This review highlights the work of the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (the IESC) for the 2017–2018 financial year.

Key elements of the Committee’s work in 2017-18 include:

• providing scientific advice on nine proposals for four coal seam gas and five coal mining development projects in New South Wales and Queensland;
• updating the IESC Information Guidelines. The update provides additional guidance on the Committee’s information requirements and includes further detail on the role of risk assessments within the environmental assessment process;
• hosting an IESC Research Symposium. The symposium highlighted how research has advanced scientific understanding of the impacts of coal resource developments on water; and
• engaging directly with a diverse range of stakeholders to explain our role and review how our advice is adopted in regulatory decisions.