Our public meeting process

There is no statutory requirement for the Commission to hold a public meeting before determining a State significant development (SSD) application and a public meeting does not affect appeal rights under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

The considerations that guide the Commission in deciding whether to hold a public meeting are set out in detail in our Public meeting guidelines. The Commission will ordinarily consider whether an application has received at least 50 unique objections from the public when it was exhibited by DPHI and whether the local council objected to the application. 

In some circumstances the Commission may decide not to hold a public meeting and consider holding stakeholder meetings with relevant groups or individuals. 

The Commission will give a minimum of two weeks (14 calendar days) notice of a public meeting or hearing by direct email to those who had previously made a submission to DPHI on the SSD application during DPHI’s exhibition period. We will also notify both elected representatives and civic management at the local council. 

The Commission will also place a notification on our website and social media channels and issue a media release to news outlets in the area local to the proposed development. 

A public meeting will typically be held two to four weeks after the Commission receives the Assessment Report from DPHI.

Anyone can register their interest to speak at a public meeting by completing a speaker registration form via the relevant case page on our website.

Speaker registrations typically close seven days before the scheduled public meeting. They are not automatically accepted and the Commission will usually process and separately confirm applications to speak within two business days.

The Commission uses the information from the registration form to organise the speaker schedule ahead of the public meeting.

The Commission will publish a schedule of registered speakers and timeslots on our website approximately 24 hours before the meeting.

The Panel Chair may, at their discretion, allow a speaker additional time during the public meeting, if the information contained in the speaker’s presentation is new or particularly detailed and relevant.

Register to speak at an upcoming public meeting

The length of a public meeting is at the discretion of the Commission and is dependent on the level of community and speaker interest. It may run for half a day, a full day or over multiple days. 

Although public meetings will generally be held during business hours on a weekday, there may be occasions when an evening or weekend session is scheduled. 

The Commission may conduct a public meeting wholly in person, wholly virtually by telephone or videoconference, or a combination of the two with both in-person and virtual participation options.

Matters that the Commission may consider in deciding this may include:

• the likely number of participants at the public meeting
• the availability of a suitable site for the in-person component
• the availability of reliable telecommunications for the remote component
• external factors such as any public health orders or related guidance. 

You can view the SSD development application, submissions made to DPHI and other documents that informed DPHI’s Assessment Report by visiting the case page and accessing the link to the DPHI website.  

On the Commission website case page we will publish key documents and updates (including assessments, reports, stakeholder correspondence and case notifications), information on meetings and hearings (including site visits and meeting details, schedules, presentations and transcripts) and any public submissions that were invited as part of the case.

The Panel does not present information on the details of the case at the public meeting. The meeting is an opportunity for the Commission to hear directly from interested individuals and groups about the issues of concern to them. Although Commissioners may ask questions or seek clarification from registered speakers, this is generally unnecessary.

On occasion, the Commission may engage the use of a Counsel Assisting to support the conduct of the public meeting. Counsel Assisting may ask questions or seek clarification from speakers. No questions or cross-examination will be permitted from others in attendance. 

The public meeting process may involve:

• the Chair of the Panel giving a brief opening statement that describes the process and the Commission’s role in determining the development application
• the applicant providing an update on changes to the proposed development since it was exhibited
• members of the public presenting to the Panel in accordance with the times set out in the published speaker schedule.

Once all registered speakers have presented to the Panel, the Chair may close or adjourn the public meeting for a short period of time to allow the Commissioners (with the assistance of Counsel Assisting where they have been engaged) to consider what they have heard.

After the adjournment, the Panel may ask follow-up questions of the applicant or DPHI, which can either be answered immediately at the meeting or taken on notice.

In circumstances where a public meeting is conducted wholly in person, the Panel will hear presentations from registered speakers in a face-to-face public setting. If a public meeting is conducted wholly electronically, registered speakers will present to the panel via telephone and/or videoconference. However, most public meetings will comprise both a face-to-face and virtual component.

Registered speakers must ensure their presentations are factually accurate and otherwise contain expressions of opinion which they honestly hold. They must also refrain from making offensive, threatening or defamatory statements. Guidance for how registered speakers should conduct themselves can be found in Annexure A to our Public meeting guidelines.

Registered speakers should provide a copy of their speech or presentation to the Commission five days prior to the meeting. The general running of the public meeting is within the discretion of the Chair of the Panel, including:

• stopping a person from speaking if he or she makes offensive, threatening or defamatory statements. This includes instances during which a speaker names or singles out a particular person or group’s view
• permitting the substitution of speakers
• granting additional time for a speaker at the public meeting
• granting a late application to speak.

Registered speakers are asked not to interact with the audience during their presentation, for example, asking for a ‘show of hands’ or requesting the audience indicate their views. Alcohol is not permitted to be taken into a public meeting and anyone who is intoxicated or acting in a disorderly manner will be asked to leave.

Where a public meeting is conducted wholly in person, it will generally be open to the public to attend, subject to capacity constraints at the venue. There are exceptions, including the Commission determining it is in the public interest for the public meeting to take place in private due to the confidential nature of any evidence or matter.  

Where a public meeting is conducted wholly remotely by electronic means, the Commission will live stream proceedings on its website or social media channels.

A recording of the public meeting can also be viewed on our YouTube channel until the case is determined, and a transcript of the public meeting will also be published on our website.

Media are welcome to attend and cover public meetings,  

People speaking at or attending meetings should be aware that they are in a public forum that is recorded, so their words or images may be used in news or social media coverage.  

Anyone with a legitimate need to have their privacy protected should make Commission staff and attending media aware.

Media do not need to register to attend. There is usually an area suitable for TV cameras to film from and Commission staff will help media obtain a good audio feed.

The Commission will record and transcribe what is said at public meetings (and stakeholder meetings). The Commission will publish a written transcript of these meetings on our website within a few business days after the end of the meeting.

The Panel Chair reserves the right to not transcribe meeting or to redact a meeting transcript, including (but not limited to) if the information discussed at the meeting contains:

• Cabinet-in-confidence material
• commercial-in-confidence material
• defamatory, rude, or offensive material
• personal information.

If the public meeting has been livestreamed, a video recording of the livestream will be made available on the Commission’s YouTube channel within a few business days after the end of the meeting. This video recording will remain online until the case is determined.

The Statement of Expectations for the Commission from the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces includes key performance indicators regarding timeframes for decision-making by the Commission for different case types. 

Please see the current timeframe KPIs for public meeting cases.