Reform of the NSW planning system
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In 2013 the New South Wales (NSW) Government proposed a new planning legislation to improve the integrity and performance of the planning system. The new legislation represented the first major overhaul of planning laws since the introduction of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 over 30 years ago. The new legislation comprised the Planning Bill 2013 and Planning Administration Bill 2013. These Bills are enabling legislation to support the implementation of a new NSW planning system.
A Better Regulation Statement (BRS) was required for significant new and amending regulatory proposals. Its purpose was to analyse the regulatory proposal in accordance with Better Regulation Principles to justify the need for regulation. This means that a BRS examines costs and benefits of alternative options and assesses if the regulatory proposal has a higher net benefit compared to other options.
The key regulatory changes examined in this BRS include:
community participation – the introduction of upfront community participation undertaken together with strategic planning
strategic planning – the introduction of a clear hierarchy of strategic plans to link state regional, sub-regional and local planning
development assessment – the introduction of a new development track known as code assessment
infrastructure – improved links between growth and infrastructure and a new framework for infrastructure contributions, and
building regulation – the retention and expansion of the building certification system.
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