The NSW Government has introduced the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Territorial Limits) Bill 2019 (NSW) (Bill) into the NSW Parliament. The Bill proposes to prohibit conditions of consent which would regulate downstream greenhouse gas emissions. Read more

The NSW Government has introduced the Design and Building Practitioners Bill 2019 (Bill) to the NSW Parliament. The Bill responds to the Building Confidence report dated February 2018 by Professor Peter Shergold and Ms Bronwyn Weird (Report). The Report addressed the compliance and enforcement issues faced by the building and construction industry in NSW following serious defects with newly built apartment towers in Sydney. Read more

A draft bill to amend the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) was released yesterday for public consultation. The draft bill reflects a wholesale review of the Act and proposes the most significant amendments since it was enacted. All land users in WA whose current and future activities are regulated by the Act should closely follow these reforms. Read more

A new Bill introduced into the Victorian Parliament seeks to update the habitat compensation arrangements within Melbourne’s growth corridors, providing additional funding to support State government acquisition of land for conservation area reserves given increases in land values. Read more

On 17 October 2019 the Commonwealth government introduced the Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 (Cth) (Bill) to amend (amongst other legislation) the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (NTA). The Bill proposes the same amendments to the Act as an earlier amendment bill introduced in February 2019 and which lapsed with the federal election. The proposed amendments to the NTA are the most substantive since the ‘Wik’ amendments in 1998.  To assist project proponents in understanding the potential impacts of the Bill, the table below sets out proposed key amendments with the likely implications for existing and future development. Read more

Developments have recently occurred in the Geraldton and South West native title settlements. In-principle agreement has been reached for the Geraldton settlement, while a further hearing in the judicial review proceedings relating to the South West settlement has been listed for November 2019. Land users with interests in these regions should follow the progress of the settlements. Read more

The Queensland Government is asking the broader Queensland community to weigh in on its ‘Tracks to Treaty’ initiative to create a treaty between the Queensland Government and Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait people. Submissions on any matters raised in the consultation paper close at 5:00pm on 6 December 2019. Read more

Proponents of new and expansion coal mine projects face increased scrutiny to facilitate ecologically sustainable development and ensure that the cost of environmental effects is not disproportionately borne by future generations. We explore the refusal of an open cut and underground coal mine in Bylong Valley, NSW. Read more