The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) sets out the role the Commission plays in the planning system. It also defines the roles played by the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces
The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces is responsible for setting planning-related policy and administering planning legislation. The Minister’s functions are set out in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act).
How the Minister works with the Commission
The Minister appoints Commissioners – including one as Chair of the Commission. The Minister does not have the power to direct or control the Commission, except in relation to certain procedural matters.
The Minister may ask the Commission to conduct public hearings for development applications and other planning and development matters and to provide independent advice on any planning-related matter.
The Minister's Statement of Expectations for the Independent Planning Commission sets out the Minister’s expectations of the Commission in relation to its purpose, functions, and roles. It also establishes governance objectives and key performance indicators in relation to timeliness as well as accessibility, independence, transparency and legal robustness of Commission decisions.
The Commission reports on its performance to the Minister against key indicators in the Commission’s annual report and publishes its performance against these timing KPIs quarterly. For more information, see the Minister's Statement of Expectations for the Independent Planning Commission and quarterly and annual reports on the Commission’s performance.
In June 2024, the Minister wrote to the Commission Chair regarding recent updates to the NSW Government’s climate change policy framework, forwarding on to the Commission Chair correspondence that the Minister had received from the Hon. Penny Sharpe MLC, Minister for Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Heritage. A copy of the Minister’s June 2024 letter to the Commission Chair is linked here and a copy of Minister Sharpe’s letter to the Minister is linked here.
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) undertakes rules-based assessment of State significant development (SSD) applications on behalf of the Independent Planning Commission and prepares an Assessment Report for the Commission.
The Planning Secretary is the head of DPHI and has departmental responsibility for planning in NSW. The Planning Secretary is responsible for the administration of the relevant provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act). Through DPHI, the Planning Secretary is responsible for coordinating the whole-of-government assessment of SSD applications before referral to the Commission.
SSD applications that do not meet one of the triggers for referral to the Commission are determined by the Minister or by officers of the Department under delegation from the Minister. DPHI also determines modification applications, under delegation from the Commission, except in cases where a reportable political donations disclosure has been made.
Visit the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) website.
How the Commission works with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
The Commission is a separate agency from the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI). However, DPHI is responsible for assisting the Planning Secretary in undertaking certain functions that the Planning Secretary—by law—must carry out on behalf of the Commission.
When an SSD application meets one of the triggers for referral to the Commission, DPHI provides the application to the Commission along with DPHI’s whole-of-government Assessment Report and any recommended conditions of consent.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the DPHI and the Commission is in place that clarifies how the two agencies work together to exercise their respective roles responsibilities under the EP&A Act. View the Memorandum of Understanding.
Under the Minister’s Statement of Expectations, the Commission is expected to seek guidance from the Planning Secretary if it needs to clarify policies or identify policy issues that may have implications for SSD determinations.
Independent Planning Commission
The Commission’s key functions under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) are to:
- determine certain State significant development (SSD) applications
- conduct public hearings for development applications and other planning and development matters
- provide independent advice on any planning-related matter when requested by the Minister of Planning and Public Spaces or the Planning Secretary.
When are SSD applications referred to the Commission?
SSD applications that meet one or more of the following three triggers will come to the Commission for determination:
- there are 50 or more public objections to the SSD application
- the applicant has made a reportable political donation disclosure
- a local council has objected to an SSD application within its local government area and has not withdrawn that objection following the exhibition.
Exceptions to these triggers are as follows:
- The Commission is only the consent authority for residential in-fill affordable housing development applications if the applicant has made a reportable political donation disclosure, or if the Commission is requested to make the determination as a delegate of the Minister.
- The Commission is also only the consent authority for modification applications where the applicant has made a reportable political donation disclosure. All other modification applications are delegated by the Commission to DPHI officers for determination. View this Instrument of delegation.