Who determines State significant development applications?
The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) is the consent authority for a State Significant Development (SSD) application if the applicant is not a public authority (or acting on behalf of one), and at least one of the below;
- the local council has made a submission objecting to the application
- the Department has received 50 or more public objections in response to the exhibition of the application (petitions and submissions that contain substantially the same text count as one objection)
- the applicant has made a reportable political donation.
The Minister for Planning is the consent authority for all other SSD applications.
Exceptions to this include:
- The Minister is the consent authority for all development proposals that have been declared SSD by the Minister (commonly referred to as a 'Ministerial call-in'), including proposals recommended for declaration by the Housing Delivery Authority
- The Commission is only the consent authority for residential in-fill affordable housing SSD applications (under section 26A of Schedule 1 of the Planning Systems SEPP) if the applicant has made a reportable political donation
Both the Minister and the Commission have delegated their powers to determine certain SSDs to officers of the Department. To find out more, visit Delegated decisions.
To find out more about applications referred to or determined by the Commission, visit the Independent Planning Commission.
The commission operates independently of the department and other government departments and plays an important role in building community confidence in the SSD process. When determining a DA, the Commission may:
- undertake a site inspection or tour of the local area
- hold a public meeting
- hold meetings with key stakeholders and publish the records of these meetings
- hold a public hearing, if requested by the Minister.
The commission’s policies and guideline for these activities can be found on the IPC website.
What is considered when making a decision?
When determining a DA, the consent authority must evaluate the merits of the DA against the matters in Section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 and may approve the DA, subject to modifications or conditions, or refuse it.
The Department’s best-practice approach to drafting conditions of consent for SSD applications is outlined in the Guideline for drafting conditions for State significant projects (2023).
How is the decision notified?
After the determination of the DA, the department will:
- publish the decision on the NSW planning portal
- notify everyone who made a submission of the decision
- give public notice of the reasons for the decision and how community views were taken into account in making the decision.