The Land and Environment Court’s decision in Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment v Leda Manorstead Pty Ltd (No 2) [2018] NSWLEC 195 is a useful reminder of the key principles that apply where multiple development consents operate on the…

The Copyright Act: long, complex, outdated, and a potential trapdoor for local councils when dealing with documents accompanying a development application. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has recently handed down a decision which illustrates the difficulties for councils in…

A recent decision of the Land and Environment Court examined the way in which a Council investigating officer interviewed witnesses, and how the conduct of that officer ultimately affected the evidence relied on by the prosecutor. The decision provides useful guidance…

In a significant judgment, the Court of Criminal Appeal (Court) has clarified the use of local councils’ investigative powers under s9.22 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (Act). The Court ruled on when notices to answer questions and produce…

The power in s 60 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) to refuse to deal with an access application is a power often under-utilised by public sector agencies. In this blog, we consider whether recent amendments to the…

In September 2018 the Department of Planning and Environment (‘DPE’) released guidelines for the DPE compliance unit for the operation of remotely piloted aircraft , also known as drones or unmanned aircraft (‘Drones’) in compliance and enforcement functions.

The Department of Planning & Environment (Department) has recently released for public comment an Explanation of Intended Effect (EIE) regarding proposed amendments to the planning rules relating to short-term rental accommodation (STRA) in New South Wales (NSW). Amendments to existing…

A recent decision of the Land and Environment Court is compulsory reading for statutory authorities with prosecution powers (or those the subject of a prosecution) as it examines how the period of limitation for commencing proceedings should be construed, as…

The Government Information (Public Access) Regulation 2018 (GIPA Reg 2018) commenced on 1 September 2018. The GIPA Reg 2018 repealed and replaced the  Government Information (Public Access) Regulation 2009 (GIPA Reg 2009). The main difference between GIPA Reg 2018 and its…

We previously blogged on the refusal of the Land and Environment Court (LEC) to declare that information compulsorily obtained under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (Act) would not be used in a prosecution against a Company’s executives (Executives) for special…

The State Government has almost finalised the first step towards regulating the short-term rental accommodation (STRA) industry and the practice of short-term holiday letting in New South Wales by passing the Fair Trading Amendment (Short-Term Rental Accommodation) Bill 2018 (Bill). The…

In the recent matter of Shoebridge v Office of Environment and Heritage [2018] NSWCATAP 144, the Appeal Panel of the NCAT considered whether a government agency was obliged to determine an application for a discount to a processing charge before…