In the recent decision of Lorenzato v Burwood Council [2020] NSWSC 1659 (‘Lorenzato‘), the Supreme Court considered the scope of the immunity from liability in negligence enjoyed by public authorities such as councils under various pieces of legislation. The Court…
In a recent Land and Environment Court case, IPM Holdings Pty Limited v The Council of the City of Sydney [2020] NSWLEC 1593, the Court considered whether it could impose a condition of consent requiring a voluntary planning agreement (‘VPA‘)…
Proposed reforms to the Education SEPP on exhibition
25 Nov, 2020
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is currently exhibiting proposed reforms to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Educational Establishments and Child Care Facilities) 2017 (Education SEPP). The proposed amendments are part of the NSW Government’s Planning Reform Action…
COVID-19 – Investigations via AVL
20 Nov, 2020
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Acts were amended to enable authorised officers and investigation officers to take evidence and answers to questions by audio link or audio visual link. Those provisions were repealed on 13 November…
State Environmental Planning Policy (Coastal Management) 2018 (NSW) (SEPP) imposes restrictions or requirements on development occurring in four ‘coastal management areas‘, namely: Coastal wetlands and littoral rainforests area Coastal vulnerability area Coastal environment area Coastal use area. Together, and under…
A recent decision in Land and Environment Court confirms that a prosecutor can use information obtained under a compulsory investigative notice for the purposes of gathering further evidence in prosecution proceedings. In this case the Court rejected a argument that…
We previously posted a blog regarding the enactment of the COVID-19 Legislation Amendment (Emergency Measures) Act 2020 (Emergency Measures Act) which amended various statutes including the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) and the Local Government Act 1993…
The Land and Environment Court (LEC) was recently required to consider whether certain work was exempt as ‘minor’ works under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (Codes SEPP). The issue arose in the course of…
A recent decision by the Land and Environment Court provides some guidance on how a proposal to offset biodiversity impacts must be considered in determining a development application under Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act). Although…
ALERT – NSW Planning System Reforms
26 Jul, 2020
The NSW Government revealed the NSW Planning Reform Action Plan (‘Action Plan‘) last week. The Action Plan aims to help boost the recovery of the economy, reduce planning assessment times, reduce red tape and create a user-friendly planning system. Speaking…
The State government yesterday introduced a suite of measures through Ministerial directions and determinations and amendments to regulations under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) relating to the payment of State and local infrastructure contributions and levies for…
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning Portal) Regulation 2020 commenced on 1 July 2020 and introduced some important changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000. The amendments require the use of the NSW planning portal as the central…