The NSW Government and other bodies play an important role in providing expert inputs to support decision-making on development applications.
Decision-makers like councils seek these inputs during the assessment process through what are known as referrals. These inputs help manage complex issues like bushfire safety, pollution, and the safe operation of roads and railway lines.
There are 3 types of referrals for development applications. They are:
Consultation
This is where the consent authority must consult with an agency or organisation and consider any response before approving the development.
Concurrence
This is where the consent authority must obtain agreement from an agency or organisation before approving the development.
Integrated development
This is where the proposed development requires a particular approval under an Act other than the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) before it can be carried out. Where the integrated development pathway applies, the consent authority must seek 'general terms of approval' (GTAs) from DCA for the corresponding approval under another Act. If the consent authority decides to approve the development, it must do so consistently with any GTAs that have been issued by DCA. If DCA refuses to issue GTAs, the consent authority must refuse the development application.
A new referrals framework for local development applications
To make the process simpler and more efficient, a new referrals framework for local development applications has been introduced. The new framework makes it clearer when referrals are needed and focuses expert input on the most important issues.
It consolidates and simplifies more than 800 inconsistent and duplicative referral requirements that were previously spread across more than 175 environmental planning instruments into a single, clear list aligned with State priorities. These requirements are set out in Chapter 4 of State Environmental Planning Policy (Planning Systems) 2021.
State Referral Provisions
The State Referral Provisions is a new document that provides clear, consistent guidance on how referrals are considered under the new framework. It sets out the key matters that DCA and other bodies consider when responding to a referral, making it clearer how referrals are assessed and helping to ensure important issues are addressed in a consistent way.
Read the State Referral Provisions (PDF, 1.4 MB).