This paper seeks to contribute to the development of principles for effective sustainability assessment. Drawing upon three sustainability assessments of project proposals conducted recently in Western Australia, three important aspects of good process are identified: the "question" that guides...

No abstract received.

Reflections on impact assessment research scholarship are presented drawn from our experiences as journal editors and academics with respect to the nature of impact assessment research and the quality of impact assessment research writing. We support the call for more empirical impact assessment...

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) was initially introduced as an advocacy instrument for the biophysical environment in project decision-making. Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) evolved with a similar mission for strategic level proposals. However, recent trends towards more...

The broadening out of environmental assessment to also consider social and economic dimensions poses some unique challenges, not the least of which is understanding exactly what such a process might entail. This paper outlines the spectrum of possibilities and explores the issue of when and how...

No abstract received.

Austrian and Australian approaches to strategic environmental assessment (SEA) are compared with particular emphasis upon the legal basis for the initial phase of agreement/screening and the final stage of SEA decision-making and implementation. In Austrian SEA, screening is compulsory and the...