Cooran - Development Application

6. CURRENT PLANNING CONTROLS
6.1 Commonwealth Legislation
As a licensed telecommunications carrier, nbn must operate under the
provisions of the Telecommunications Act 1997 and the following supporting
legislation:

   •    The Telecommunications Code of Practice 1997;
   •    The Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Determination 2018 (as
        amended); and
   •    The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act
        1999.
6.1.1   The Telecommunications Act

This legislation establishes the criteria for ‘low impact’ telecommunication
facilities. If a proposed facility satisfies the requirements of a ‘low impact’
facility, the development is exempt from the planning approval process.

Further clarification of the term ‘low impact’ is provided in the
Telecommunications Act 1997 and the Telecommunications (Low Impact
Facilities) Determination 2018, which was gazetted subsequent to the Act. The
Telecommunications (Low Impact Facilities) Determination 2018 establishes
certain facilities, which cannot be considered ‘low impact’ facilities.

The proposed facility is not low impact under the definitions contained in the
Commonwealth legislation as it involves the construction of a new tower.
Planning consent is therefore required for the proposed facility.

6.1.2   Telecommunications Code of Practice 1997

Under the Telecommunications Act 1997, the Government established the
Telecommunications Code of Practice 1997, which sets out the conditions under
which a carrier must operate.

Section 2.11 of the Telecommunications Code of Practice 1997 sets out the
design, planning and installation requirements for the carriers to ensure the
installation of facilities is in accordance with industry ‘best practice’. This is
required to:

        “… minimise the potential degradation of the environment and the visual
        amenity associated with the facilities.” [Section 2.11(3)]

The siting and design of the proposal has taken place in accordance with Section
3 (Planning and Siting) of the Australian Standard – Siting of Radio
Communications Facilities (AS 3516.2).


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