Environment & Planning Experience
For details of our expertise, see the Environment & Planning page.
Our recent experience includes:
- Advising on requirements for licences and approvals as well as powers of authorised officers under NSW environmental legislation including the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979, the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997 and the Native Vegetation Act 2003, the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995;
- Obtaining and negotiating conditions of Environment Protection Licences under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997;
- Providing strategic advice to manage the risks of environmental investigations including dealing with an environmental incident, advising with respect to reporting, responding to notices as well as providing support and advice to clients during the course of an investigation;
- Providing front-end risk management including Legal Risk Registers, Incident Management Manual/Guidelines, review of environmental management systems, developing governance framework, environmental awareness / due diligence training to management;
- Advising on Native Title issues including the application of the Native Title Act and relevant Native Title case law such as the Wik and Anderson decisions, compulsory acquisition of land on which native title has not been extinguished and processes (such as the Right to Negotiate) under the Native Title Act.
- Delivering presentations on enforcement powers and evidence collection for prosecutions under environmental legislation under NSW environmental legislation.
- Advising on the protection of species and sites, including Ramsar wetlands, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) as well as the referral, assessment and approval process under that Act;
- Submitting representations for a mining company charged with breaching a licence condition arising out of its blasting operation at the mine. Our representations to the EPA resulted in the EPA withdrawing charges and ceasing action for other similar matters;
- Advising on a major sand mining operation in Kurnell including drafting a prospectus in preparation for the corporation's public listing.
- Providing due diligence advice for a corporate takeover of a publicly listed company valued at $750 million. The takeover involved assets located throughout Australia and New Zealand.
- Advising electricity power stations on their environmental licensing conditions and the EPA's powers to impose such conditions.
- Providing advice on an array of legal issues arising from the operation of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), including the validity and construction of development consents, existing use rights, enforcement powers, modification of consents, Part 3A major projects, Part 5 environmental assessments and section 94 contributions;
- Advising on Subdivision, Construction and Occupation Certificates;
- Advising in relation to all aspects of development consents including validity, retrospective approval, permissibility, lapsing issues, whether or not a consent can be modified by a section 96 application, integrated development approvals and other provisions of the EP&A Act;
- Advising on the reasonableness and validity of conditions of development consent. For example, conditions requiring section 88B Instruments under the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) and conditions restricting the hours of operation and conditions imposed pursuant to a section 96 modification application;
- Providing advice to Council's on the preparation and interpretation of Local Environmental Plans, Development Control Plans and Council Policies.
- Advising Council's on exercising their functions under Part 4 and Part 5 of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 including advice on environmental obligations and assessment functions.
- Advising Council's on the use of the public land, its classification as community or operational land, the interpretation of Plans of Management and advice on converting community land to operational land.
- Advising Council's on the provision of water, waste services, the construction and maintenance of roads, the provision of library services, and the regulation of Companion Animals.
- Advising Councils on the preparation and adoption of Codes of Conduct, advising on potential breaches of the Code of Conduct and participation in conduct committees.
- Providing contractual and probity advice for the Council's participation in public private partnerships.
- Advising Councils on the rateability of land, exemptions from rates, the application of special charges approved by the Minister and the enforcement of unpaid rates and charges against real property.
- Advising Councils on public access to Council documents under s12 of the Local Government Act 1993, the Freedom of Information Act 1989 and the proportion offered by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.
- Appearing for either the Prosecution or Defence in prosecutions relating to Threatened Species and Cultural Heritage;
- Appearing for coal mining company in a prosecution for water pollution arising out of the operation of a mine;
- Appearing for the contractor responsible for operating a substantial landfill that is charged with pollution matters;
- Regularly representing consent authorities and developers in the Land and Environment Court in relation to merit appeals, environmental prosecutions, injunctive proceedings, judicial review and valuation appeals;
- Acting in Land and Environment Court proceedings where issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable development, precautionary principle and environmental impact from odour, noise and dust have been raised;
- Appearing for a publicly listed company in the Land and Environment Court in relation to an objection to a concrete batching plant that was to be constructed next door to its food preparation plant at Mascot. Following the commencement of the proceedings a settlement was negotiated on terms favourable to a client. This enabled a client to minimise the adverse environmental impacts of the proposed development to its food preparation and retain its contractual obligations with airlines.
- Providing planning advice for a $200 million redevelopment at Homebush Bay. Issues included interpreting the in-principle staged development consent granted by the Land and Environment Court, changes to the planning controls, remediation of the land and changes of use to maximise the development potential of the site. .
- Acting for a quarry company in an appeal before the Land and Environment Court relating to the modification of development consent for the extraction of basalt at a quarry at Exeter. The Court permitted the client to obtain supplies of basalt on an interim basis sustaining its commercial operation until a Commission of Inquiry determined a separate application for the quarry.
- Appearing for the Minister for Planning in the NSW Court of Appeal in relation to a matter of significance for State or regional environmental planning that was subject to judicial review.
- Defending an appeal brought by a third party in the Land and Environment Court in relation to an approval granted by the Minister for Planning for a multi-million dollar quarry of State significance. The Minister's approval was upheld by the Court and the client modified the conditions of development consent during the proceedings to enhance its development.
- Advising the Commonwealth Government in relation to the compliance of expert environmental reports with the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) and redevelopment of various land.
- Providing advice in relation to the expansion and development of port activities at Port Botany.
- Acting for a Council that had part of its major reserve compulsorily acquired by the State Rail Authority for the New Southern Rail Link. The Council successfully negotiated a settlement and recovered its reasonable costs.
- Attending to Land and Environment Court proceedings for compensation relating to the compulsory acquisition of land by a public authority. The client successfully obtained compensation above that initially offered by the public authority together with all reasonable costs.
- Advising a foreign company on the development of wind farms and the acquisition of various parcels of land for the project.
- Acting for a development company challenging the Valuation of Land relating to the assessment of Land Tax payable to the Office of State Revenue.
