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Compulsory acquisition – what is an interest in land?
The Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (Just Terms Act) provides that an owner of an interest in land which is divested, extinguished or diminished by a compulsory acquisition is entitled to compensation. The NSW Court of Appeal has…
Overshadowing considerations for development near Sydney parklands
The Greater Sydney Parklands Trust Act 2022 (Parklands Act) commenced on 1 July 2022. On the same date, the Minister for Cities gazetted the Greater Sydney Parklands Shadow Modelling Study 2022 (Shadow Modelling Study). The Parklands Act, in combination with…
Fees for Building Information Certificates under the New EPA Regulation
The ability for Councils to charge fees for an application for a Building Information Certificate (BIC) has been removed by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (EPA Reg 2021). An application for a BIC is made to the council…
Court of Appeal reinstates broad council immunity from liability for planning certificates
The Court of Appeal has unanimously allowed both appeals against the decision of the NSW Supreme Court in Lorenzato v Burwood Council [2020] NSWSC 1659. The Supreme Court had held that the Council was liable to the purchaser of a…
Commencement of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (‘EP&A Reg 2021‘) commences on 1 March 2022 with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 (‘EP&A Reg 2000‘) to be repealed on the same day. The NSW Government has stated that the…
Reasonable Endeavours for Public Authorities
The decision of the Supreme Court in 123 259 932 Pty Ltd v Cessnock City Council (No 2) [2021] NSWSC 1329 is a reminder that public authorities should exercise caution when entering into contracts that require the authority to take reasonable action…
The New NSW Alfresco Dining Regime
As we all look forward to returning to our local restaurants, pubs and cafes the NSW Government has released their ‘Alfresco Restart Package’. Included in the Alfresco Restart Package are changes to the planning rules to enable premises across the…
Defamation: High Court confirms comments on Facebook pages ‘publication’
On 8 September 2021, the High Court of Australia held that under defamation law media companies are ‘publishers’ of comments made by members of the public on their Facebook posts and are responsible for the moderation of comments on the…
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