- Community outrage and opposition making project approval too politically risky for decision-makers
- Delays to project approvals due to complex and many appeals from the public during Environmental Impact Assessment
- Reputation damage affecting ongoing community and regulator relations, and impeding the passage of future projects through government approvals
- Onerous licence conditions imposed to improve public confidence even where technical hazard remains low
- Missed market opportunities due to longer than expected delays to project kick-off
- Inadvertent negative social, economic and even health impacts for communities affected by projects
- Failure to capitalise on opportunities for social enhancement and benefits for host communities
- Lack of resilience in community relations for when problems with a project arise.