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,…
Proposed reforms to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000: Further Observations
In an earlier post, we alerted readers that on 5 August 2021 the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) released for public consultation the draft Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (Draft EPA Reg). The Draft EPA Reg is…
On 4 June 2021 the Crown Land Management Regulation 2018 (CLM Regulation) was amended to remove the deadline for councils managing Crown land (Council Crown land managers) to adopt plans of management for that land by 30 June 2021, and removing…
Discussion Paper – Review of Crown Land Management Act 2016 – Issues for Local Government
Recently, we published an alert (see here) about an opportunity for public input into the independent statutory review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (NSW) (‘CLM Act‘), run by the Crown Land Commissioner, Professor Richard Bush (‘the Commissioner‘). The…
The Crown Land Commissioner, Professor Richard Bush, is undertaking an independent statutory review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (CLM Act) and has published a discussion paper seeking the public’s input into the review. About the statutory review The Commissioner was…
The ownership and control of public land is varied. It may be owned and managed by a local council, or owned by the Council and managed by the private sector. Alternatively it may be owned by the State government and…
The High Court has handed down a significant decision protecting beaches from native title determinations excluding public access. The case involved 40km of coast in northern Western Australia which was subject to a native title claim. The Full Federal Court…
The NSW Land Registry Services (NSW LRS) has published information on changes to its operations to address disruptions arising from COVID-19. This information is being updated regularly and anyone who proposes to lodge dealings, plans or other instruments should check…
The Public Health (COVID-19 Mass Gatherings) Order 2020 (‘Order‘), made under section 7 of the Public Health Act 2010 (NSW) took effect at 5pm on 18 March 2020. The Order prohibits gatherings of 500 or more people in ‘a single…
The Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 (‘Bill‘) was reintroduced into Parliament on 17 October 2019. The Bill introduces a number of reforms to the native title system under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). A previous iteration of the Bill…
On 17 April 2019, the High Court of Australia determined that mining leases were not a ‘lease’ under s47B of the Native Title Act 1993. This ruling is important because it means that any extinguishing effect of native title by mining…
The Aboriginal Land SEPP
The State Environmental Planning Policy (Aboriginal Land) 2019 (‘SEPP‘) came into force on 6 February 2019. The SEPP provides for the making of ‘development delivery plans‘ (‘DDPs‘) for land owned by Local Aboriginal Land Councils (‘LALCs’) which must be considered when…