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A reminder about the enforcement of Local Government Act Orders
We are often asked to advise clients on the issuing and enforcement of orders pursuant to s124 of the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act). A recent decision serves as a reminder that if LG Act orders are not complied…
UPDATE – Extension of COVID Prescribed Period and Special Provisions
We previously posted a blog regarding the enactment of the COVID-19 Legislation Amendment (Emergency Measures) Act 2020 (Emergency Measures Act) which amended various statutes including the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) and the Local Government Act 1993…
Powers of entry to residential land clarified
This decision relates to the latest instalment of the cases involving members of the Bobolas family and Waverley Council (‘Council‘) with the Council issuing orders to require or allow the clean-up of the accumulation of waste that creates a public…
Exempt development creates practical problems for enforcement
The Land and Environment Court (LEC) was recently required to consider whether certain work was exempt as ‘minor’ works under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (Codes SEPP). The issue arose in the course of…
Is it mandatory to consider the biodiversity offsets proposed in a DA ?
A recent decision by the Land and Environment Court provides some guidance on how a proposal to offset biodiversity impacts must be considered in determining a development application under Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act). Although…
ALERT – Revised Model Code of Conduct and Associated Procedures for Local Councils in NSW
On 7 August 2020, the NSW Government published The Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW 2020 (New Model Code) and the New Code for the Administration of The Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW…
Busting the myth: is information released under the GIPA Act really released ‘to the world’?
The release of information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) is commonly referred to as being a release to the world at large. However, this view erroneously conflates the requirement in the GIPA Act for the…
ALERT – NSW Planning System Reforms
The NSW Government revealed the NSW Planning Reform Action Plan (‘Action Plan‘) last week. The Action Plan aims to help boost the recovery of the economy, reduce planning assessment times, reduce red tape and create a user-friendly planning system. Speaking…
UPDATE: COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy – Land and Environment Court
The Land and Environment Court of NSW (‘Court’) has updated its COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy (‘Policy’). The Policy commenced Wednesday, 8 July 2020 and replaces the previous Policy made on 23 March 2020. A summary of the key changes are…
Development Contributions: Temporary Deferral of Payment Arrangements & Requirement for Evidence of Payment Before Occupation Certificate
The State government yesterday introduced a suite of measures through Ministerial directions and determinations and amendments to regulations under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) relating to the payment of State and local infrastructure contributions and levies for…
Agreements to progress re-zoning and development of land – when might they be an unlawful fetter on statutory powers?
The Supreme Court recently considered a case involving a Deed of Agreement (Agreement) that was entered into between a council and landowner involving the re-zoning and subdivision of land, and subsequent transfer of part of the land that had high…
Amendments to the EPA Regulation- NSW Planning Portal
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning Portal) Regulation 2020 commenced on 1 July 2020 and introduced some important changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000. The amendments require the use of the NSW planning portal as the central…