Planning (Consequential) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015

Overview

This bill updates 68 other Queensland laws so they work with the new Planning Act 2016 and Planning and Environment Court Act 2016, which together replace the Sustainable Planning Act 2009. It mostly changes terminology and cross-references, removes duplicated or outdated planning steps, and sets transitional rules so any application already lodged is finished under the old system.

Who it affects

Developers, local councils, building certifiers, State agencies and landowners dealing with the planning system will see updated terms and a single consistent set of planning references across 68 Acts. Existing development applications keep being assessed under the old rules until decided.

Key changes

• Replaces 'exempt' and 'self-assessable' development with 'accepted development' across the Building Act 1975 and other Acts to match the new Planning Act 2016
• Renames 'building and development dispute resolution committees' to 'development tribunals'
• Removes 'concurrence agency' and 'advice agency' labels from other Acts and uses the single term 'referral agency' under the new planning system
• Adds a definition of the Planning and Environment Court to the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 so every Act no longer needs its own definition
• Creates a new coastal land surrender process with written submission rights and time limits before owners can be required to give up coastal land
• Deletes redundant referral and assessment provisions in other Acts that were made obsolete when the State Assessment and Referral Agency was set up in 2013
• Sets transitional rules so development applications made under the Sustainable Planning Act but not decided keep running under the old laws until finished