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Low Rise Housing | Targeted Assessment Pathway and Complying Development Variations
The NSW Government has taken the next step towards what it says will facilitate faster housing delivery by releasing two key papers for public consultation to provide for streamlined low-rise housing development assessments. Consultation both papers (linked at the bottom…
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The Extent to Which Public Works Extinguish Native Title Claims
A decision handed down by the Federal Court in December 2025 provides crucial guidance on how the “undertaking of public works” can extinguish native title claims. The judgment is of particular importance to government agencies managing Crown lands who need…
Court of Appeal Addresses Misleading and Deceptive Conduct in Payment Claim Disputes
In a recent decision of the NSW Court of Appeal, the Court has clarified important interactions between the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (SOPA) and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and confirmed the key legal…
Noise Prevention Notice and the Necessary Evidentiary Foundation of Reasonable Suspicion
A recent decision handed down by the Land and Environment Court provides useful guidance on the evidence that needs to be collected before a council or the EPA should issue a prevention notice relating to noise pollution under section 96…
ALERT: Second Stage of Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy – Low and Mid-rise Housing Areas
The much anticipated low and mid-rise housing reform, the delivery of a second stage to the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy (Policy), is anticipated to commence on 28 February 2025. The reform is the second stage of the NSW Government’s…
ALERT: LEC Practice Note on Use of Generative AI by Parties, Objectors and Experts
In November 2024, a number of NSW courts issued a practice note on the use of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI). On 12 February 2025, an updated Practice Note by the Land and Environment Court (LEC) on this topic commenced. Similar…
Availability of Judicial Review to Set Aside Construction Certificate Confirmed by Court of Appeal
Recent years have seen several developments in the law regarding the validity of instruments such as development consents, complying development certificates and construction certificates. We have blogged on many of these cases (see here and here for instance). The Court…
An easement that prevents a landowner’s reasonable use of land is not an easement
Every easement is a form of interference with the ordinary use of the servient land. However, a right cannot be an easement if it is so extensive that the landowner of the servient tenement is effectively ‘ousted’ from the land…
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…
UPDATE: Court of Appeal overturns LEC decision on ‘single proposed development’
In April 2024 we wrote about a decision in the Land and Environment Court concerning a challenge to a development consent for an open cut silver, lead and zinc mine, which was State significant development (SSD). The consent was challenged…
Changes to strategic planning for bush fire – public exhibition of a Draft Bush Fire Prone Land Package
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) in partnership with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), is publicly exhibiting a draft Bush Fire Prone Land Package (Draft Package). When finalised, the Draft Package would require consideration of new policy…
ALERT – Permissibility of Dual Occupancies and Semi-detached Dwellings in Zone R2
The State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) Amendment (Dual Occupancies and Semi-detached Dwellings) 2024 (Amendment SEPP), which seeks to encourage development for the purposes of dual occupancies and semi-detached dwellings in Zone R2 R2 Low Density Residential, has been published. The…