While there has been much made in the media recently about delays in the rollout of COVID 19 vaccines in Australia, it is worth noting that the NSW Government has recently announced an extension to temporary planning measures until 31 March 2022.

These measures were introduced as part of the NSW Government’s efforts to support the State’s economic recovery, protect the health and safety of the community and ensure businesses are able to adapt and respond to changing needs.

These practical measures may be of particular interest to our clients as they plan construction or strategize the take up of a development consent in the coming year. Measures include:

• Extension to lapsing periods for development consents and deferred commencement consents. Consents granted before 25 March 2020 will be extended by 2 years and all consents granted since 25 March 2020 will have a lapsing period of 5 years (which cannot be varied during the pandemic period)
• Property owners relying on existing use rights who are forced to stop using their property during the pandemic having 3 years to resume, instead of 1 year
• Deferred payment of local infrastructure contribution from prior to issue of Construction Certificate to prior to issue of Occupation Certificate.

For more information, visit the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment website here. Or otherwise get in touch, we would be happy to discuss how these measures could benefit your development or assist your business to recover from the economic impacts of Covid.