Adani's "terrible international track record" has raised questions about the company's suitability to open the huge Carmichael coal mine in Queensland's Galilee Basin, according to a report by a conservation group.
Environmental Justice Australia released The Adani Brief on Wednesday following a months-long investigation into Adani's overseas operations.
It reported parent company Adani Group was fined $975,000 in August by the Indian National Green Tribunal after a coal ship it chartered sank off the coast of Mumbai in 2011.
"The judicial members recognised that both the sinking itself and the fact that it had not been cleaned up for over five years were causes of serious damage, including damage to the tourism industry and local people," it read.
EJA lawyer Ariane Wilkinson said although Adani had received most of its approvals for the Queensland mine, the government and investors in particular should be aware of its overseas performance.
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"The terrible international track record of the Adani Group raises serious questions about whether they should be allowed to do business in Australia," she said.
The EJA has sent the report to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility board, following reports it was considering a $1 billion concessional loan for Adani to build a railway from the mine to Abbot Point on the Queensland coast.
An Adani Mining spokesman said the company had lodged an appeal of the tribunal's decision because it was "not the owner, operator or driver of the ship" and was only implicated because its coal was on board.
The spokesman said questions about the company's ability to do business in Australia would be best answered by the ministers who approved the mine.
