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Certifier Series: Issues that arise where building work has been commenced without a Construction Certificate
This blog is part of our LTL in Focus: Certifier Series. The Certifier Series deals with questions, issues and changes affecting both private and local council certifiers. In this blog we discuss the issues that arise when building work is…
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Land & Environment Court to deal with Councillor Conduct
A bill was introduced into the NSW Legislative Council on 14 October 2025 to change the forum for dealing with councillor conduct matters. The Land & Environment Court is proposed to have new powers to hear councillor conduct matters, in…
Pattern Book Developments and CDCs
From 30 July 2025 a range of residential development will be able to be carried out as complying development, with a complying development certificate (CDC) to be issued within 10 days, if the development complies with the NSW Housing Pattern…
Personal Relationships and Conflicts of Interest
Councillors and other council officials have an obligation under s440 of the Local Government Act 1993 to comply with their council’s adopted Code of Conduct, which is based on the Office of Local Government’s model Code of Conduct (Code). Part…
Dedication of Land Without a Planning Agreement or s7.11 Condition
A recent decision of the Chief Justice of the Land and Environment Court has confirmed that a consent authority (which includes the Court on appeal) can grant consent to a subdivision of land where the proposed plan of subdivision indicates…
Crown Development Applications
The Department of Planning, Housing, and Infrastructure has released an updated planning circular in respect of Crown development applications (Crown DAs). The circular provides information about, and generally reflects the provisions of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 (EPA…
Low and Mid Rise Housing Policy Amendment to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021
As foreshadowed in our article on 23 February here, the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) Amendment (Low and Mid Rise Housing) 2025 (Amending SEPP) commenced operation on Friday 28 February 2025 to give effect to the second stage of the…
Use of public funds to support defamation litigation
By nature of their operations, local councils receive and control public funds for various purposes. Under the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act), councils are required to follow principles of sound financial management, and ensure that their spending of public…
Land and Environment Court imposes record penalty for unlawful clearing of native vegetation
Late in 2024, the Land and Environment Court imposed record fines for the unlawful clearing of native vegetation in Secretary, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment v Ronald Lewis Greentree and Auen Grain Pty Ltd [2024] NSWLEC 131. Clearing of native…
Draft Australian Drinking Water Guidelines Released for Public Consultation
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…
REMINDER: Requirements of the Mandatory Data Breach Notification Scheme for Public Sector Agencies
The Mandatory Notification of Data Breach Scheme (MNDB Scheme) is a mandatory notification requirement under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) for NSW public sector agencies, including all NSW agencies and departments, statutory authorities, local councils,…
Certifier Series: Does a building information certificate enable a certifier to issue an occupation certificate?
This is the first blog in our LTL in Focus: Certifier Series. The Certifier Series will cover a range of questions, issues and changes affecting both private and local council certifiers. A key function of certifiers is to issue occupation…