A key feature of the Land and Environment Court and the legislation it administers is the ability of the public to participate. This is especially true in relation to appeals to the Court against the refusal of development applications and applications to modify development consents in where persons who objected to the development or modification the subject of the appeal are given the opportunity to make both written and oral submissions to the Court.
Ordinarily, up to six people who made a submission objecting to a proposed development or modification of a development during the public notification period are given the opportunity to inform the Court orally of their concerns during the on-site inspection conducted at the commencement of the conciliation conference or hearing.
However, as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions currently in place for Greater Sydney, the Court has suspended all on-site inspections and requires conciliation conferences and hearings to be conducted remotely, by Microsoft Teams.
This is not a new process to the Court, who first adopted a COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic (most recently updated on 6 April 2021). Consequently, Commissioners of the Court and practitioners are well versed at conducting conciliation conferences and hearings remotely.
A copy of the Court’s COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy adopted on 6 April 2021 can be accessed here.
As on-site inspections and face-to-face conciliation conferences and hearings are not currently possible, objectors’ evidence can either be reduced to writing and supplemented with any photographic evidence that would assist the Court to understand their concerns, or be given orally by telephone or Microsoft Teams.
The number of residents permitted to make oral submissions at the commencement of a conciliation conference or hearing remains limited to six in accordance with the Court’s Conciliation Conference Policy and Site Inspection Policy.
In addition to being able to make a submission to the Court, all hearings in the Court continue to be conducted in an open forum to which the public and press have access. In that regard, local residents and other interested people are able to request a link to observe hearings being conducted by Microsoft Teams.
Key Takeaways
- The Council is required to notify all persons who objected to a development application or modification application of the date of any conciliation conference or hearing.
- Persons who objected to a proposal are able to register with the lawyers acting for the Council to make a submission to the Court.
- Submissions can be made either in writing, or orally by MS Teams or telephone for conciliation conferences and hearings being conducted remotely.
- Residents and other interested people are able to request a link to observe hearings being conducted by Microsoft Teams.
If you have any questions about public participation in Land and Environment Court proceedings, or require advice or assistance with any matter relating to local government, planning or environmental law, please contact accredited specialist and Partner Adam Seton at aseton@marsdens.net.au or Senior Associate Jisella Corradini-Bird at jcorradini-bird@marsdens.net.au or otherwise by calling them on (02) 4626 5077.
The contents of this publication are for reference purposes only. This publication does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Specific legal advice should always be sought separately before taking any action based on this publication.
