Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979

The Governor may, by order published on the NSW legislation website, prescribe the standard form and content of local environmental plans or other environmental planning instruments (a standard instrument).

An environmental planning instrument may be made in the form of—

a declaration that the applicable mandatory provisions of a standard instrument are adopted, and

the prescription of the matters required to be prescribed for the purposes of the application of the mandatory provisions of the standard instrument (such as the adoption of land zoning or other maps), and

the prescription of any other matters permitted to be prescribed by an environmental planning instrument, including non-mandatory provisions of the standard instrument (with or without modification) or additional provisions.

When an environmental planning instrument is made with such a declaration, the instrument has the form and content of the applicable mandatory provisions of the standard instrument and the matters so prescribed.

If the mandatory provisions of a standard instrument so adopted are amended by a further order under subsection (1) or by an Act after they are adopted, the environmental planning instrument is taken (without further amendment) to adopt the amended provisions of the standard instrument on and from the date the amendment to the standard instrument takes effect.

The order that amends a standard instrument may make provision of a savings or transitional nature consequent on the amendment of the standard instrument.

Where a standard instrument has been adopted, the provisions of the environmental planning instrument (other than the mandatory provisions of the adopted standard instrument) may be amended from time to time by another environmental planning instrument or in accordance with any Act.

A standard instrument may—

provide that a provision is a mandatory provision only in the circumstances specified in the instrument, and

contain requirements or guidance as to the form or content of a non-mandatory provision.

The adoption of the provisions of a standard instrument in an environmental planning instrument is taken to be a matter of State environmental planning significance for the purposes of this Act.

An environmental planning instrument may be made under this Part without compliance with the provisions of this Act relating to the conditions precedent to the making of the instrument if—

the instrument adopts the provisions of a standard instrument for the purposes of replacing instruments that apply to the land concerned (being existing instruments that do not adopt the provisions of a standard instrument), and

the Minister is of the opinion that the replacement instrument does not make any substantial changes to the general effect of the existing instrument or instruments.

Subject to this Act and the regulations, the form and subject-matter of an environmental planning instrument is (if there is no applicable standard instrument) to be as determined by the Minister.

In this section—