Adelaide MotoGP circuit clears EPBC hurdle for $96m rebuild

The federal environment regulator has found the $96 million Adelaide Park Lands MotoGP circuit redevelopment is “not a controlled action if taken in a particular manner” under national environment law, InDaily reported on 27 October 2026. The ruling clears the federal environmental hurdle, but two court challenges remain live. The South East City Residents Association is suing in the Supreme Court of South Australia, and Queensland man Joshua Hogan has a separate Federal Court action.

The ruling is a referral decision under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, the mechanism the Commonwealth uses to decide whether a project needs full federal environmental assessment. A finding that the circuit is not a controlled action, provided it proceeds in a particular manner, means the state government does not need separate federal sign off before starting site works.

The circuit redevelopment sits inside the Adelaide Park Lands, the ring of public land encircling the CBD, and has drawn sustained local opposition over tree removal since the project was first proposed.

Why it matters

For builders and contractors watching the Park Lands works, the EPBC decision is the signal that state government money can start moving on site, even with a court case still open. A referral outcome of this kind does not override a state court injunction, so the project team still cannot guarantee a start date while South East City Residents Association’s Supreme Court action is live.

The decision also shows how a federal and a state legal process can run on separate tracks for the same project. The EPBC clearance deals only with Commonwealth environmental law; it says nothing about the state planning approvals, tree removal permits or the residents association’s separate claims before the Supreme Court of South Australia. A contractor pricing early works on the strength of the federal clearance alone would still be exposed to whatever the state court decides.

Tree removal is the number driving the dispute. The state government has paired the 377 removals with a $15 million Park Lands package that it says delivers a net gain of 3,393 trees. The circuit works arrive as Adelaide’s broader building pipeline keeps climbing, with RLB’s Q3 crane count showing the city’s construction activity at a multi-year high.

The numbers

Figures below are reported by InDaily, citing the federal decision and state government figures.

• $96 million: total cost of the MotoGP circuit redevelopment
• 377: trees to be felled for the works
• 3,393: net increase in trees across the Park Lands under the state’s accompanying package
• $15 million: cost of the nature focused Park Lands support package tied to the works
• Reported 27 October 2026: EPBC referral found “not a controlled action if taken in a particular manner”

What’s next

The EPBC finding removes the federal assessment barrier, though Hogan’s Federal Court case is undecided, and the Supreme Court of South Australia has not yet ruled on the South East City Residents Association’s challenge, and the association has asked the court to stop works starting before judgment. Until that application is decided, the practical start date for site works and tree removal is unresolved.

No contractor or building company is named in the reporting on the EPBC decision or the works themselves, with the state government’s project team the only party identified in connection with delivery. Any civil works contracts for clearing, resurfacing or circuit construction have not been reported, and will only become visible once the Supreme Court matter is resolved and the state confirms a start date for site works.