Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016

A council may, with the approval of the Minister, establish a fund (an

urban trees fund) for an area designated by the council (a designated area).

The establishment of the fund will be effected by notice published in the Gazette.

A designated area must be defined by reference to an area established by the Planning and Design Code.

A fund will consist of—

all amounts paid into the fund as a condition of a development authorisation under this Act; and

any income paid into the fund under subsection (5);

and

any amounts paid to the credit of the fund under subsection (7).

Any money in an urban trees fund that is not immediately required for the purpose of the fund may be invested by the council and any resultant income must be paid into the fund.

Money standing to the credit of an urban trees fund may be applied by the council—

to maintain or plant trees in the designated area which are or will (when fully grown) constitute significant trees under this Act; or

to purchase land within the designated area in order to maintain or plant trees which are or will (when fully grown) constitute significant trees under this Act.

The council must, if it subsequently sells land purchased under subsection (6)(b), pay the proceeds of sale into an urban trees fund maintained by the council under this section, subject to the following qualifications:

if an urban trees fund is no longer maintained by the council, the proceeds must be applied for a purpose or purposes consistent with subsection (6)(a) or (b);

if money from an urban trees fund only constituted a proportion of the purchase price of the land (the designated proportion), the money that is subject to these requirements is the designated proportion of the proceeds of sale.

Despite the operation of any other provision, if—

a person is required to make a payment in lieu of planting 1 or more trees; and

the person is a designated person, then the amount of the payment that would otherwise apply must be discounted by 66.6%.

In this section—

designated person means a person—

who is an owner and occupier of the land where the relevant tree is situated; and

who—

is the holder of a current Pensioner Concession Card issued by the

Commonwealth Government and is in receipt of a full Commonwealth pension in connection with that card; or

falls within a class of person prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.