Abbot Point lobbyists get court date

Great Barrier Reef advocates have accused the Queensland government of ticking boxes when approving a major coal terminal expansion, calling for the Supreme Court to step in and declare the decision invalid.

Local community group, Whitsunday Residents Against Dumping, brought an application to Brisbane's Supreme Court on Friday, seeking a hearing to determine if the state's environment department properly considered legislative tests when approving Adani's Abbot Point Terminal T0 expansion.

Indian mining giant Adani have conditional approval to build the biggest coal mine in the southern hemisphere, in the Galilee Basin, which will cost an estimated $16 billion.

It has been beset by a string of legal challenges by environmental and local community groups.

"We say the state government has not complied with all the duties and criteria under the Environmental Protection Act," Environmental Defenders Office chief executive Jo-Anne Bragg said outside court.

"So we're asking the Supreme Court to declare that decision invalid."

Ms Bragg said the application alleged the government's approval had been a "tick-a-box" exercise rather than one involving genuine consideration of the port expansion's impact.

Justice Ann Lyons heard the matter during a directions hearing and set it down for a full hearing on October 7.

Adani said in a statement the court action was challenging a "science-based approval" already scrutinised by multiple levels of government.

"(The approval) has now gone through three exhaustive state environmental approvals processes, and three exhaustive federal environmental approvals processes, and accompanying public consultation processes," it reads.

"The activists are again represented by a group committed through multiple challenges to delay investment and job creation through resource projects in this state."

Adani claims the project, known as the Abbot Point Coal Terminal 0 (T0) Project, will provide an increase of up to 70 million tonnes per annum in the export capacity at the port and have economic benefits to the state.