In a recent decision, the District Court found that a Council was not liable to a plaintiff who had tripped on a raised paver in a park in Redfern. This case is a useful reminder of the various protections councils…
Authorised Council officers are given broad powers to enter and search premises under a range of legislation, including the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act), the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) and the Protection of the Environment…
The question of whether a consent authority has power to suspend the operation of an easement for the purpose of enabling development to be carried out in accordance with a development consent has again been the subject of consideration in…
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has issued a guide to assist public officials and agencies in identifying and managing conflicts of duties. The guide relates to conflicts of duties, not conflicts between a public duty and a personal or…
The NSW Legislative Council’s Standing Committee on State Development recently announced an inquiry into the ability of local government to fund infrastructure and services. When announcing the inquiry, the Chair of the Committee, Emily Suvaal MLC, noted that: ‘Councils are…
Section 220 of the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) declares that a council is ‘is a body politic of the State’ and ‘is not a body corporate (including a corporation)‘. Amongst other things, this declaration is considered to largely shield…
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…
In a recent NSW Land and Environment Court decision, the Court rejected an appeal against a decision of the Local Court to stay a prosecution against a former General Manager of a regional Council. In doing so, the Court took…
For the first time in the context of a local council, the recent decision of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) in Shrestha v City of Ryde Council [2024] NSWIRComm 1005 has considered the interactions between differing lengths of probationary…
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (the Commission) has published its annual report for the year 2022-23 (the Report), outlining the nature of complaints received and their investigative processes. The Report reflects a substantial increase in complaints reported to the Commission by…
A relevant enforcement authority (including a local council) can issue a development control order (DCO) in certain circumstances to require a person to do or refrain from doing things to ensure compliance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979…
The NSW Government has at last provided some detail of its proposed low and medium-density housing reforms, releasing the “Explanation of Intended Effect” for the proposed changes (‘EoE‘). The EoE is on public exhibition from 15 December 2023 to 23…