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Risk management of public land and demonstrating a reasonable risk management system
In a recent matter in the District Court of NSW, the Court considered a claim of negligence brought against Georges River Council (Council), amongst other parties. The case, while not establishing new law, highlights the importance of integrating risk management…
EPA ordered to develop policies and guidelines to protect environment from climate change
In a significant recent decision, the Land and Environment Court has ordered the NSW Environment Protection Authority (‘EPA‘) to develop environmental quality objectives, guidelines and policies to ensure the protection of the environment from climate change. The case was brought by…
Proposed reforms to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000: Further Observations
In an earlier post, we alerted readers that on 5 August 2021 the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) released for public consultation the draft Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (Draft EPA Reg). The Draft EPA Reg is…
Submission Deadline Approaching for the New Housing SEPP
A draft State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (Housing SEPP), together with a draft Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Housing) Regulation 2021 (Proposed Regulation) and draft Standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plans) Amendment (Miscellaneous) Order 2021 (Proposed Standard Instrument), has been released…
Consultation Deadline Approaching for OLG’s Draft Social Media Policy
The Office of Local Government (‘OLG’) recently released a consultation draft for a Model Social Media Policy for councils (‘Draft Policy’). With social media increasingly used for council communications, the Draft Policy represents a significant step forward in best practice…
Major Projects Reform – Introduction of the Rapid Assessment Framework
In January 2021 we blogged on the State Government’s proposed Rapid Assessment Framework (RAF) for the regulation of State Significant Development (SSD) and State Significant Infrastructure (SSI). We set out in that blog the general scope of the proposed amendments…
UPDATE – Amendments to flood prone land use regulations and controls commencing in July 2021
Last year, we blogged about the exhibition of the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (Department)’s proposed updates to the regulations, directions, guidelines and policies relevant to flooding and flood-related constraints in land use planning (‘Flood Prone Land Package‘)….
UPDATE: Court of Appeal overturns LEC decision on dominant use of land ‘mining’ for rating purposes
In June 2020, we blogged about a decision of the Land and Environment Court (LEC) which significantly raised the rating liability for mining companies that ‘hold’ land for mining purposes under the Local Government Act 1993. Since then, the landowner…
ALERT: NSW Heritage Act Review and Discussion Paper
On 7 April 2021, the NSW Government announced a major review of the Heritage Act 1977 (‘the Act‘). This review is the first since 2007. Major reforms to the Act have not been made since 1999.
ALERT: Proposed reforms to clause 4.6
The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) has released a discussion paper on proposed amendments to clause 4.6 of the Standard Instrument – Principal Local Environment Plan (Standard Instrument LEP). Clause 4.6 of the Standard Instrument LEP sets out…
Major Project Reforms – Rapid Assessment Framework Package
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is currently exhibiting a package of proposed reforms to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 (NSW) (‘EPA Regulation’) described as the ‘Rapid Assessment Framework Package’ for state significant projects.
Commencement of Development Consents: Requirement for Registration on the NSW Planning Portal
With the commencement of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning Portal) Regulation 2020 on 1 July 2020, the NSW planning portal became the central platform for the making of development applications (and other applications) with a consent authority. To…
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