices: Incentivising renewable energy projects to include sustainable water management practices into their project designs

For those with a water licence, using water markets: Provide water licence holders with up-to-date information to help them participate in the water market

I confirm the order above is correct

Is there anything else that should be considered to reduce pressure on your community’s water supply and how water is managed?

Managing the waste that will be produced by the REZ activities

Construction and operation of the New England REZ will increase the amount of waste generated in the region. Waste includes construction and demolition waste, organic waste, packaging waste and large items like wind turbine blades and solar panels.

Can you rank these ideas in order of importance, with 1 being most important to you?

Drag and drop to reorder, then tick the checkbox to confirm your order.

Managing pricing of waste disposal to encourage waste diversion (i.e. recycling) while maintaining a fair and equitable price for local communities

Focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling, such as partnering with local recyclers or social enterprises to recycle construction waste (e.g. concrete, metals, wood) and promoting the use prefabricated materials

Expanding the capacity of local waste facilities, including to be able to manage more complex waste types (such as solar panels)

End-of-life planning, long-term waste management planning beyond construction (e.g. during operation and decommissioning of infrastructure)

Public transparency and benchmarking waste reporting for renewable energy projects through publishing waste data and industry benchmarking

Investing in innovative waste practices to support the development and testing of advanced recycling technologies for renewable energy waste streams

Facilitate circular economy initiatives that extend the lifespan of renewable energy components, reduce disposal burdens, and unlock economic opportunities

I confirm the order above is correct

Is there anything else EnergyCo should consider to manage this increase in waste products?

Stay informed

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Introduction

Welcome!

About you

Lets start with you

Your locality

Next, about your locality

Community benefits

The bigger region

Now, about the region (the REZ and the network infrastructure project)!

Housing and accommodation

Roads and transport

Water

Local supply chain

Waste management

Ideas for the future

Exploring some more specific ideas for the future

Next we want to explore some specific ideas for new skills for a local workforce

A new workforce coming into the region

Helping local suppliers to benefit

Managing water in this region

Managing the waste that will be produced by the REZ activities

Back to you

Back to you again!

Now, we have some final questions about you and your household. This helps us understand all the responses.

Stay informed

Want to stay informed?

Missing information

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