On Friday the Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Bill 2024 (Bill) was passed by NSW Parliament. The Bill will significantly amend the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) on a date to be proclaimed. The Bill follows a 2023…
On 21 October 2024, the National Health and Medical Research Centre (NHMRC) released its proposed amendments to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (Guidelines) for public consultation. The draft Guidelines recommend lower values for PFAS in drinking water and are an…
A Bill to reform the biodiversity offsets scheme (BOS) established by the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) was introduced to NSW Parliament today. The Bill is the NSW Government’s first step in delivering the NSW Plan for Nature, which acknowledged that…
The NSW Government has released its response to the statutory reviews of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) and native vegetation provisions of the Local Land Services Act 2013 (LLS Act): the ‘NSW plan for nature’ (Response). Significant legislative…
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…
The common law principle of “standing” determines whether a person is entitled to commence proceedings in a particular forum or in respect to a particular issue. Demonstrating a “special interest” in the subject matter of proceedings has generally been sufficient…
The Minister for Environment has released the Biodiversity Assessment Method 5-year review report (Report). The Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) requires a review as soon as possible, 5 years after the Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM) was first established. The…
On 1 March 2024, the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (Department) published Planning Circular PS 24-001 (Circular). The Circular provides an outline on the existing flood-related planning policies and provides further advice and information on flood matters for planning…
On 21 March 2024, the Environment Protection Legislation Amendment (Stronger Regulation and Penalties) Bill 2024 (Bill) was passed by NSW Parliament without amendment. The Bill is now awaiting assent and will commence on a date to be proclaimed. The Minister for…
Yesterday, the NSW Government introduced the Environment Protection Legislation Amendment (Stronger Regulation and Penalties) Bill 2024 (Bill). The Bill proposes the most significant amendment to the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) since its commencement. The Bill is intended…
This decision has been overturned on appeal. See our blog in respect of the appeal judgment here. In a recent NSW Land and Environment Court decision, the Court rejected an appeal against a decision of the Local Court to stay…
The Climate Change (Net Zero Future) Act 2023 (the Act) was recently passed by the New South Wales Parliament, and has commenced operation. The purpose of this landmark legislation is to give effect to the commitments under the 2015 Paris…