The NSW Planning Portal

(cf previous s 158C)
(1) The NSW planning database is established for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The NSW planning database is an electronic repository of:
(a) documents that are required by or under this Act to be published on the NSW planning portal, and
(b) environmental planning instruments, plans or other documents that are required by or under this Act to be published on the NSW legislation website, and
(c) spatial datasets or other maps that are adopted or incorporated by way of reference by those instruments, plans or documents, and
(d) other documents or information relating to the administration of this Act required to be published on the NSW planning portal by the regulations or by the Planning Secretary.
(3) The NSW planning database is to maintain historical as well as current versions of documents and other material required to be published on the NSW planning portal.
(4) The NSW planning database is to be compiled and maintained as determined by the Planning Secretary.
(5) The NSW planning database may comprise separate databases for different material. Any such separate databases may be compiled and maintained by other agencies, including the legislation database compiled and maintained by the Parliamentary Counsel for publication of environmental planning instruments or other material on the NSW legislation website.

(cf previous s 158D)
(1) The Planning Secretary is to make arrangements for documents or other information in the NSW planning database to be published on the NSW planning portal and such other websites as are determined by the Planning Secretary.
(2) The Planning Secretary may certify the form of such documents or other information that is correct.
(3) Environmental planning instruments, plans or other documents and information need not be published on the NSW planning portal if they are published on the NSW legislation website (or the website of another agency) and can be readily accessed from the NSW planning portal.
(4) If the NSW planning portal is not available to publish a document or other information for technical or other reasons, the document or other information may be published on the NSW legislation website.

Note: The NSW planning portal is defined by section 1.4 to mean the website with the URL of www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au, or any other website, used by the Planning Secretary to provide public access to documents or other information in the NSW planning database.

(cf previous s 158E)
(1) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the online delivery of planning services and information, including;
(a) the NSW planning portal and other specialised planning portals (including the status of services and information delivered online), and
(b) access to information (and the issue of certificates) about land use zoning, development standards and other information relating to particular land, and
(c) the lodgement or submission of applications and other things under this Act, and
(d) the assessment of categories of development for which there are codified criteria or standards, and
(e) the registration of consents, approvals or certificates (or other documents) and their effect on registration, and
(f) the notification of the making or determination of applications for (or the issue or grant of) consents, approvals or certificates (or other documents) by means of the NSW planning portal.
(2) The charges or fees that may be prescribed by the regulations under this Act extend to charges or fees in relation to the online delivery of planning services and information (including the compilation and maintenance of the NSW planning database, the operation of the NSW planning portal and the enhancement of the NSW planning database and the NSW planning portal).
(3) For the purpose of facilitating online delivery of planning services and information;
(a) the Planning Secretary may determine standard technical requirements with respect to;
(i) the preparation of environmental planning instruments, plans or other documents and of any spatial datasets or other maps that are referred to in (or adopted under) those instruments, plans or documents, and
(ii) the form of applications for consents, approvals or certificates (or other documents) under this Act and the form of any such consents, approvals or certificates (or other documents), and
(b) a council or other planning body is to provide the Planning Secretary, when requested, with electronic files (in a specified format) of any such instruments, plans or other documents (or of any spatial datasets or other maps) prepared or held by it, and
(c) a council or other planning body is to implement any standard technical requirements determined by the Planning Secretary to facilitate access to relevant data in the electronic systems maintained by the council or other body or to transfer that data to the NSW planning database.
(4) The Planning Secretary is to establish on a departmental website an alert facility to enable members of the public to register for the purposes of receiving electronic notification of selected new planning decisions and matters.

(1) A relevant authority may use the NSW planning portal to give a document or information to an applicant, or to request a document or information from an applicant, even if this Regulation requires or permits the document or information to be given in another way.
(2) For the purposes of this Regulation;
(a) the time at which a document or information is provided by a relevant authority through the NSW planning portal is the time when the document or information is shown on the NSW planning portal to have been provided by the relevant authority, and
(b) the time at which a document or information is received by an applicant or relevant authority is the time when the document or information becomes capable of being retrieved by the applicant or relevant authority on the NSW planning portal.
(3) In this section;
document or information includes an application, notification, advice or request.
relevant authority means the following;
(a) a consent authority,
(b) a concurrence authority,
(c) an approval body,
(d) a council,
(e) a registered certifier,
(f) the Planning Secretary.

(1) For the purposes of the Act, sections 4.13(1) and 4.64(1)(i), a consent authority must consult with, or obtain the concurrence of, a relevant authority by using the NSW planning portal.
(2) For the purposes of the Act, sections 4.47(2) and 4.64(1)(o), a consent authority must obtain the general terms of an approval proposed to be granted by a relevant authority in relation to integrated development through the NSW planning portal.
(3) A response to the consent authority’s consultation, or request for concurrence or for general terms of an approval, must be made by a relevant authority through the NSW planning portal.
(4) In this section;
electricity supply authority means a person engaged in the distribution of electricity to the public or in the generation of electricity for supply, directly or indirectly, to the public, whether by statute, franchise agreement or otherwise, and includes;
(a) an energy services corporation within the meaning of the Energy Services Corporations Act 1995, and
(b) a transmission operator or distributor that holds a licence under the Electricity Supply Act 1995.
relevant authority means the following;
(a) an approval body,
(b) a concurrence authority,
(c) an electricity supply authority,
(d) the Planning Secretary,
(e) a public authority.

(1) A person must use the NSW planning portal to make submissions during the public exhibition period for development requiring development consent under the Act, Part 4, if the Minister is the consent authority.
(2) This section applies on and from 1 July 2023.