The Planning Amendment Bill 2022 passed the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday. The detail of the bill will be voted on next week.
Introduced to the Assembly in September, the Bill replaces and repeals the 2007 Planning and Development Act. It introduces a new tier in the planning system: nine district strategies for different parts of the ACT; creates a new entity, the Territory Planning Authority, to replace the ACT Planning and Land Authority; adapts the ministerial call-in power for development applications into a power to declare proposals as Territory Priority Projects; streamlines Territory Plan Variation and Development Application processes; and introduces Indigenous knowledge and culture into planning.
- ACT Government introduces reformed planning laws (21 September 2022)
- Planning Bill report – more work to do, some concerns (22 December 2022)
Planning minister Mick Gentleman said the bill is “the culmination of a comprehensive review of the planning system”.
“The bill creates the legislative framework for the new planning system. It seeks to create a modern planning system that is accessible, easy to use, and delivers improved planning and development outcome across the city.”
The Canberra Liberals did not support the bill.
“The fundamental purpose of the bill appears to be to allow urban infill to occur quickly and easily, with minimal disruptions by the community, environmental or other interest groups,” Mark Parton MLA, a member of the Standing Committee on Planning, Transport and City Services, said. “The bill is anti-community and anti-environment, and should not be passed in its current form.”
On Wednesday, Peter Cain MLA, Shadow Minister for Planning and Land Management, called for an independent panel of expert planners and architects to assess the necessity, operational effectiveness, and efficacy of the Planning Bill, the draft new Territory Plan, and the draft district strategies, and to adjourn debate on the Planning Bill until the completion of the independent review.
Greens MLA Jo Clay, her party’s Spokesperson for Planning, altered Mr Cain’s motion. The ACT Government will undertake a legislative review of the ACT Planning System Review and Reform Project within the next three years, and an independent expert will undertake a governance review of the new ACT Planning System within the next year.
Amendments to the Bill
The ACT Government amended the Bill in response to the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Planning, Transport and City Services, which published its report in April.
- ACT planning bill needs more planning (3 May)
- ACT Territory Plan listening report published (26 May)
One amendment is a two-stage notification process for significant developments, replacing the current pre-DA consultation process.
“We know this process is not working as intended, because there is little scope to hold proponents to account on their early consultation work,” Mr Gentleman said.
Both the Greens and the Canberra Liberals had raised concerns that the Bill removed pre-DA (development application) consultation; in the Liberals’ view, this gave the community less capacity to have their voices heard, while the Greens urged the government to restore and improve consultation.
The first stage is a 20 working-day consultation to enable the community to provide their views on the development proposal. The applicant must respond to public comments and any entity advice received. In the second stage, the proposal and applicant’s response will be notified for 10 more working days so that the community can review and comment on the responses.
“This will provide an opportunity for extended consultation and increase the accountability for proponents to the consultation process,” Mr Gentleman said.
Housing affordability principles are included in the Principles of Good Planning. “This will make sure that planning strategies, plans, and policies will support the delivery of reforms that improve housing access, affordability, and choice to support more housing options for people who have low incomes,” Mr Gentleman said.
The government will change the definitions of “ecological sustainable development” (removing the word ‘growth’) and “high quality design principles”.
The Greens had said the Bill must strengthen environmental protection and action on climate change.
Aboriginal land management practices will not need development approval.
Greater prominence is given to design guides, which provide suggestions for development proposals to encourage better and best planning outcomes. Design guides are intended to improve the planning and design of streetscapes, public spaces, and residential developments, and to protect and enhance biodiversity, Mr Gentleman said.
Minor changes to the framework for strategic and statutory planning will improve the readability of the legislation, Mr Gentleman said.
“The amendments effectively balance the needs of users of the planning system with the broader expectations of the ACT community,” Mr Gentleman said. “Those amendments enhance the bill’s ability to support Canberra’s growth while maintaining its valued character, respect our environment and heritage values, and acknowledge the important contributions that traditional custodians make to planning in the ACT.”
Now the bill has passed, the government will finalise the district strategies and new Territory plan over the next month. Most of the bill will not begin until September, in order for the two other components to come before the public. The Territory plan will come back to the Assembly to consider before it takes interim effect under the new system. The Standing Committee will then scrutinise the plan.
Canberra Liberals: Start again
“The planning bill smells so bad that whoever disposes of it would have to wear protective clothing in the process,” Mr Parton said. “The planning bill does not line up with the wishes of the people of Canberra.
“The only real way forward is to start from scratch in the drafting of a new bill. The significant lack of reform of the governance agreement in tandem with the new reforms means the new system is not appropriate and not in the community’s interests. The proposed accumulation of power within a single authority or office holder and restriction of Assembly oversight risks further decreasing the community’s trust and confidence in the ACT’s planning system. Under the proposed arrangement, the minister and chief planner could justify any development as ‘producing a good outcome’, with minimal community input and Assembly or independent oversight, as long as it fits within the interests of those decision makers.
“As much as anything, the absence of an independent review into the governance arrangements of the planning system is the primary reason that the bill should be opposed…”
Greater Canberra welcomes housing affordability principle
Greater Canberra, a community advocacy group committed to affordable and high-quality housing in Canberra, welcomed the insertion of the amendment making housing affordability a standalone principle of good planning.
“Over the past year, we have advocated for a standalone housing affordability principle in our submissions to the Government and the Assembly,” convenor Howard Maclean said. “The committee inquiry into the Bill recommended these new principles, and we’re pleased to see that the amendment implements this recommendation…
“In our new outcomes-based planning system, the principles of good planning define the outcomes. “It was a major deficiency that the original Bill didn’t include housing affordability principles, given the key role that planning plays in housing costs, as well as the provision of public and social housing.
“One of the core roles of our planning system is to enable the housing – public and private – that our growing city needs, in places where they are needed most. These new housing affordability principles help ensure that the planning system is oriented towards this core responsibility. This is a major victory for every Canberran, and will meaningfully push our planning system to deliver the housing we need.
“With the final form of the Bill now agreed between Labor and the Greens, we look forward to working with our coalition partners in Missing Middle Canberra and all three parties to progress meaningful zoning reform in the new Territory Plan to enable more well-located medium-density homes – public, social, and private.”
