A local planning panel (LPP) is an independent panel of an expert chair, two experts and a community member that determines certain development applications instead of council staff or councillors. Every council in the Sydney metropolitan area and Wollongong must have one, and the Minister’s referral criteria send four kinds of DA to it: applications where council or a councillor has an interest, contentious applications that attract a threshold number of objections, applications that vary a development standard by more than 10%, and nominated sensitive development such as demolition of a heritage item. For a townhouse or dual occupancy DA the practical change is that your application is decided in a public meeting on a published report, on a timetable set by the panel’s meeting cycle.
Key takeaways
- Local planning panels have been mandatory for Sydney metropolitan councils and Wollongong since March 2018; councils elsewhere in NSW may choose to have one.
- The most common triggers for small residential DAs are a clause 4.6 variation over 10% and a number of unique objections at or above the council’s threshold, often 10.
- Council staff still assess the DA and write the report; the panel reads it, hears from the applicant and objectors, and makes the decision.
- Panels meet on a fixed cycle, typically monthly, so a referral can add several weeks to the determination even when the assessment is finished.
- A panel decision is a council decision for appeal purposes: a refusal can go to the Land and Environment Court, and a review under section 8.2 is available for most panel determinations.
Who sits on the panel and how it is set up
Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 a local planning panel has four members: a chair with a legal or planning background, two independent experts (planners, architects, engineers, heritage or environmental specialists) and a community representative drawn from the ward or area the DA sits in. Councillors cannot be members. The panel is appointed by council from a pool approved by the Minister, and it acts as the consent authority for the applications referred to it. Councils outside Sydney and Wollongong, including Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and several regional councils, have chosen to establish panels voluntarily or use them in a modified form, so the trigger rules below should be checked against each council’s own referral policy.
The Department’s local planning panels page explains the model and the reasoning behind it: separating the decision on contentious or conflicted DAs from the elected council.
The four referral triggers, in the order we see them
| Trigger | What it means for a residential DA | How often we see it |
|---|---|---|
| Departure from a development standard by more than 10% | A clause 4.6 request for height, FSR or another LEP standard over the 10% line | Most common on townhouses and rebuilds on sloping or flood-affected sites |
| Contentious development | Unique submissions by way of objection at or above the council’s threshold (commonly 10, set in the council’s policy) | Common for duplexes and multi-dwelling housing in low density streets |
| Conflict of interest | Council is the applicant, landowner or has a financial interest, or the applicant is a councillor, staff member or their relative | Occasional |
| Sensitive development | Designated development, demolition of a heritage item, licensed premises, sex services, certain affordable housing and boarding houses, and others nominated by the Minister | Rare on small residential projects |
A modification under section 4.55 that itself meets a trigger, for example a modification that takes an approved building past 10% over the height standard, is also referred. Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland and Parramatta all publish their panel referral criteria on their websites and they are worth reading before the DA is designed.
What stays the same
The assessment does not change. Council’s planners still assess the DA against section 4.15, the LEP, the DCP and the SEPPs, still send requests for information, still notify neighbours under the community participation plan, and still write the assessment report with a recommendation. The applicant deals with the same officer through the same process. The difference is only at the end: instead of a manager signing the determination under delegation, the report goes to the panel with a recommendation, and the panel decides.
That has a consequence people miss. If the officer recommends refusal, the panel can still approve, and vice versa. So the quality of your Statement of Environmental Effects and your clause 4.6 request matters more at a panel, not less, because four independent people will read them.
What changes: the meeting
Timing
Panels meet on a set cycle, usually monthly with a fixed agenda close-off a couple of weeks before. If the assessment finishes the day after the close-off, the DA waits for the next meeting. On a townhouse DA in Canterbury-Bankstown or Cumberland we allow for a panel referral to add four to eight weeks over a delegated determination, and more if the panel defers the matter for amended plans.
The report is public
The assessment report and the recommended conditions are published with the agenda, usually a week before the meeting. You get to read the officer’s reasoning before the decision, which never happens under delegation. If the recommendation is refusal, that week is the window to prepare a response.
Speaking to the panel
Applicants and objectors can register to address the panel, normally for three to five minutes each. Some panels also hold a site inspection before the meeting. Our planners speak for the applicant when it helps, and the rules we follow are simple: don’t re-read the SEE, answer the report’s reasons for refusal or the objectors’ points directly, offer a condition where a condition solves the issue, and stop on time.
The panel can approve with the recommended or amended conditions, refuse with reasons, or defer the matter for amended plans and bring it back to a later meeting.
Designing to stay off the panel, and when not to
Two of the four triggers are within the applicant’s control. A clause 4.6 variation at 9% stays with staff; at 11% it goes to the panel. If the extra 2% is a parapet or a lift overrun, we’ll usually advise trimming it. Objection numbers are less controllable, but a compliant design, early conversations with neighbours and a SEE that answers the predictable issues keep submissions down.
Sometimes the panel is the better forum. If a council’s staff have taken a hard line on a merit issue that the DCP leaves open, or the objections are numerous but not planning-based, an independent panel reading a well-argued report can be a fairer hearing than a delegated decision. We don’t design to avoid the panel at all costs; we design so that the panel, if it comes, has an easy decision. The Department’s variations review page sets out the clause 4.6 framework that drives the 10% trigger.
After the panel decides
A panel determination is treated as the council’s determination. An applicant can appeal a refusal, or the conditions, to the Land and Environment Court within the usual six months, and a section 8.2 review of the determination is available for most panel decisions, though the review is also conducted by the panel. Modifications to a panel-approved consent go back to the panel only if the modification meets a referral trigger in its own right; routine 4.55(1A) changes are generally dealt with by staff under delegation.
Frequently asked questions
Does every DA in Sydney go to a local planning panel?
No. Most residential DAs are determined by council staff under delegation. A DA goes to the panel only if it meets a referral trigger: a conflict of interest, a threshold number of objections, a variation to a development standard over 10%, or a nominated sensitive development type.
How many objections send a DA to the local planning panel?
The Minister’s criteria refer to a threshold number of unique submissions by way of objection, and most councils set it at 10, though the figure is in each council’s policy. Multiple submissions from the same household usually count once.
Can I speak at the local planning panel meeting?
Yes. Applicants and objectors can register to address the panel, usually for a few minutes each, and the meeting is open to the public.
Does a local planning panel take longer than a normal DA?
Usually. The assessment takes the same time, but the DA then waits for the next scheduled panel meeting and its agenda close-off. Allow several extra weeks, and more if the panel defers the matter for amended plans.
When a townhouse or dual occupancy DA is heading for a panel, our planners prepare the multi-dwelling planning documents and any clause 4.6 request with the meeting in mind, and we attend to speak where it helps. If you’re working in Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Parramatta or another panel council, send us the plans and we’ll tell you whether a referral is likely, or request a fee proposal.