Section 19(1) of Environment Act 1998 states that a developer can only commence any Prescribed Development if it has a Development Consent or is exempted from the requirement of PART III of the Environment Act 1998. Examples of types of development categorized as Prescribed Developments include: Logging Industry, Agriculture Industry, Public Works Sector etc. See the second schedule to the Act for more details.

The diagram below provides an overview of the EIA process as per the Environment Act.