2014-09-16 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                              16 September 2014


REPORT
The Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning has released a
consultation version of the draft Planning and Development Bill 2014 (P&D Bill) and draft
Planning and Environment Court Bill (P&EC Bill) for comment until 26 September 2014. If
ultimately enacted, the Draft Bills will replace the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (SPA) and
are part of the government’s reform agenda to develop ‘Australia’s best planning system’.
The stated purpose of the P&D Bill is to ‘facilitate Queensland’s prosperity’, with the concept
of prosperity, encompassing balancing economic growth, environmental protection and
community wellbeing. There will not be a reference to ‘ecological sustainability’ which was a
fundamental concept under SPA and the Integrated Planning Act 1997 (IPA).
The Key Concepts of the Bills as identified in an information paper by the state include:
•    SPA and the associated regulation will be replaced with a new Act and Regulation,
     with only a small number of SPA provisions to be transferred across to the proposed
     new legislation;
•    An integrated system is still intended which will integrate planning and development
     assessment for state, regional and local matters;
•    The proposed system seeks to provide a clear distinction between the system and its
     outcomes to provide for more navigable and effective legislation; and
•    Generally, process and detail is removed from the legislation and placed either in a
     Regulation or other instruments.
The P&D Bill is some 250 pages, a significant reduction from the 700 pages of SPA.
However, the Regulation has not been made available to date and this is where most of the
requirements for planning scheme drafting and development assessment process will be
included.
Chapter 2 – Planning
Local Planning Instruments are addressed within Chapter 2 of the P&D Bill. A Local
Planning Instrument would include a Planning Scheme, or a Temporary Local Planning
Instrument or a Planning Scheme Policy.
Local planning instruments are required to be consistent with State planning instruments and
to the extent of any inconsistencies between planning instruments, the State Planning Policy
prevails, then the Regional Plan, then local planning instruments.
The process for making or amending planning schemes will change with the Chief Executive
of the Department giving the Local Government a notice about the required process rather
than that process being spelt out in the legislation as it is at present. The Local Government
must follow the process stated in the notice. The State suggests this provides more
flexibility and ability to negotiate process steps.
The Standard Planning Scheme Provisions (or what is currently known as QPP) will be
abandoned in favour of splitting these into mandatory provisions to be included in a
Regulation (likely to include definitions) and a balance to be provided in guidance material
(such as the template for schemes). No further details are known as to what exactly would
be mandatory.
Senior State Department staff have indicated that while some Local Governments have
recently introduced SPA/ QPP based planning schemes there are a great many more who
are a long way from finalising theirs and will be “transitioned” so that their final schemes
comply with the new legislation. There are also many Local Governments like Noosa
Council who have not commenced a SPA-based planning scheme and they are not
expected to at this stage.



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