Major reform for major project approvals in NSW - new legislation commences

Key Points:

Significant reforms to NSW planning laws, including a new assessment and approval regime for major projects, commenced operation on 1 August.

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Infrastructure and Other Planning Reform) Act 2005 (Reform Act) introduces a new Part 3A into the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (Planning Act), to cater specifically for major projects.

The commencement of most of the Reform Act was accompanied by new regulations, and amendments to the "State significant development" State environmental planning policy (SEPP), which will now be called the Major Projects SEPP.

The Government's aims for Part 3A appear to be to provide greater certainty for all stakeholders at an earlier stage in the process, greater flexibility in the process, and a more integrated and streamlined approach across a range of related legislation. We looked at the new Part 3A regime in more detail in the July edition of Property, Planning and Environment Insights.

The Reform Act also contains amendments which aim to standardise local planning instruments, to provide more flexibility for aspects of the development consent process (under Part 4 of the Planning Act), and to facilitate the administration of the assessment regime for less significant public infrastructure proposals (under Part 5 of the Planning Act).

The major projects approval process in Part 3A will apply to:

• development of state or regional environmental planning significance which would otherwise be governed by Part 4 (via the Major Projects SEPP) - this effectively replaces the "State significant development" regime; and
• public infrastructure development which would otherwise be governed by Part 5 and would require an EIS under Part 5 (via a Ministerial order made at the same time as Part 3A commenced) - this effectively means that Part 5 will now apply only to public infrastructure development which does not require an EIS.

Although most of the Reform Act has commenced, the operation of Part 3A will depend on Ministerial guidelines for assessment requirements, which have not yet been prepared. In addition, provisions relating to the standardisation of local planning instruments have not yet commenced, presumably because the consultation draft of the standard planning instrument has not yet been released.