Planning and Design Code

In reply to the Hon. J.A. DARLEY (2 December 2020).

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer): The Minister for Planning and Local Government has advised:

All development plans and development plan amendments (DPAs) will be transitioned into the new Planning and Design Code (the code) under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (PDI Act).

Over the past 12 months or so, councils undertaking DPAs have been encouraged to work with the Attorney-General's Department (and the former Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure) to establish an appropriate pathway for transitioning DPA policy into the code. This includes identification of code zones which appropriately reflect the intent of the DPA, as well as parameters which will transition to technical and numeric variations (TNV) in the code, for example, building heights.

During this transitional period, it is important to recognise that there will be some changes to the policy content in DPAs when transitioned into the new format and structure of the code. For example, desired character statements are not included in the code and concept plans are only used in a limited way to denote key infrastructure requirements.

A number of recent DPAs also include either a copy of the intended code policy or a discussion about the intended policy transition to make clear how the DPA will be incorporated into the code.

The Attorney-General's Department will continue to work closely with councils' administration throughout the transition process to ensure best fit and certainty moving forward.