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…
Where a development is only permissible with a development consent under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) (EPA Act) and is also an activity under s68 of the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) (LG Act), uncertainty often arises as…
Section 4.16(4) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) allows a consent authority to grant either total or partial consent to a development application, by granting development consent to either: the development for which the consent is sought,…
Authorised Council officers are given broad powers to enter and search premises under a range of legislation, including the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act), the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) and the Protection of the Environment…
It is not unusual for proponents of major development and infrastructure projects to have to grapple with the question of whether an ancillary, albeit necessary, piece of infrastructure for the project, such as a road, electricity transmission line, or a…
A relevant enforcement authority (including a local council) can issue a development control order (DCO) in certain circumstances to require a person to do or refrain from doing things to ensure compliance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979…
The Department of Planning and Environment (Department) recently published the NSW Coastal Design Guidelines 2023 (Coastal Design Guidelines) and the Coastal Crown Land Guidelines 2023 (Coastal Crown Land Guidelines). Coastal Design Guidelines We previously discussed a draft of the Coastal…
Note: This blog was first published in January 2013. It has been updated to reflect changes in the law since then. Resident objectors have a unique role in development appeals in Class 1 of the Land & Environment Court’s jurisdiction….
Before taking enforcement action, it is critical for the enforcement agency to identify the correct perpetrator. A failure to do so may result in the validity of the enforcement action being successfully challenged or defeated. This issue regularly arises in…
The NSW government recently introduced a new approach to development costs in response to the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Operation Dasha report, which recommended changes to improve transparency and reduce the risk of corruption. The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment…
The power of a consent authority to modify a development consent is set out at sections 4.55 (for modification of consents generally) and 4.56 (for modification of consents granted by the Court) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979…
We previously blogged on the recent Court of Appeal decision in Ross v Lane [2022] NSWCA 235, in which the Court held that the application of SEPP 65 to a particular DA was not a “jurisdictional fact” capable of objective determination by…