Extensive Queensland Planning Reform Legislation Introduced

In recent times, there have been moves in various State jurisdictions to overhaul their planning processes; for example, see our article Planning, Development and Infrastructure Laws: SA's Major Reform Bill which discusses some of the major changes introduced into the South Australian Parliament in September 2015. Last week (on 12 November 2015), the Queensland Parliament followed suit introducing into its assembly a package of three Bills as follows:

• Planning Bill 2015 - described in the second reading as a Bill for an Act ". . .providing for an efficient, effective, transparent, integrated, coordinated and accountable system of land use planning and development assessment to facilitate the achievement of ecological sustainability."

• Planning (Consequential) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 - described in the second reading as " . . . a Bill to make consequential amendments to the legislation stated in this Act for the purposes of the Planning Act 2015, and to amend other legislation stated in this Act for particular purposes."
• Planning and Environment Court Bill 2015 - described in the second reading as a Bill which ". . . Together with the Planning Bill 2015, . . . will govern the dispute resolution framework for planning and development matters." 

The Planning Bill

One key change made by the Planning Bill is that it will repeal the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 replacing it with, according to the Minister's second reading speech ". . . an improved planning and development assessment system". Further, while repealing the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 the Bill, according to the Minister's second reading speech ". . . retains ecological sustainability as a core purpose of the legislation as it is under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009".

The Bill, according to the second reading speech has ". . . reviewed the planning reform process started by the former government and retained the State Assessment and Referral Agency as part of the Queensland planning framework" which the Minister acknowledge was valuable because of ". . . how this supports applicants when seeking a decision from the state".

The Bill also retains the State Planning Policy as a method ". . . to comprehensively present the state's interests in one document, making it easier for local governments to reflect and balance the state's interests up-front in local planning schemes". The Minister also indicating, in the second reading, that funds had also been directed ". . . to enhance the systems and processes surrounding the State Assessment and Referral Agency and the State Planning Policy so they can add more value for Queensland".

In response to a perceived need for "greater transparency and accountability" the Bill is to restore appeal rights for objectors without fear of cost orders and will require that third-party submission rights are retained for all impact assessable applications. Further, the Bill, will require assessment managers to publish reasons for both approvals and refusals, which the Minister States in the second reading: ". . . goes a long way towards making the system more open and transparent and aims to rebuild some of the trust that has been lost over time between communities and the planning system".

The Planning and Environment Court Bill

The Bill's main purpose is stated as creating a ". . . stand-alone legislation for the Planning and Environment Court to govern the constitution, composition, jurisdiction and powers of the court that has to date been embodied in the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (to be repealed)".

The current Planning and Environment Court, according to the second reading speech, has its jurisdiction conferred on it under approximately 28 different Acts in addition to the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, an arrangement not viewed as efficient by the government, which takes the view that:

The Bill, also according to the second reading, continues the opportunity for parties to a proceeding before the Planning and Environment Court to participate in an alternative dispute resolution as a process for dealing with matters, because they are seen as ". . . efficient and lower-cost options for resolving disputes to the benefit of the parties to the proceeding."

The Opposition's Version of Planning

It should be noted that the LNP opposition had also introduced (in June 2015) "private member" legislation along the same lines and with similar intentions (introduced by the Hon. Tim Nicholls - LNP Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Planning, Small Business, Employment and Trade), namely:

• Planning and Development (Planning for Prosperity) Bill;
• Planning and Development (Planning Court) Bill; and
• Planning and Development (Planning for Prosperity - Consequential Amendments) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015.

The above were prepared when the now opposition was in power (2012 to 2015) but these earlier versions of the Bills subsequently lapsed after the LNP lost government in the 2015 election.

Generally the LNP Bills had some similarities to the Government's Legislation but they were referred to the Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee for review and seem now very unlikely to progress any further given that the government has introduced its own legislation.

For more on similarities and difference, see: Another twist in Queensland’s planning reform – Private Members’ Bills.

Reaction and Comment

The Sunshine Coast Daily reports the "Organisation of Sunshine Coast Associations of Residents" (OSCAR) through its president Ian Christesen as saying that, the new planning legislation was:

Another concern reported was that:

The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) Qld solicitor Revel Pointon is reported as commenting on its scorecard, which it designed to help the community make sense of complex planning laws. The EDO say its scorecard revealed Queenslanders were not getting the first-class planning framework they deserved:

What's Next?

The legislation results from consultation drafts made public by the Minister in May 2015 and the three Bills will now be reviewed by the Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee. It has also been announced that while the bills are under review, the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning will: ". . . seek feedback on several planning instruments that support the day-to-day operation of the system". The consultation period is to run from Monday 23 November 2015 to Friday 5 February 2016 and the matters to be considered include the:

• development assessment rules;
• plan making rules;
• infrastructure designation guidelines; and
• planning regulation. 

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Planning Bill 2015, Planning (Consequential) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015, Planning and Environment Court Bill 2015 - and second reading speeches as reported in the TimeBase LawOne Service.

Planning and Development (Planning for Prosperity) Bill; Planning and Development (Planning Court) Bill; and Planning and Development (Planning for Prosperity - Consequential Amendments) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 - and second reading speeches as reported in the TimeBase LawOne Service.

Another twist in Queensland’s planning reform – Private Members’ Bills

Better Planning for Queensland Bills released for public comment

Residents mark down State Govt for new planning laws (Sunshine Coast Daily)