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Registered easements for rock anchors
Introduction Historically, builders and developers sought to emplace ground anchors in neighbouring property through a licence agreement with the owner of that property. Following construction, the ground anchors were de-stressed and remained in the neighbouring property. Under the Design and…
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Exhibition of the Design and Place SEPP 2021
We previously blogged about the review of the State Environmental Planning Policies here. As part of this process, the Department of Planning, Industry & Environment (Department) is now exhibiting the draft Design and Place State Environmental Planning Policy 2021 (draft…
Update – New Planning Minister and Planning Secretary for New South Wales
On 20 December 2021, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet revealed the second Perrottet ministry for the State government. The details of the updated cabinet have been published in a Government Gazette which can be accessed here. This major cabinet reshuffle marks…
LEC Upholds IPC Approval of Narrabri Gas Project as Climate Change Litigation Takes Aim at Gas
Debate about the transition away from fossil fuels has recently focused in on plans for increased gas production, with Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project (Project) being a key feature of the NSW Government’s plans for the future of gas production in…
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, 1 December 2021 and replaces the previous policy made on 6 April 2021. A summary of the key changes are…
Changes to Cost Compliance Notices and Compliance Levies
On 27 October 2021, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Compliance Cost Notices) Regulation 2021 (Amendment) commenced with the purpose of simplifying compliance cost notices (CCN’s). The Amendments has been introduced as a result of council feedback that CCN’s were…
Consolidation of SEPPs and Minister’s Planning Principles
On 2 December 2021, the NSW Government (Government) published 11 new thematic State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) as part of a consolidation process to simplify the State’s planning policies. All 11 consolidated SEPPs will commence on 1 March 2022. From…
Significant Reforms to National Parks Management Pass Parliament
After little more than a week since its introduction, the National Parks and Wildlife Amendment Bill 2021 (‘Bill‘) has passed through the NSW Parliament. The Bill will change the way national parks and other terrestrial protected areas are managed in NSW,…
Signing legal documents remotely in NSW
New legislation in New South Wales now allows legal documents such as wills, statutory declarations and affidavits to be signed and witnessed remotely. The new legislation removes the need for clients to physically attend their solicitor’s office to execute documents….
ALERT: BASIX Higher Standards on Public Exhibition
Proposed increases to Building Sustainability Index (‘BASIX‘) requirements have just been released by the DPIE for public consultation (‘Higher Standards‘). The consultation period closes on 17 January 2022. BASIX is a scheme created by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation…
New Regulations for Infrastructure Contributions Released for Public Consultation
On 28 October 2021, the NSW Government released several documents as part of the infrastructure contributions reform package for public consultation. These documents include: Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Infrastructure Contributions) Regulation 2021 (‘Amendment Regulation‘). Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local…
‘Avoid, minimise, offset’ and SAII under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: more teeth than appreciated?
Recent cases demonstrate that there is currently a poor appreciation of proponents’ obligations to prioritise biodiversity avoidance and minimisation measures before resorting to offsets under the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (BOS). Also, in a potentially very significant development, the Court…