Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
Parliament of New South Wales
Long title An Act to institute a system of environmental planning and assessment for the State of New South Wales.
Citation	1979 No. 203
Passed by	Parliament of New South Wales
Passed	22 November 1979
Assented to by	Governor Roden Cutler
Assented to	21 December 1979
Administered by	Department of Planning and Environment
Legislative history
Bill title	Environmental Planning and Assessment Bill 1979
Introduced by	William Haig
Introduced	13 November 1979
Status: Current legislation

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 is an Act of the New South Wales Parliament.

It is an "Act to institute a system of environmental planning and assessment for the State of New South Wales".

The Act covers the entire spectrum of environmental assessment and was divided into 11 Parts.

• Part 1 - Preliminary
• Part 2 - Administration
• Part 2A - Planning Bodies
• Part 3 - Environmental Planning Instruments
• Part 3B - Strategic Planning
• Part 4 - Development Assessment
• Part 4A - Certification Of Development
• Part 4C - Liability And Insurance
• Part 5 - Environmental Assessment
• Part 6 - Implementation And Enforcement
• Part 7 - Finance
• Part 7A - Liability In Respect Of Contaminated Land
• Part 8 - Miscellaneous

It was amended in November 2017 by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Act 2017 (commenced on 1 March 2018), and is now divided into 10 Parts.^[1]

• Part 1 - Preliminary
• Part 2 - Planning Administration
• Part 3 - Planning Instruments
• Part 4 - Development Assessment And Consent
• Part 5 - Infrastructure And Environmental Impact Assessment
• Part 6 - Building And Subdivision Certification
• Part 7 - Infrastructure Contributions And Finance
• Part 8 - Reviews And Appeals
• Part 9 - Implementation And Enforcement
• Part 10 – Miscellaneous

The Act gained considerable controversy with the introduction of section 3A that effectively allowed the Planning Minister to declare a project as of “State significance” and assume direct approval delegation.^[2] Although it was introduced to streamline the planning process and fast track the assessment of large infrastructure projects, a public perception of its misuse was a significant factor in the defeat of the Keneally government.

• Environment of Australia
• Environmental planning

• Text of the Act