The Victorian Government has continued with its intention to introduce a new windfall gains tax (WGT) in respect of gains made by landowners arising from increases in land value following rezoning of land. Following consultation with stakeholders, further details about the value mechanism and rezoning and transaction exemptions have been announced. Read more

Following a proclamation in the Western Australian Government Gazette on 22 October 2021, a second suite of Environmental Protection Amendment Act 2020 (WA) (EP Amendment Act) provisions came into operation on 25 October 2021. Read more

The NSW Court of Appeal (NSWCA) has dismissed an appeal from a decision of the Land and Environment Court of NSW (LEC) brought by KEPCO Bylong Australia Pty Ltd (KEPCO). The appeal (and earlier judicial review proceedings) primarily concerned the application and construction of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) 2007 (the Mining SEPP). Both judgments make important contributions to the growing body of jurisprudence in the area of climate change-related litigation and affirm the broad discretion of planning authorities in assessing climate change impacts. Read more

The Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia has released the much anticipated ‘Final report into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge’. In this post, we provide an overview of the key findings and recommendations of the report. Read more

On 15 September 2021, Queensland Treasury released its annual report for the Financial Provisioning Scheme (FPS) governed by the Mineral and Energy Resources (Financial Provisioning) Act 2018 (Qld) (FP Act). The annual report provides insight into risk outcomes, status of transition, contribution fund and surety balances, and planned expenditure. Snapshot Of the aggregate $7.4 billion … Read more

The Victorian Government’s second Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) renewable power and LGC offtake reverse auction is expected to deliver at least 600 MW of large scale renewable energy projects, marking a significant contribution toward reaching Victoria’s renewable energy target of 50% by 2030. Read more

The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021 establishes a regulatory framework to facilitate the full life-cycle of offshore electricity infrastructure, from construction through to decommissioning, in the Commonwealth offshore area. Read more

The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has released a draft Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (NSW) for consultation. The regulation will make changes to numerous aspects of the planning system, including in relation to development applications and modifications, designated and complying development and assessments under Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW). Read more