[2] It is coordinated by the Department of Industry and Resources (WA), South West Development Commission and the Shire of Harvey.

Preliminary documentation given to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) indicated that three sites - Worsley Siding, Pinjarra and Kemerton - were preferred.

In December 1984, the State Government acquired 3700 hectares of private land at Kemerton to act as a buffer, as the EPA had recommended Kemerton over Worsley Siding due to "fewer uncertainties of ecological interactions, a much better knowledge of potential implications and lower environmental risks".

The rezoning and considerations led to other expressions of interest, and in 1988–1989, several other industries moved into the area and commenced operations, and a draft structure plan was submitted for State Government approval.

The Kemerton Steering Committee (later KIPCC) was formed in April 1989, and at around the same time, a trade magazine article claimed that Kemerton, with its integration of natural bushland, wetland and plantation forestry and an interpretative centre into the planning of the industrial park, "could well become a model for establishing industry as an acceptable land-user in sympathy with environmental values.