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A New Pathway for the Procurement of Legal Services
The spending of public money and the awarding of public sector contracts are areas that are rightfully subject to substantial regulation and scrutiny. Ensuring the procurement process is both efficient and effective for both agencies and service providers is not…
NSW Productivity Commission Publishes Final Report on Review of Infrastructure Contributions System
On 3 December 2020, the NSW Productivity Commission released its final report on its review of the infrastructure contributions system in NSW (Review), entitled Review of Infrastructure Contributions in New South Wales – Final Report (Final Report). Following on from the…
Can a VPA be entered into for the conservation of a privately owned heritage building?
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‘)…
Are all Drainage Reserves Classified as Operational Land?
Drainage reserves vested in local councils are public land as defined in the Local Government Act 1993 (‘LG Act‘). All public land must be classified as either community or operational under the LG Act. The Registrar-General’s Guidelines under section 12D of the…
ALERT – Revised Model Code of Conduct and Associated Procedures for Local Councils in NSW
On 7 August 2020, the NSW Government published The Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW 2020 (New Model Code) and the New Code for the Administration of The Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW…
Busting the myth: is information released under the GIPA Act really released ‘to the world’?
The release of information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) is commonly referred to as being a release to the world at large. However, this view erroneously conflates the requirement in the GIPA Act for the…
ALERT – NSW Planning System Reforms
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…
Development Contributions: Temporary Deferral of Payment Arrangements & Requirement for Evidence of Payment Before Occupation Certificate
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…
COVID 19 – Local Government Regulation to Assist in Financial Relief
Many councils have been investigating ways to provide some financial relief to ratepayers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However the strict financial and procedural provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) have presented various obstacles to doing…
Proposed reforms to development contributions in NSW
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has announced a suite of proposed reforms to the development contributions system in NSW. The DPIE states that the purpose of the reforms are to ‘…fix the uncertainty of developer contributions to…
Council Delegations & Emergency Decision-Making During COVID-19 Crisis
Council delegations are an important governance tool at any time. During the current Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, delegations provide a means of enabling councils to continue functioning in a timely and responsive manner as events unfold quickly and urgent decisions…
Council Venue Cancellations Arising from COVID-19 – Applicable Contract Law Principles
The Public Health (COVID-19 Mass Gatherings) Order 2020 (‘Order‘), made under section 7 of the Public Health Act 2010 (NSW) took effect at 5pm on 18 March 2020. The Order prohibits gatherings of 500 or more people in ‘a single…
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