Land Surveyors

1427 The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (24 September 2019). Can councils can meet the costs of accreditation and ongoing training requirements of the accredited professional scheme?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning): I have been advised the following—

Under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016, the assessment manager and members of an assessment panel must be accredited. However, other council planning officers may not be if they are operating under the delegation of an assessment manager or Assessment Panel.

Beyond this, it is at the discretion of the individual council as to whether they would seek that other planning staff become accredited. Should a planner seek to become accredited it is their individual responsibility to ensure their ongoing accreditation and continuing professional development. While an individual council may choose to support their planning teams through ongoing professional development, training and education, any costs incurred in doing so are entirely discretionary.

Councils are encouraged to plan for situations of staff leave or illness, or career development and succession planning when determining who should become accredited.