The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces has announced the NSW Government’s new approach for precinct planning in Greater Sydney. The Minister stated that the new precinct planning framework would clear the decks of planning proposals stuck in the system, refocus the State’s planning efforts and empower local councils to plan strategically. Read more

On 18 November 2019, the updated version of the Equator Principles (EP), EP4, was adopted by the Equator Principles Association. EP4 will apply to mandated transactions from 1 July 2020. This article discusses the key amendments made. Read more

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

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

Our new Climate Change: Succeed in a lower-carbon future report, which gathers insights from our global experts, considers the political, regulatory and commercial pressures arising from climate change, looks at the steps for ensuring that risk management practices measure up to the climate change challenge, and examines the benefits for businesses in all sectors that lead the transformation and innovate toward a lower-carbon future. Read more

The NSW Environment Protection Authority has released two draft Contaminated Land Guidelines. Public consultation closes on 8 October 2019. Read more

This week, the Victorian EPA and DELWP released draft regulations and other subordinate instruments required under the Environment Protection Act 2017 for public input, providing insight into the EPA’s proposed approach to many features of Victoria’s new environment protection framework. Read more