[ IN FOCUS ]
Managing Coastal Hazards: the Permissibility of Coastal Protection Works on Private Land
Protecting beachfront properties from exposure to coastal erosion and hazards is an ongoing problem across much of the NSW coast and made worse by climate change. Recently, the Land and Environment Court (Court) considered whether development consent should be granted…
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Draft CPP and DAs Exempt from Public Notification
On 8 April 2026, the NSW Government released the proposed statewide Community Participation Plan (Statewide CPP) for public comment. The Planning System Reforms Act 2025 (Reform Act) requires the Planning Secretary to prepare a single statewide community participation plan about…
Draft National Environmental Standards out for public consultation
The passing of the Environment Protection Reform Bill by the Commonwealth has introduced major changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act). As discussed in our earlier post here, these reforms include a new power…
ALERT: Some Planning System Reforms Commence
On 15 December 2025, amendments to the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning System Reforms) Act 2025 (Planning System Reforms Act) commenced. Transitional and saving arrangements have also come into effect under the Environmental…
Australian Parliament Passes Environment Protection Reform Bill
On 28 November 2025, Parliament passed reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act). This completes a suite of reforms that represent the most significant overhaul of Australia’s environmental laws since the commencement of the EPBC Act…
REMINDER: Restrictions to the use of Gen AI in the preparation of affidavits, witness statements & character references
The NSW Supreme Court, Land and Environment Court, and District Court have adopted practice notes on the use of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) in the preparation of evidentiary material and expert reports (Practice Note). As the use of Gen…
Dedication of Land Without a Planning Agreement or s7.11 Condition
A recent decision of the Chief Justice of the Land and Environment Court has confirmed that a consent authority (which includes the Court on appeal) can grant consent to a subdivision of land where the proposed plan of subdivision indicates…
ALERT – Draft Housing and Productivity Contribution Scheme Works-in-Kind Guideline Released by NSW Government
The NSW Government has today released the proposed ‘Housing and Productivity Contribution Scheme Works-in-Kind Guideline‘ (Draft Guideline) and is inviting public submissions on it until 17 July 2025. The Housing and Productivity Contributions Scheme (HPC Scheme) is established under Subdivisions…
High Court Confirms Native Title is a Proprietary Right & Subject to Constitutional Guarantee of Just Terms Compensation
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the name of a deceased person. On 12 March 2025, the High Court handed down its landmark decision in the much-awaited native title case of Commonwealth of Australia v Yunupingu…
ALERT: Targeted Review of the Roads Act 1993
The NSW Government has announced a targeted review of the Roads Act 1993 (Act) to ensure the Act is fit-for-purpose and adaptable for the future. Transport for NSW has developed an Issues Paper that outlines the process and intended scope…
NSW Government releases the Industrial Lands Action Plan
On 24 January, the NSW Government released the Industrial Lands Action Plan (Plan). The Plan aims to establish a coordinated, statewide approach to planning, securing and managing the supply of industrial lands across NSW. In the Plan the term ‘industrial…