Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979

Schedule 2 contains provisions with respect to the members and procedure of Sydney district or regional planning panels.

A Sydney district or regional planning panel is required to give written reasons for its decisions and make them publicly available on a website of or used by the panel. A decision is not invalid merely because of a failure to give or publish the reasons or all of the reasons for the decision.

The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the following—

the functions conferred under this Act on a Sydney district or regional planning panel, including its procedures in exercising its functions,

without limiting paragraph (a), providing that parties to matters being determined by a Sydney district or regional planning panel are not to be represented (whether by an Australian legal practitioner or any other person) or are only to be represented in specified circumstances,

the provision of information and reports by Sydney district or regional planning panels.

The Planning Secretary is, in the annual report of the Department of Planning and Environment, to report on the activities of Sydney district or regional planning panels during the reporting year under section 9.6.

Legal proceedings by or against a Sydney district or regional planning panel are to be taken in the name of the panel and not by or against the members of the panel.

A Sydney district or regional planning panel may, with the approval of the Minister, delegate any function of the panel under this or any other Act (other than this power of delegation) to—

a council, or

a local planning panel of a council, or

the general manager or other staff of a council,

For the avoidance of doubt, a member of a Sydney district or regional planning panel is a public official for the purposes of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988.