Monthly Archives: July 2017
ALERT: New Ministerial Direction on Local Infrastructure Contributions
The Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local Infrastructure Contributions) Amendment Direction 2017 was published today on the website of the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. It is accompanied by a Circular. The Direction is given by the Minister for Planning … Continue reading
Be Ready: New Land Management and Biodiversity Conservation Laws Commencing
The Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (‘BC Act‘) and the Local Land Services Amendment Act 2016 (‘LLSA Act’) will commence on 25 August 2017. The commencement of these two Acts will result in a new system for land management and conservation in NSW. This is the … Continue reading
Conditions of consent requiring VPA compliance
A Commissioner of the Land and Environment Court has held that a condition of development consent that required a voluntary planning agreement (‘VPA‘) which had already been entered into to be complied with before the issuing of a strata subdivision … Continue reading
OLG’s Role in Misconduct Complaints
A decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) has confirmed that the Chief Executive of the Office of Local Government (Chief Executive) has powers in respect of misconduct by council officials which may be separate to the processes under … Continue reading
Does the minimum lot size development standard apply to strata subdivision?
It has been widely assumed that the minimum lot size development standard in clause 4.1 of the Standard Instrument – Principle Local Environmental Plan (‘Standard LEP‘) does not apply to strata subdivision. However the Land and Environment Court has held that this is … Continue reading
GIPA Act – CCTV released despite concerns regarding personal information
With the increasing use of CCTV cameras to monitor and record activities, media organisations and others are increasingly seeking access to that information. A recent NCAT decision considers whether the CCTV is ‘personal information’ and whether it should be released … Continue reading
A reminder of the Court’s approach to characterising development
A recent decision of the Land and Environment Court (‘Court‘) has reinforced the approach the Court will take when characterising development. Once the Court is satisfied that development does not fall into a use expressly noted as permissible in a land … Continue reading
Staged Development Applications – Retroactive legislation to validate prior invalid approvals
The NSW Government has released a draft public consultation bill to amend the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) with respect to staged development applications. The amendment addresses the recent Court of Appeal decision which we have previously blogged on, which … Continue reading
