The Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 (‘BDC Act‘) will commence on 1 July 2020 together with the Building and Development Certifiers Regulation 2020 (‘BDC Reg‘). This article discusses the key regulatory changes they will bring and how these changes…
The State Government has introduced the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (COVID-19 Planning Bodies) Regulation 2020 (‘COVID Reg‘). The COVID Reg deals with the holding of public meetings and public hearings by planning bodies. It is aimed at ensuring both the…
On 24 March 2020, the NSW Parliament passed the COVID-19 Legislation Amendment (Emergency Measures) Act 2020 (‘Emergency Measures Act‘). The Act commences on the date of assent. According to the NSW Parliament’s website, assent occurred on 25 March 2020. The…
The Land and Environment Court has recently considered whether land regulated by a Community Management Scheme (“CMS”) can be the subject of a building information certificate (“BIC”) to regularise unlawful development that contravenes the by-laws of the CMS. Facts In…
A recent decision in the Land and Environment Court (Court) highlights a potential stumbling block for councils when taking enforcement action. The decision reinforces the fact that the Court’s Class 1 jurisdiction, being merits review in nature, is limited as…
Conducting a successful investigation is a complex and difficult task, and investigators need to have a firm grasp on the best techniques to ensure that they gather strong and admissible evidence for future enforcement action. In this blog we look…
A recent decision of the Land and Environment Court highlights the considerations that arise when amending charges defective because of duplicity. A duplicitous charge is one in which the charge, on its face, alleges more than one offence. The Charges…
Enforcement agencies (Agency), such as local councils, regularly use penalty notices (PINs) such as for environment and planning offences under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) and the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act). A…
The Land and Environment Court’s decision in Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment v Leda Manorstead Pty Ltd (No 4) [2019] NSWLEC 58 is a useful reminder of the key principles that apply where multiple development consents operate on the…
The decision of Preston CJ in Dennes v Port Macquarie-Hastings Council [2018] NSWLEC 95 (‘Dennes‘) confirms that, once the period for satisfaction of a deferred commencement condition has expired without the condition being satisfied, the consent cannot be revived on appeal against…
A small but significant change to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act‘) will take effect on 1 September 2018 removing a restriction on the issuing of occupation certificates where a precondition to the issuing of the certificate contained in…
The Standard Instrument – Principle Local Environmental Plan (‘Standard Instrument‘) has been amended to clarify that the minimum lot size development standard does not apply to either the subdivision of land by the registration of strata or community plans, or the subdivision…