The majority of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (NSW) (the Act) commenced on 1 July 2018. The Act significantly reforms the use and management of Crown land in NSW. . The Act consolidates eight pieces of legislation into one Act, repealing the Crown Lands Act 1989, the Crown Lands (Continued Tenures) Act 1989, the Western Lands Act 1901 and certain other legislation.…

This is the next in our series of posts commenting on the recent updates to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act). Parts one and two are available on this blog. In this post, we consider the introduction of Local Strategic Planning Statements (LSPS) and the implications they will have for the future…

The Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW) (BCA) commenced on 25 August 2017 and with it commenced a restructure to the assessment of biodiversity impacts under New South Wales planning law. Among the raft of changes is the introduction of biodiversity development assessment reports (BDARs) which replace species impact statements under the now repealed Threatened Species…

The Greater Sydney Commission has released the new Greater Sydney Region Plan, titled A Metropolis of Three Cities. This plan is the first regional plan developed by the Greater Sydney Commission and sets out a 40-year vision (to 2056) and establishes a 20-year plan to manage growth and change for Greater Sydney. Three connected cities…

This is the second in our series of posts analysing and providing comment upon the suite of updates to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act) which commenced on 1 March 2018. Part one is available on this blog. In part two we consider the objects of the Act. Background As most readers…

In 1998 the Good Friday Agreement was signed in Northern Ireland, India and Pakistan tested nuclear devices, Google was founded, Viagra came onto the market, Titanic became the first film to make $1 billion, and a new planning framework for managing contaminated land was implemented in New South Wales. Twenty years later and the contaminated…

The Chinese Government’s ban on the import of certain recyclables and waste announced last year came into force on 1 January 2018. The ban is impacting the Australian waste industry, which now needs to find new markets for recyclables and waste that was previously exported to China. Local councils and waste operators should be looking…