From March 2018, the NSW Government introduced legislation across all Sydney, Wollongong and Central Coast Council's to establish a Local Planning Panel (LPP). The panel consists of one chairperson, two expert members and one community member, which are rotated from a pool of independent qualified individuals. Their responsibility is to undertake the following functions:

• assess and determine certain development applications (DAs), and
• provide advice to Council on Planning Proposals (from 1 June 2018)

As of August 2020, the NSW Government made changes to the way LPPs work to make them more efficient and to improve the assessment and determination times of DAs and maintain panel oversight of sensitive and contentious applications.

These changes were made as part of the Planning Acceleration Program to support the State’s immediate and long-term economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

The changes will speed up panel determinations by: 

• reducing the need to conduct public panel meetings for non-contentious matters by applying a ‘10-or-more’ objection trigger for public meetings
• reducing the amount of modifications going to panels
• obliging panel chairs to more actively manage DAs coming to the panels to reduce panel deferrals and assessment timeframes
• allowing chairs to bring forward determination on DAs that are experiencing unreasonable delays of over 180 days from lodgement
• introducing panel performance measures.

To find out more information about the referral criteria, visit the Department of Planning, Industry & Environment website.

Elected Councillors no longer decide the outcome of individual development applications and are instead referred to the LPP for consideration and determination.

Council resolved to establish an independent local panel at its meeting on 19 February 2018

Local Planning Panel meetings are generally held on the first Thursday of every month at 3.30pm.

At the beginning of each meeting, the Chairperson will open the session and introduce panel members before referring to the agenda.

Registered objectors will be invited to speak first, with the applicant offered an opportunity to respond.

Further questions may be asked by the panel, before going into closed session.

In summary, the cycle consists of:

• an on-site inspection
• public panel meeting, with an open forum for interested persons and groups to hear and make submissions about a development application or planning proposal
• closed panel session for the panel to deliberate
• decision published within five (5) business days

Decisions of the panel are determined by majority of votes with each member casting one vote. In the event of a tied vote, the Chairperson has a casting vote.

• Agenda and Minutes (current) 
• Agenda and Minutes (pre-August 2018)

If you wish to speak about an item on the Local Planning Panel (LPP) agenda, you must submit a form.  By submitting this form, you consent to being recorded and live streamed when addressing the LPP.

Panel members will consider submissions made by objectors and applicants at the meeting. Applications will be accepted until 12:00pm the day before the relevant LPP meeting.  Speakers have three 3 minutes to address the panel. 

Objectives

The objectives of the Local Planning Panel (LPP) are to:

• Provide increased transparency and an independent body for the determination of certain development applications and to advise Council on certain planning proposals.
• Provide the community and stakeholders with increased involvement in the Development Assessment process.
• Achieve best practice environmental, social, economic and urban design outcomes consistent with relevant legislation, Council's Local Environmental Plan, Development Control Plan and other planning controls.
• Comply with statutory provisions, particularly the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979.

Scope of Panel

The panel assess and determine the following development applications (DAs):

• DAs (other than for certain minor developments) for which the applicant or landowner is the Council, a Councillor, a member of Council staff, a member of Parliament, or a relative of such a person;
• Contentiousness DAs that receive ten (10) or more unique objections;
• DAs accompanied by a proposed voluntary planning agreement;
• DAs seeking to depart by more than 10% from a development standard;
• DAs for:
  • residential flat buildings assessed under SEPP 65;
  • demolition of heritage items;
  • licensed places of public entertainment and sex industry premises;
  • designated development, as set out in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000.

Sydney and Regional Planning Panels will continue to assess and determine DAs within its scope, such as developments with a capital investment value of more than $30 million.

DAs and applications to modify development consents not determined by the LPP or Regional Planning Panel will be determined by Council officers.

From 1 June 2018, all planning proposals are also required to be referred to the LPP for advice.

• Code of Conduct
• Charter and Code of Meeting Practice
• Council’s Local Environment Plan
• Council’s Development Control Plan
• DA Tracker
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Operational Procedure
• Fact Sheet

Visit the Department of Planning, Industry & Environment website for common questions about Local Planning Panels.