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Greater Sydney is now the Six Cities Region
As of 13 April 2022, the Greater Sydney Region, is to be known as the ‘Six Cities Region‘. The Greater Cities Commission Act 2022 (‘Cities Act‘) implements this change. The Cities Act also repeals the Greater Sydney Commission Act 2015…
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Lapsing of Consents for Staged Developments
A recent case has illustrated the importance of closely interpreting conditions in consents for staged developments not only for compliance purposes, but also to determine what is needed to prevent the development consent from lapsing. Donvito v Hawkesbury City Council [2022]…
New Environmental Protection Regulations Released for Public Consultation
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (‘EPA‘) has released a draft Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2022 (‘Draft Regulation‘) for public consultation. The Draft Regulation proposes to remake the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2021 (‘2021 Regulation‘), which…
Court Confirms Position on Dedication of Land Free of Cost
The NSW Land and Environment Court has recently confirmed that there is no power for a consent authority to require dedication of land free of cost, even if the developer volunteers to do so, absent a voluntary planning agreement (‘VPA‘)…
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,…
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…
Reforms to Community Schemes: Ramifications for Local Councils
Community land schemes are important forms of land title. They create schemes where lot owners in the scheme share the use and maintenance costs of common facilities, be they farm dams or private roads. According to NSW Fair Trading, ‘[i]n…
How is light pollution regulated in NSW?
It has been claimed that artificial light at night is the fastest growing pollutant in the world. And whether or not that is demonstrably the case, it does seem that relatively little has been written about how law and policy…
Final transition to e-conveyancing coming on 11 October 2021
For some years now, the NSW Government has been effecting changes to property and conveyancing laws to transition from a paper-based conveyancing system to an electronic one. On 11 October 2021 (‘Cessation Day‘), two major reforms will come into force…
ALERT: Consultation deadline approaching for the EPA’s updated Noise Guide for Local Government
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) recently released for public consultation an updated Noise Guide for Local Government in draft form (Updated Guide). The Updated Guide is intended to replace the current Noise Guide for Local Government (Current Guide), which has…
Defamation law reforms: What’s changed for public officials?
The Defamation Amendment Act 2020 (Amending Act) commenced operation on 1 July 2021. It represents the first stage of proposed reforms to defamation law. The Amending Act significantly reformed the Defamation Act 2005 (Defamation Act). But how are these changes relevant to…
Online Safety Act 2021: Overview and ramifications for public officials
On 23 July 2021, the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) (‘OS Act‘) received Royal Assent from the Governor-General. The OS Act will commence a day to be fixed by Proclamation or the day after the end of the period of 6…