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Breach of the Information Protection Principles by Fire and Rescue NSW
By nature of their operations, public sector agencies and organisations possess personal information provided by their employees and the general public they serve. While much community focus has been placed on protecting data stored digitally, agencies must ensure compliance with…
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ALERT: Amendments to the Regional Development Act 2004
In September 2023, the NSW government announced in the 2023/2024 budget that it would commit an initial investment of $350 million over 4 years into the Regional Development Trust Fund. This is the first step in the Regional Development Roadmap…
Failure to give proper regard to the standard instrument flood clause 5.21 leads to invalidity of consent
Section 5.21 of the Standard Instrument LEP requires the consent authority to be satisfied as to certain specific matters relating to flood function, behaviour, safety, evacuation and impacts on the environment. In a recent case, the Land and Environment Court…
Council not bound by resolution accepting offer to purchase land
A recent decision of the Court of Appeal (Court) examined whether a council was bound by way of land sale contract when it had merely resolved to enter into the contract but not executed the documentation. The case provides a…
REMINDER: Changes to Defamation Law Have Commenced
At the end of last year, we wrote about changes to NSW defamation laws that introduced new exemptions and defences for potentially defamatory content posted online. Our article discusses these changes in detail: Changes to Defamation Law: New Exemptions and…
Secondary dwelling converted to a dual occupancy caused a fuss
An objector argued that a consent granted by the Lake Macquarie City Council was invalid because the proposed change of use of an existing ‘secondary dwelling’ to a dwelling house to create a ‘dual occupancy’ involved no ‘development’. The Land…
Section 68 appeals dismissed: The limit of the Court’s power in merit appeals under s39(2) of the Land and Environment Court Act
When making decisions in its ‘merit appeal’ jurisdiction (such as Class 1 and 2 Appeals), the Land and Environment Court (LEC) is vested with all the functions and discretions which the person or body whose decision is the subject of…
Can a developer get a refund of development contributions that were imposed unlawfully?
Under s 7.3(1) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act‘), monetary contributions paid under a s 7.11 condition in accordance with the conditions of a development consent or with a planning agreement must be held and applied towards…
REMINDER: Footpath hazards – when is a Council protected from Liability under the Civil Liability Act?
In a recent decision, the District Court found that a Council was not liable to a plaintiff who had tripped on a raised paver in a park in Redfern. This case is a useful reminder of the various protections councils…
ALERT: Housing SEPP transitional provisions corrected to apply ADG to former SEPP65 pending DAs
The Government has amended State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (Housing SEPP) to correct an oversight which had meant that neither Chapter 4 of the Housing SEPP nor the former SEPP 65 applied to relevant residential apartment DAs made prior…
Bill to Increase Penalties for POEO Act Offences & Give Additional Powers to the EPA Introduced into NSW Parliament
Yesterday, the NSW Government introduced the Environment Protection Legislation Amendment (Stronger Regulation and Penalties) Bill 2024 (Bill). The Bill proposes the most significant amendment to the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) since its commencement. The Bill is intended…
Consent granted to development in breach of development standard not invalid – again
In Lahoud v Willoughby City Council [2023] NSWLEC 117, the Land and Environment Court applied the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in El Khouri v Gemaveld Pty Ltd [2023) NSWCA 78 in rejecting a challenge to a consent granted…