Crown development applications

Crown agencies play a major role in providing essential services and infrastructure in areas such as education, health, social housing, transport, and legal and justice services.

We have prepared a Planning circular PS 25-002: Crown development applications (PDF, 128 KB) and Guidelines for Crown Development Applications under the EP&A Act – Local and Regionally Significant Development (PDF, 1.2 MB) to help agencies and consent authorities navigate the Crown development process that applies for local and regionally significant development.

The aim of these guidance documents is to help deliver essential services and infrastructure to the local community by speeding up assessments and reducing delays in the assessment process.

No changes have been made to the Crown development assessment process or the legislative provisions that apply for Crown developments. The circular and guidelines reflect the current provisions and planning framework of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (EP&A Regulation).

We have included information on how local infrastructure development contributions should apply for Crown development in the Local Infrastructure Contributions Practice Note – Exempting certain development from contributions.

We have prepared the circular and guidelines to replace the former Circular D6 – Crown development applications and conditions of consent, which was prepared in 1995. The new guidelines and circular reflects changes that have been made to the planning system since 1995, including:

• 2018 updates to the EP&A Act
• the making of the EP&A Regulation 2021
• the introduction of planning panels to consider regionally significant development.

The new circular and guidelines reflect the current planning framework and guide Crown and consent authorities on the processes that apply. The guidelines will help ensure development assessment of essential services and infrastructure is completed quickly and efficiently.

The guidelines apply to Crown development that requires consent under part 4, division 4.6 of the EP&A Act for local development or regionally significant development.

For further more information about planning approval pathways, read about local development and regionally significant development. The guidelines do not apply to exempt and complying development, development without consent, state significant development or state significant infrastructure. 

The Crown is defined and prescribed in section 294 of the EP&A Regulation. It includes:

• public authorities other than councils
• Australian universities within the meaning of the Higher Education Act 2001
• TAFE establishments within the meaning of the Technical and Further Education Commission Act 1990
• Crown cemetery operators, within the meaning of the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2013.

Examples of Crown agencies include:

• School Infrastructure NSW
• Health Infrastructure NSW
• Public Works
• Department of Communities and Justice
• Transport for NSW
• Transport Asset Holding Entity
• Crown Lands
• Landcom
• Land and Housing Corporation
• Aboriginal Housing Office
• Crown cemeteries
• Essential Energy
• Hunter Water Corporation
• WaterNSW
• Sydney Water Corporation
• Forestry Corporation. 

Key differences between Crown and other types of development applications

Crown development applications have different provisions to standard development applications.

These include the following:

• A consent authority must not impose a condition of consent, except with the approval of the Crown or the minister.
• A consent authority, other than the minister, must not refuse consent, except with the approval of the minister.
• Crown development applications may be referred from the council to the applicable Sydney District or Regional Planning Panel or from a planning panel to the minister if an application is not determined in the prescribed time.
• The minister may direct the consent authority to approve the application, with or without specified conditions, or refuse it.
• Crown applications are not subject to review under section 8.2 of the EP&A Act.
• Division 4.8 of the EP&A Act does not apply to Crown development applications, other than development that requires a heritage approval. Approvals are still required under other Acts.
• The requirements for construction certificates, occupation certificates and subdivision work certificates do not apply to Crown development applications, and a principal certifying authority is not required. Crown developments must still comply with the Building Code of Australia.

Previously Circular D6 included information and guidance on the types of local infrastructure contributions that may be relevant to Crown development. This information is now contained within the Local Infrastructure Contributions Practice Note - Exempting certain development from contributions.