Planning agreements are a tool for delivering innovative or complex infrastructure and public benefit outcomes.
A draft planning agreements policy framework was on exhibition from 15 April 2020 until 12 June 2020 and included a draft Practice Note and a Ministerial Direction. The draft framework was originally exhibited in early 2017. Submissions from both exhibitions have been considered.
A new Planning Agreements Practice Note was released in February 2021 to address recommendations from the Kaldas review and to align with contemporary best practice and references. Requirements for planning authorities to consider the practice note was included in an amendment to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 in February 2021 rather than in the proposed exhibited Ministerial Direction which will now not be made.
The practice note now contains explanatory note information which has been transferred from the Regulation. The practice note reinforces that planning agreements should be used to fund innovative infrastructure solutions to meet community needs.
For more detailed information, you can:
- visit our planning agreements policy webpage
- visit our infrastructure contributions reform webpage and find out more about other recent improvements made to the infrastructure contributions system.
- read the report summarising submissions received and the department’s response.