Land and Environment Court - Working Party


Terms of Reference

On 7 April 2000, the Attorney General, the Hon J W Shaw QC MLC announced the establishment of a Working Party to examine the legislative basis upon which decisions in relation to development applications are currently reviewed by the Land and Environment Court in accordance with the provisions of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, including but not limited to:

(i) the most appropriate manner in which to review the decisions of councils in relation to development applications;
(ii) the constitution of the Land and Environment Court in reviewing the decisions of councils, including whether the Court should be constituted by more than one Judge or commissioner or by commissioners possessing specified qualifications or expertise;
(iii) whether the Court should have regard to any additional matters in reviewing a council decision in relation to a development application;
(iv) ways in which to streamline the manner in which development applications are processed by councils and the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning so as to reduce the incidence of such reviews; and
(v) whether greater reliance could be placed upon alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in resolving disputes in relation to development applications.

In conducting its review, the Working Party should call for written submissions from all interested parties, and may call upon stakeholders to attend meetings of the Working Party, as appropriate, in the course of considering their submissions.