Exhibiting and approving contributions plans

Councils must publicly exhibit draft contributions plans before they can be finalised and approved. This is an important step in the process that ensures the system is transparent and certain.

This module provides guidance on the exhibition and approval process.

Legislative requirements

Section 7.11 and 7.12 plans must be publicly exhibited and a council must consider all submissions received.

Exhibition and approval requirements
Legislative requirements	Reference
A draft contributions plan must be publicly exhibited for a minimum of 28 days.	Schedule 1(6) EP&A Act
Anyone can make a submission on the draft contributions plan during the exhibition period.	Schedule 1(15) EP&A Act
Council must publish on its website the dates of the exhibition period, the draft contributions plan and any supporting documents.	Section 213(1) EP&A Regulation
Any mandatory requirements for community participation identified in a council’s community participation plan concerning contributions plans must also be met.	Section 2.22(2) EP&A Act
After considering submissions on the draft plan, council can: approve as exhibited make changes and approve not proceed with the plan. Council must publish notice of the decision on its website and if the option not to proceed is chosen, the notice must include the reasons for this. Section 7.11 plans requiring a review by IPART have additional requirements.	Section 214 EP&A Regulation
A council can make minor updates or edits to a draft or approved plan without needing to re-exhibit or create a new plan. This includes correcting minor typographical or formatting errors, indexing contribution rates, and detailing when infrastructure items or works have been completed.	Section 215(5) EP&A Regulation

Requirements for setting up an exhibition period

Councils must exhibit contributions plans for a minimum of 28 days. More complex contribution plans or plans that are on exhibition with other documents such as planning proposals, may benefit from a longer exhibition period.

The minimum 28-day public exhibition period for draft plans includes weekends.
If the exhibition period is due to close on a weekend or a public holiday, it should be extended to finish on the following weekday.
The period between 20 December and 10 January is excluded from the calculation of a period of exhibition (Schedule 1(16) EP&A Act).

Any supporting documentation should be made available during the exhibition. This could include scope of works and cost estimate studies used to inform the plan, or associated technical studies or reports that provide additional information to help someone interpret it.

Public notification must be given at the start of the exhibition

Councils must announce the beginning of an exhibition period to ensure people are made aware and provided the opportunity to review and comment. At a minimum, this should include a notification on the council’s website detailing:

the exhibition timeframe
how to view the draft plans and supporting documentation
how someone can make a submission.

Policy positions

The exhibition process should be inclusive and transparent

Any person can make a submission on a draft plan during the exhibition period. Councils should clearly communicate how submissions can be made and how they will be considered. Councils should review all submissions thoroughly and consider whether the draft plan should be updated based on the feedback received.

Councils should aim to ensure all exhibitions are transparency and provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to comment on the plan. Councils should refer to their community participation plan for any additional requirements on setting up and running a public exhibition for their community.

Considerations should include:

the community’s right to be informed about planning matters that affect them
providing planning information in simple language, easily accessible and in a form that best facilitates community participation
making community participation inclusive and actively seeking views that are representative of a community
providing appropriate community participation methods that have regard to the significance and likely impact of the draft plan on exhibition
making planning decisions open and transparent and giving the community reasons for those decisions and how their views have been considered
following the exhibition, keeping people informed of future next steps related to the plan.

Significant changes made to drafts following an exhibition could require re-exhibition

Councils must determine if significant changes made to a draft plan following the exhibition require re-exhibition, particularly if changes are not in response to submissions. Councils should ensure that decisions on infrastructure contributions are transparent and that the public can see the processes and understand the decisions involved.

Re-exhibition is likely required if the changes would materially affect:

the catchments of the plan or the location of infrastructure
the infrastructure to be funded and the types of development to which the plan applies
the contribution rates
how the contributions are calculated.

Best practice guidance

Councils should concurrently exhibit contributions plans with related planning proposals

When a contributions plan relates to a planning proposal, the exhibition period should be concurrent to ensure transparency and efficiency. Where possible, councils should ensure that a draft contributions plan is exhibited at the same time as a related planning proposal. This will:

assist stakeholders to better understand the impacts of the contributions plan and planning proposal
ensure a local contributions plan will be in place before the rezoning and associated development
allow the full implications of development to be factored into developer’s feasibility studies, and infrastructure planning and costing.

Consider optional engagement while developing a contributions plan

Early consultation with key stakeholders during the preparation stage can help create a shared understanding of the likely infrastructure requirements, capacity limitations of any existing infrastructure, potential costs and potential for works in kind. This will help to develop a more robust draft and provide more transparency for stakeholders.

Notify other parts of council when a new contributions plan is approved

Contributions plans affect most areas of the council and require a whole of council approach to implementation during their lifetime. Once a new plan is approved, make sure other areas of the council are made aware of the plan and its operation.

This is particularly important for areas of council that will have legislative or reporting requirements relating to the plan, such as planning assessment, finance and capital works teams.

Procedure and process

Indicative steps for exhibiting and approving a contributions plan are shown below.

Finalise draft plan

Finalise draft plan and get it ready for exhibition.

Notify the community of the exhibition

Announce the beginning of an exhibition period to ensure people are made aware and provided the opportunity to review and comment, following the notification requirements.

Publicly exhibit the plan

Publicly exhibit the plan for a minimum for 28 days and following the requirements for an exhibition period.

Consider submissions

Consider submissions and amend the plan if appropriate.

Decide if the plan will be approved

After public exhibition councils can choose to:

approve the draft contributions as exhibited without any changes
make changes to the plan and approve it
not proceed with the plan, in which case council must publish a notice indicating that they are not proceeding and why.

Give notice of the outcome

Publish notice of the decision on council’s website.

Upload any approved contributions plans to the NSW Planning Portal and council’s website. Notify other parts of council if there is a new plan.

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