The draft Community Engagement Charter is out — get your submissions in quickly!

1 November 2017

Introduction

The State Planning Commission has just released, for a 6 week consultation period, the draft Community Engagement Charter proposed under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 and the related draft Guide for the Community Engagement Charter.

The Community Engagement Charter will govern the manner in which public consultation must occur for:

• the preparation and amendment of a state planning policy, a regional plan, the Planning and Design Code or a design standard;
• the designation of local heritage places;
• the preparation of infrastructure schemes under Part 13 of the Act; and
• other circumstances as determined by the Minister.

This Charter does not apply to public notification processes for development applications.

Significance of the Charter

The Charter is significant as it governs how councils will be consulted on the above documents as well as the requirements applying to councils whenever changes are being initiated to the Planning and Design Code (a process similar in nature to a Development Plan Amendment).

Structure of the Charter

The Charter comprises four components; being ‘mandatory requirements’, ‘principles’, ‘performance outcomes’ and ‘measuring performance’.

The mandatory requirements govern who must be notified and consulted in particular circumstances as below.

It is then left to the individual proponent to determine who else should be notified and consulted.

The manner in which consultation must take place is not specified by the Charter. Rather, the principles and performance outcomes provide general guidance for the undertaking of engagement and must be considered in the preparation of an engagement plan.  Each of the principles and performance outcomes must be reported against at the conclusion of the engagement process.

The reporting mechanisms in ‘measuring performance’ are left to the proponent to develop in their own engagement plan. The Charter provides only general guidance in this regard.

It is the Guide that sets out the fine detail of how engagement plans should be developed and their success measured.

Observations

The Charter allows significant flexibility in the development of engagement plans. It allows proponents to determine how engagement is undertaken and in what form(s).  In this respect, the Charter will not become obsolete through technological innovation or social change.

The one clear advantage for councils is in allowing engagement plans to suit particular circumstances or communities, or to overcome distance and other challenges – there is no ‘one size fits all approach’ to engagement in the Charter. The Charter also allows councils to undertake consultation on planning matters in accordance with their existing engagement plans and processes.

Over the next 12 months, the Charter will be utilised by the State Planning Commission in preparing the initial state planning policies and other documents which will underpin the new planning system. The Commission envisages that refinement of the Charter and the Guide may be required as well as the development of a ‘tool kit’ for proponents.

It is to be noted that the Charter will be used by the State Planning Commission as well as councils and also by State Government agencies, joint planning boards, providers of essential infrastructure, infrastructure scheme coordinators and private land owners who wish to have the Planning and Design Code or a design standard altered for their land.

It is a matter for the State Planning Commission to ensure compliance with the Charter by all proponents. However, details as to how compliance will be assessed and when are not provided.  For instance, will the Commission be proactively reviewing engagement plans and processes or will it only be responding to complaints that the Charter has not been complied with?  How the Commission will be reviewing its own performance is not specified.  These are matters which need further consideration.

Given the significance of the Charter and the Guide in the new planning system, we recommend that all councils consider them carefully and provide submissions to the State Planning Commission.

Please do not hesitate to contact Victoria Shute on 8113 7104 or at vshute@kelledyjones.com.au if you would like any assistance or advice in regards to the above information.