News and Insights

Key points The Coty principle is an important principle when considering draft planning schemes that have not yet taken effect. However, as the Court of Appeal has highlighted, the draft planning scheme may be one of many considerations relevant t

Queensland uses an environmental offsets framework to counterbalance unavoidable environmental impacts from development at one site by enhancing and protecting environmental values at another.  On 2 October 2020, the Queensland Government released

On 11 July 2020, public consultation opened on revisions to the R-Codes State Planning Policy 3.1 (SPP 3.1), which forms part of the State Government’s planning reforms to support economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. SPP 3.1 proposes a num

On 27 May 2020, we reported on the Planning and Development Amendment Bill 2020 (WA) (PD Amendment Bill), which is now the Planning and Development Amendment Act 2020 (PD Amendment Act), passed by the WA Parliament on 23 June 2020 and gazetted on 7 J

The Planning and Development Amendment Bill 2020 (WA) (PDA Bill) is currently being considered in the Western Australian Parliament. The PDA Bill amends the Planning and Development Act 2005 (WA) (PDA Act), and other related Acts, in order to introdu

The Western Australian (WA) Court of Appeal has upheld the challenge brought by the Shire of Murray (Shire) against the WA Supreme Court’s decision in IVO Nominees Pty Ltd v Shire of Murray [2019] WASC 67. In this article, Solicitor Lily Robinso

On 4 May 2020, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) published the Local Government Contract Extensions and Variations Report (Report). The Report published the findings of an audit carried out by the OAG which sought to assess and determine whethe

Key issues: Under the Land Administrative Act 1997 (WA), government agencies in Western Australia are empowered to enter on to and/or take any privately owned land for a public work such as roads, hospitals or public schools.  Pursuant to the L