Monthly Archives: August 2015
Need for valid notices of determination
Councils should keep in mind the need to be accurate when issuing notices of the grant of development consent. The effectiveness of such notices has a number of implications for the consent and potential challenges to the consent.
Reform of Building Regulation and Certification
This week the former NSW Treasury Secretary, Michael Lambert, released his Draft Report as part of the independent review of the Building Professionals Act 2005 (Draft Report).
Increased penalties and enforcement powers commence under NSW planning laws
The Minister for Planning recently announced the commencement of changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act’), including increasing the maximum penalties for offences and providing greater investigation and enforcement powers to Councils. The changes that provide … Continue reading
Review of the ICAC Act
The findings of the Independent Review Panel’s (Review Panel) review of the scope of the powers of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) have been released in a recently published report entitled ‘Independent Panel – Review of the Jurisdiction of the … Continue reading
Retail Lease of a Public Road?
In my recent blog Is a public car park a public road? I discussed the case of Cavric v Willoughby City Council [2015] NSWCA (Cavric) in which the Court of Appeal set out the proper approach to determining whether land (in that case … Continue reading
Principles for the interpretation of development consents
A recent case in the Land and Environment Court considers several principles by which development consents are to be interpreted. While the case does not make new law, it provides a helpful overview for Councils and proponents alike as to … Continue reading
Recommendations for change to the 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Entitlement Scheme released by NSW Government
The NSW Government has released the long awaited report into the review of the 10/50 Vegetation Entitlement Scheme(Scheme). The report follows extensive public consultation that resulted in over 3500 submissions being considered. The report contains 30 recommendations that have been … Continue reading
Minister flags changes to Local Government Act to deal with rising incidence of councillor misconduct
The Minister for Local Government, Paul Toole, has foreshadowed changes to the Local Government Act 1993 aimed at strengthening and improving the way councillor misconduct is handled.
Have your say on draft Planning Agreement Guidelines for State significant mining
The Department of Planning and Environment has released the second stage of its draft Integrated Mining Policy (‘IMP‘) for public consultation. Among the documents that are available for review and comment is the ‘Planning Agreement Guidelines for State Significant Mining … Continue reading
