Planning Scheme Regulations 2023

Overview

Changes to the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act) being made by the Planning and Development Amendment Act 2020 (PD Amendment Act) will enable the making of regulations to streamline scheme assessments.

Currently, all local and regional planning schemes must be referred to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for a determination on whether the scheme should be assessed under Part IV of the EP Act. In many cases, new or amended planning schemes will not have any significant impact on the environment. This referral process is time consuming and diverts resources from higher-priority work without benefiting the environment.

Section 56 of the PD Amendment Act will introduce section 48AAA into the EP Act. Once proclaimed, section 48AAA of the EP Act will enable the making of regulations prescribing the types of planning schemes that are not required to be assessed by the EPA.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (the department) collaborated with other state agencies and stakeholders and worked with the EPA to develop the draft regulations.

The department sought feedback on the Environmental Protection Amendment Regulations 2022: Discussion paper - exposure draft and Planning Schemes Regulations 2023 - Consultation draft

The public consultation period ran from 23 February 2023 to 14 April 2023.

Consultation update

We thank everyone who made a submission during the consultation phase. 

We will analyse the submissions and seek the EPA’s recommendation that the regulations can be made on the basis that the classes of schemes to be prescribed will not have a significant effect on the environment.

Related documents

Environmental Protection Amendment Regulations 2022: Discussion paper - exposure draft

Planning Schemes Regulations 2023 - Consultation draft