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Bill to Further Strengthen Environmental Protection Introduced into NSW Parliament
The Environmental Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (Bill) was recently introduced in the NSW Parliament. The Bill proposes significant changes to a number of environmental laws which are relevant to local councils and state agencies, particularly the Protection of the Environment…
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Personal Relationships and Conflicts of Interest
Councillors and other council officials have an obligation under s440 of the Local Government Act 1993 to comply with their council’s adopted Code of Conduct, which is based on the Office of Local Government’s model Code of Conduct (Code). Part…
Can local councils issue orders and notices relating to State government land and buildings?
Local councils are authorised under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) and the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) to regulate land and buildings within their local government areas, amongst other things, by issuing statutory notices and…
ALERT: NSW government to establish new Investment Delivery Authority
The NSW Government has announced its intention to establish a new body, the Investment Delivery Authority (IDA) in an attempt to accelerate the assessment and approval of major projects. It appears that the IDA will be modelled on the recently…
UPDATE: High Court upholds common law principles of standing by persons with a “special interest”
In a recent decision, the High Court unanimously dismissed an appeal from the NSW Court of Appeal in an important case dealing with the common law principle of “standing” and the steps required to demonstrate a “special interest” in a…
Further Consideration of the Approach to Calculating Gross Floor Area
A recent decision of the Land and Environment Court considers how the definition of ‘gross floor area’ (GFA) in the Standard Instrument Local Environment Plan (Standard Instrument) operates in respect of lifts and access to car parking areas. Gross Floor…
Low and Mid Rise Housing Policy Amendment to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021
As foreshadowed in our article on 23 February here, the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) Amendment (Low and Mid Rise Housing) 2025 (Amending SEPP) commenced operation on Friday 28 February 2025 to give effect to the second stage of the…
Use of public funds to support defamation litigation
By nature of their operations, local councils receive and control public funds for various purposes. Under the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act), councils are required to follow principles of sound financial management, and ensure that their spending of public…
Penalty Notices Q&A #3
Welcome to our third and final article in this series about penalty notices. Let’s take a look at some of the most recent questions we’ve been asked: What does it mean to exercise discretion when issuing penalty notices? This is…
ALERT: New Housing Delivery Authority and Rezoning Process for Major Residential Housing Projects
On Friday, 15 November 2024, the NSW state government announced the establishment of a new state-led approval pathway for major residential housing projects, as well as a new “fast track” process for rezonings required to enable major housing projects. To…
Draft Australian Drinking Water Guidelines Released for Public Consultation
On 21 October 2024, the National Health and Medical Research Centre (NHMRC) released its proposed amendments to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (Guidelines) for public consultation. The draft Guidelines recommend lower values for PFAS in drinking water and are an…
NSW Government passes Bill creating new governance structure for ‘Rural and Remote Councils’
Last week the Local Government Amendment (Rural and Remote Councils) Bill 2024 (Bill) was passed by NSW Parliament. Once it commences, the Bill will insert a new Schedule 11 to the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) that will create a…