By Aaron Gadiel, Partner

New rules for the public exhibition of development applications and other planning matters commenced on 1 September 2026.

The changes flow from the NSW Government’s new statewide community participation plan.  The statewide plan replaces a multitude of community participation plans that local councils had adopted, as well as the Planning Department’s previous community participation plan.

Community participation plans dictate the circumstances in which development applications, modification applications and other proposals must be publicly exhibited.

The new statewide plan is one of the reforms required under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning System Reforms) Act 2025.

Changes to exhibition periods

There are some changes to exhibition periods.

Development applications will generally have a 14-day exhibition period.  This is similar to the exhibition period already in place for most local councils.

State significant development applications must be exhibited for 28 days.  This reflects the previous requirement.

Development applications for ‘designated development’ (generally heavy industry or development in wetlands or littoral rainforest) must be exhibited for 28 days.  This, again, reflects the previous requirement.

Integrated development that requires an approval under the Water Management Act 2000, the Heritage Act 1977 or the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 now requires a 28-day exhibition period.  This contrasts with a 14-day exhibition period that was common for applications of this kind in many local government areas.

Development that is accompanied by a biodiversity development assessment report also now has a minimum exhibition period of 28 days.  This, again, is an increase on the 14-day exhibition period that has previously applied in many local government areas.

The period between 20 December and 10 January (inclusive) is excluded from the calculation of a public exhibition period.

Exclusions from the public exhibition requirement

The most significant change is an expansion of a list of development types that will not be subject to any public exhibition requirement at all.

The statewide plan lists a range of development applications that are excluded from any public exhibition process (but, generally speaking, only when the development would have otherwise been subject to a 14-day exhibition period).

The exclusions only apply if there is no proposal for a variation in height or floor space ratio under clause 4.6 of a local environmental plan (or equivalent).

The exclusions include:

• ancillary development to existing residential accommodation (such as but not limited to pools, sheds, pergolas and carports);
• bed and breakfast accommodation;
• change of use (excluding a change of use to a registered club or pub, and excluding any development that adjoins, or is located on, land in a residential zone);
• demolition;
• a dual occupancy (up to two storeys);
• an attached dwelling (up to 5 dwellings);
• a dwelling house (up to two storeys);
• multi dwelling housing (up to 5 dwellings);
• a secondary dwelling;
• an exhibition home;
• industrial retail outlet;
• internal and external alterations and additions (excluding residential accommodation);
• internal and external alterations and additions to existing residential accommodation resulting in no more than two storeys;
• a kiosk;
• signage (excluding where it adjoins or is in a residential zone);
• subdivision of land resulting in no more than 5 new lots;
• subdivision of land that is subject to an existing development consent for its current use;
• a temporary structure; and
• tree removal on private land.

As has been common in many local government areas, modification applications under section 4.55(1) or 4.55(1A) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 are not required to be publicly exhibited.

Comment

One aspect of this new community participation plan, in particular, may force a major change to how people interact with the NSW planning system.

There will no longer be any statutory requirement for the public exhibition of most development applications for dwelling houses, dual occupancies or small townhouse developments.   (Public exhibition requirements for residential flat buildings and the like remain.)

The Government has justified this change on the basis that public exhibition will still be required when standards are varied.  However, this claim is a bit misleading, as, in practice, the community participation plan only requires this when height and floor space ratio standards are contravened through a clause 4.6 request.

Variations to setbacks, wall heights, etc will not trigger any public exhibition requirement.

Sydney is home to a whole industry built around people making formal objections to a neighbour’s new home development.  This change is going to be quite a shock to consultants who are dependent on this objector work.  It will be an even bigger shock to some property owners — when they discover that their local council has approved a new dwelling house, with reduced setbacks to their property, without any public exhibition or notification.

It will be interesting to see if local councils work around the new community participation plans — and attempt to carry out a neighbour notification process nonetheless.