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…

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…

Many councils have been investigating ways to provide some financial relief to ratepayers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However the strict financial and procedural provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) have presented various obstacles to doing…

The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has announced a suite of proposed reforms to the development contributions system in NSW. The DPIE states that the purpose of the reforms are to ‘…fix the uncertainty of developer contributions to…

Council delegations are an important governance tool at any time. During the current Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, delegations provide a means of enabling councils to continue functioning in a timely and responsive manner as events unfold quickly and urgent decisions…

The Public Health (COVID-19 Mass Gatherings) Order 2020 (‘Order‘), made under section 7 of the Public Health Act 2010 (NSW) took effect at 5pm on 18 March 2020.  The Order prohibits gatherings of 500 or more people in ‘a single…

In the recent case of Beaini Projects Pty Ltd v Cumberland Council [2019] NSWLEC 1547, the Land and Environment Court used its power under s 7.13(3) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act’) to amend a condition…

On 2 October 2019, the Office of Local Government (‘OLG‘) issued Circular No 19-25 (‘Circular‘)  following the recent Supreme Court decision in Cornish v Secretary, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment [2019] NSWSC 1134 (‘Cornish‘). The OLG is considering the…

Legislation and codes of conduct apply to both State and local government employees in NSW. We are frequently asked whether the restrictions on conduct contained in such codes may infringe upon the implied right to freedom of political communication.  The…

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has recently considered the extent to which a local council carries on a business for the purposes of the Fair Trading Act 1987 and the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA). The judgment contains…

On 17 April 2019, the High Court of Australia determined that mining leases were not a ‘lease’ under s47B of the Native Title Act 1993. This ruling is important because it means that any extinguishing effect of native title by mining…

The Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 (‘Bill’) is currently being considered by the Australian Parliament. The Bill was read for a second time in the House of Representatives on 21 February 2019 by the Attorney-General following which debate was adjourned. The next…