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Overview of Revised NSW Local Planning Agreements Practice Note
The Department of Planning and Environment is publicly exhibiting a document titled ‘Local infrastructure contributions practice notes‘ (Draft VPA Practice Note) as part of its set of new infrastructure contribution practice notes. The Department is seeking feedback until Friday 23…
ALERT: Bill for Housing & Productivity Development Contributions Scheme Passed by Parliament
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Housing and Productivity Contributions) Bill 2023 which was introduced into the NSW Legislative Assembly on 23 May 2023 was passed by Parliament on 28 June 2023. It is currently awaiting assent and will commence on…
Do positive covenants run with the land?
A recent case in the NSW Court of Appeal has considered whether a positive covenant for the payment of money that is registered on title runs with the land and is binding on successors in title. General rule in relation…
Risks of Relying on Caveats
The recent Supreme Court case Kitanovski v Ibraham [2022] NSWSC 1232 provides a reminder that the registration of a caveat on title to protect an unregistered interest in land is ultimately less secure than a registered interest in land and…
Court upholds Aboriginal Land Claim over former Waverton Bowling Club
The Land and Environment Court (LEC) has found that the land of the former Waverton Bowling Club is ‘claimable Crown land‘ under s36 of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (ALR Act) and has ordered that it be transferred to the…
Final transition to e-conveyancing coming on 11 October 2021
For some years now, the NSW Government has been effecting changes to property and conveyancing laws to transition from a paper-based conveyancing system to an electronic one. On 11 October 2021 (‘Cessation Day‘), two major reforms will come into force…
Discussion Paper on the Local Government Tendering Regulation Review
Earlier this month, the Office of Local Government published a discussion paper titled ‘Local Government Tendering Regulation Review‘ (‘Discussion Paper‘) concerning the tendering provisions in Part 7 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 (‘Regulation‘). The Discussion Paper proposes amendments to…
ALERT: Amendment to Crown Land Management Regulation – Removal of POM Adoption Deadline
On 4 June 2021 the Crown Land Management Regulation 2018 (CLM Regulation) was amended to remove the deadline for councils managing Crown land (Council Crown land managers) to adopt plans of management for that land by 30 June 2021, and removing…
ALERT: Independent Statutory Review of Crown Land Management Act 2016
The Crown Land Commissioner, Professor Richard Bush, is undertaking an independent statutory review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (CLM Act) and has published a discussion paper seeking the public’s input into the review. About the statutory review The Commissioner was…
ALERT: New Practice Note on Voluntary Planning Agreements in NSW
On 12 February 2021, the Planning Secretary issued a new Planning Agreements Practice Note (VPA Practice Note). On the same day, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Development Contributions) Regulation 2021 (Amendment Regulation) made a number of amendments to 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…
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