A recent decision of the NSW Court of Appeal deals with whether land being developed for the purpose of residential apartments can be categorised as ‘residential’ for rating purposes under s516 of the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act).
Acting under delegation – Do you have the power?
30 Oct, 2016
The Courts are often required to consider the validity of decisions made pursuant to delegated authority. A recent decision of the Land and Environment Court provides an example of the difficulties which may arise when the terms of an instrument…
Local Government Act Phase 1 Amendments in force
29 Sep, 2016
On 30 August 2016 the Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Act 2016 (Amendment Act) was made and the majority of its provisions are now in force. This blog sets out which provisions are in force or will shortly commence operation, and…
The recent New South Wales Court of Appeal (‘Court‘) decision in Secure Parking Pty Ltd v Woollahra Municipal Council [2016] NSWCA 154, is one of the few cases which deals with the creation of a contract in the context of Part 7 of…
The Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Bill 2016 (‘Governance and Planning Bill‘) was introduced into Parliament on 22 June 2016. The Governance and Planning Bill is the first phase of the Government’s broader reform of the Local Government Act 1993…
My previous article (19 new amalgamated Councils for NSW), focused on material operational matters for those new Councils created by the Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016 and the Local Government (City of Parramatta and Cumberland) Proclamation 2016 of 12…
The Bill was introduced into the Legislative Assembly, yesterday 21 June 2016, addressing further governance issues relating to the disclosure of pecuniary interests and political donations in local government. The bill proposes the following:
The Government has taken its next step in implementing its reform package for the management of the NSW coastline by introducing the Coastal Management Bill 2016 (Bill) into Parliament. The Bill, once it commences, will replace the current Coastal Protection Act 1979 (CP Act).
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (‘Tribunal‘) has recently upheld an earlier decision of the Local Government Pecuniary Interest Tribunal (‘PIT‘) holding that the Deputy Mayor of Auburn City Council breached the pecuniary interest provisions of the Local Government Act…
The Local Government Amendment (Councillor Misconduct and Poor Performance) Act 2015 (‘Amending Act‘) commenced on 13 November 2015, introducing a host of changes to the Local Government Act 1993 which, according to the Minister, are designed to build on earlier reforms by…
The NSW Court of Appeal has overturned the Land and Environment Court’s finding that a council officer had the authority, as an agent of the council, to sign an instrument amending that council’s local environmental plan, so as to rezone…
The Land and Environment Court in the recent case of Friends of King Edward Park Inc v Newcastle City Council (No 2) [2015] NSWLEC 76 found that a commercial function centre proposed to be used for private events such as…