The NSW Court of Appeal has held that a contractual clause purporting to levy a rate “in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993” (the Act) impermissibly fettered the discretion of the Council from undertaking its statutory duty of assessing…
Non-metropolitan councils can require developers to make contributions for water supply, sewerage and stormwater headworks in respect of development. However, the legislative basis for the imposition of such charges is not straightforward, and is worthwhile reviewing.
The NSW State Budget for 2014-2015 released on 17 June 2014 indicates that $60 million has been allocated for the Local Infrastructure Growth Scheme (‘LIGS‘), down from $99 million in 2013-2014. Given the purpose for which the LIGS was established, it…
Tribunal Overturns Suspension of Councillor
22 May, 2014
A Marrickville councillor who was suspended for two months by the Director-General of the Division of Local Government (DG) for engaging in misconduct has succeeded in having the suspension overturned in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal).
In a recent s94 case, Pepper J addressed the following questions: Proposed retention of a heritage item – Whether there is a material public benefit involved that should be taken into account under s94(6) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment…
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) published a draft report in November 2013 titled ‘Local Infrastructure Benchmark Costs’. The report responds to a request by the NSW Government for IPART to develop benchmark costs that will be used to inform…
This post outlines the framework for the transition to the new planning system under the Planing Bill 2013 (Bill). The framework seems designed to enable the Bill to be commenced quite quickly utilising the existing planning framework where necessary. In particular …
The Planning Bill 2013 was introduced into the NSW Parliament yesterday. The Bill varies in some significant respects from the exposure draft. Here are our initial observations.
The Exposure Draft Planning Bill 2013 (Planning Bill), which was released for public consultation along with the document published by the NSW Government on 16 April 2013 titled A New Planning System for NSW – White Paper, proposes several significant changes…
Planning Reform White Paper Released
16 Apr, 2013
The NSW Government has today released the White Paper on planning reform in NSW, ‘A new planning system for NSW’. Two Exposure Bills, the Planning Bill 2013 and the Planning Administration Bill 2o13 have also been released.
LEC remarks that road dedications can only be conditioned under s94 and pursuant to a contributions plan
30 Jan, 2013
Remarks made by Craig J in Australian International Academy of Education Inc v The Hills Shire Council [2013] NSWLEC 1 in Class 1 of the Land and Environment Court’s jurisdiction indicate that even if a developer offers to dedicate land…
Proposed Amendments to the EPA Act
25 Oct, 2012
On 24 October 2012 the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Bill 2012 (Bill) was introduced into the NSW Legislative Assembly. The Bill proposes a number of amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act). Amongst the proposed…