A recent decision by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal (‘CCA‘) confirms the principles of statutory interpretation and construction that apply to time limitations when commencing prosecutions under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (‘NPW Act’) and the Biodiversity…
Establishing whether a development consent has lapsed often involves a question about whether the works undertaken on the site have been “physically commenced”. However, it has long been established that works purportedly undertaken that are unlawful because they are in…
New planning controls to encourage the installation of electric vehicle charging units in NSW
20 Mar, 2023
According to the NSW Electric Vehicle Strategy (2021), electric vehicle sales are projected to increase to 52% of total vehicle sales by 2030-31, making it crucial to establish more electric vehicle charging locations across the state. To address the likely…
A recent decision by the Land and Environment Court provides a useful example of the common law defences that may be raised against a charge of an environmental offence, as well as a good reminder of how difficult it can…
The High Court case of Farm Transparency International Ltd v New South Wales [2022] HCA 23 (Farm Transparency) recently made headlines for its decision to uphold the validity of surveillance device laws in New South Wales. The decision is primarily…
Last week, the Land and Environment Court considered a challenge to the validity of a development control order in criminal proceedings. The decision serves as an important reminder for regulatory authorities when drafting development control orders (DCOs). In order to…
On 13 July 2022, the Office of Local Government (‘OLG‘) issued Circular No. 22-19 to commence the consultation process on preferred options for regulations to support the new Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Act 2021 (NSW) (‘PSUP Act‘), which are contained…
A recent decision by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) confirms that the Land and Environment Court (LEC) has the power to summarily dismiss a summary prosecution prior to final hearing when an essential condition of criminality cannot be…
On 20 May 2022, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (‘ICAC‘) released its report on the investigation (‘Operation Ember‘) into the awarding of contracts by employees of the former NSW Roads and Maritime Services (‘RMS‘), which is now part of Transport…
UPDATE: this post was updated on 30 March 2022 to reflect the Bill’s assent on 24 March 2022. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSW Government implemented a number of regulatory measures on a temporary basis. On 15 February…
The Environmental Legislation Amendment Act 2022 (Amendment Act) has come into force, making significant amendments to environmental protection legislation in NSW. This is our second blog on the Amendment Act. We previously discussed the imposition of new liabilities on current…
The Environmental Legislation Amendment Act 2022 (Amendment Act) has come into force, making significant amendments to environmental protection legislation in NSW. The Amendment Act primarily seeks to overcome practices that certain industry sectors, businesses and individuals have established to avoid…