2015-01-12 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                   12 January 2015


A working draft of the proposed MALPI has been released. Its format is quite different to the
current one and incorporates the Minister’s rules and guidelines for various aspects. Some
amendments which may seem relatively minor (such as the update of the Priority Infrastructure
Plan to a conforming Local Government Infrastructure Plan) do not qualify as a “minor”
amendment and have to go through the full process as if creating a new one.

3.5   Infrastructure Designation
The draft legislation proposes various changes to what is known as a community infrastructure
designation in the SPA, as outlined below:
•     The removal of the word “Community” is a deliberate move to illustrate it is not just
      available for facilities such as schools or churches but also for linear infrastructure such as
      pipes or transmission line etc.
•     The Planning Minister will be the sole designating Minister for Infrastructure Designation in
      Queensland.
•     The Minister must be satisfied that adequate environmental assessment has been carried
      out including adequate consultation on that assessment (the detail of this has not yet been
      built into the draft regulations however a Draft Guideline on the matter has been released)
•     Local governments will no longer have powers to designate infrastructure.
•     Infrastructure designations will be accepted development so, with the exception of building
      work, no development approval will be necessary. However the Minister is required to
      consider the local planning scheme before making the designation. Development is still
      subject to obligations or assessments under other Acts (for example covering cultural
      heritage or vegetation protection).
•     Designations are open to both public and private infrastructure, and both will be exempt
      from planning scheme requirements and from infrastructure charges. This is particularly of
      interest in relation to private schools which might be used for community or business
      purposes other than education on weekends and in the evenings.

4.    Planning Scheme Transition
When the P&D Act commences, the existing planning schemes remain operational however they
will need to “transition” and how this occurs will depend on the age, status and mechanics of a
scheme. For instance it is over 10 years since the Noosa Plan was drafted under the Integrated
Planning Act (IPA). Over 30 Queensland Planning Schemes have now been completed in line
with the Sustainable Planning Act (SPA) and many others are in progress.
The tables of assessment within the Noosa Plan reflect the categories of assessment specified
by current legislation. Development applications received on or after day one of the
commencement of the proposed P&D Act will continue to be assessed against the Noosa Plan
but in line with the terminology and decision rules of the new P&D Act. This includes new
categories of assessment.
Under the P&D Act there will be three categories of development, namely prohibited, assessable
or accepted development. Prohibited development is development for which a development
application may not be made. Assessable development is development for which a development
approval is required and it can be subject to either standard or merit assessment. Accepted
development is development for which a development approval is not required.
In assessing development against the Noosa Plan and applying these new categories of
assessment, a framework for transition is required which assists interpretation in development
assessment.
As a fundamental element of the transition framework, the P&D Act contains transitional
legislative provisions establishing rules for translating the categories of assessment from IPA or
SPA to the proposed assessment categories. The below table provides a summary comparison
of these provisions.


                                                                                     Page 7 of 147