---
title: "Prepare a programme of work before ground is disturbed"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining/prepare-a-programme-of-work-before-ground-is-disturbed"
type: "task"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A13-PU20261022-6"
practice_area: "Energy, Resources & Mining"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Prepare a programme of work before ground is disturbed

> From the proposed activity, list the tenement, the equipment, the tonnes already taken over the life of the tenement, and whether the activity uses mechanised equipment.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining/prepare-a-programme-of-work-before-ground-is-disturbed  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Energy, Resources & Mining](https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the proposed activity, list the tenement, the equipment, the tonnes already taken over the life of the tenement, and whether the activity uses mechanised equipment. Do not lodge the programme and do not decide that an activity is too small to need one. |
| What the lawyer must review | The lawyer decides whether a programme of work is required and approves it before it is lodged. Western Australia states that the Mining Act 1978 requires a programme of work to be lodged in the prescribed manner and approved by the Minister or a prescribed official before any ground-disturbing activity with mechanised equipment. Dry blowing, scraping and detecting, drilling, costeans and trenching, and the use of infrastructure, are to be rehabilitated within the time in the tenement condition unless a departmental environmental officer approves otherwise in writing, and a rehabilitation report is then lodged. An excess-tonnage application is lodged if proposed ground disturbance exceeds 500 tonnes on a prospecting licence or special prospecting licence, or 1,000 tonnes on an exploration licence or a retention licence. Tonnage is cumulative for the life of the tenement and does not reset when rehabilitation is completed. Some small-scale activities may be an eligible mining activity. That page was not opened, so the criteria are not stated. The lawyer confirms them before treating an activity as exempt. This is not a cultural-heritage approval and it is not the annual rehabilitation levy. |
| Written for / versions | 1 jurisdiction versions below |

## Checking plan

**Source-by-source verification**

Trace relied-on content to the file and leave the decision to the lawyer.

- What the AI does: From the proposed activity, list the tenement, the equipment, the tonnes already taken over the life of the tenement, and whether the activity uses mechanised equipment. Do not lodge the programme and do not decide that an activity is too small to need one.
- What the lawyer does: The lawyer decides whether a programme of work is required and approves it before it is lodged. Western Australia states that the Mining Act 1978 requires a programme of work to be lodged in the prescribed manner and approved by the Minister or a prescribed official before any ground-disturbing activity with mechanised equipment. Dry blowing, scraping and detecting, drilling, costeans and trenching, and the use of infrastructure, are to be rehabilitated within the time in the tenement condition unless a departmental environmental officer approves otherwise in writing, and a rehabilitation report is then lodged. An excess-tonnage application is lodged if proposed ground disturbance exceeds 500 tonnes on a prospecting licence or special prospecting licence, or 1,000 tonnes on an exploration licence or a retention licence. Tonnage is cumulative for the life of the tenement and does not reset when rehabilitation is completed. Some small-scale activities may be an eligible mining activity. That page was not opened, so the criteria are not stated. The lawyer confirms them before treating an activity as exempt. This is not a cultural-heritage approval and it is not the annual rehabilitation levy.
- Who reviews: Responsible lawyer with competence in the matter
- Basis: Practical workflow informed by the linked primary sources; the traffic light and working checks are editorial guidance, not a court classification.
- Why: The level reflects what the work is, the consequence of an error, and how much of the output the lawyer must independently re-derive.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Add the proposed tonnes to the tonnes already taken over the life of the tenement, and compare the total with 500 or 1,000 tonnes for the tenement type.
2. Confirm the programme is approved before the work, not lodged after the ground has been disturbed.
3. Confirm the lawyer, not the tool, has decided whether an eligible-mining-activity exemption applies.

## Notes

- These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.

## Sources

- [Western Australian Government: Apply for a Programme of Work, last updated 22 September 2026](https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-mines-petroleum-and-exploration/apply-programme-of-work) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Jurisdiction versions

| Jurisdiction | Level |
| --- | --- |
| [United States](https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining/prepare-a-programme-of-work-before-ground-is-disturbed/united-states.md) | Yellow |

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*