Environment & Planning

We offer one of Australia's leading practices in this area - leading in expertise, responsiveness, and client service. We are also one of the few to cover both environment and planning law - areas that are becoming inextricably linked and that need professionals versed in both disciplines. We understand how local governments work, know our way around town planning and environmental regulation and have the savvy to guide clients through this potentially costly and time-consuming process.

The rapid growth in planning and environmental law over the past two decades has brought about the imposition of significant legal responsibility on both the private and public sectors. Our services play a major role in helping our clients to meet their responsibilities while achieving the commercial aims and public policy goals they are seeking.

Our comprehensive range of services covers advice on the effect of planning controls; preparing planning applications that optimise prospects of approval; amending planning schemes; managing environmental incidents and investigations; assessing environmental management systems; and negotiating with regulatory authorities. And much more.

Our experience extends across the full range of development projects, including residential, tourism and recreation, retail, aged care, commercial and industrial projects and major infrastructure projects such as roads, water, energy and telecommunications.
Deacons has a long record of success acting for developers, infrastructure providers, landowners, parties affected by developments and local governments in all facets of planning and environmental law. We are adept at keeping our clients away from pain - avoiding courts and tribunals - delivering results with minimal cost.

Having acted for councils, government authorities, developers and objectors - although never at the same time - our people have experienced planning and environment matters on every front. This exposure to all perspectives provides valuable insight into the issues and motivations that each faces. This can help smooth the process, assist in reaching agreements faster. Our detailed understanding of councils is of particular benefit to developers. We know the procedures to follow to ensure applications comply with council requirements, enabling them to be processed quickly and without impediment.

We provide clients with a skill base that not only encompasses expert legal advice, but also the specialist skills of engineers, town planners and quantity surveyors who can work with clients, and their consultants, at a technical level.

Our services

• Planning and development
• Environment
• Local government
• Major projects

• Legal update: Garnaut Climate Change Review – Final Report

  Professor Ross Garnaut delivered the Garnaut Climate Change Review Final Report (Final Report) to the Government on 30 September 2008.

  3 Oct 08 Elisa de Wit , Rachael Webb

• Legal update: Not strictly mandatory to consider ESD principles

  Last week the New South Wales Court of Appeal, in the decision of Minister for Planning v Walker [2008], ruled that it was not a mandatory condition for the granting of development approval that the Minister for Planning (the Minister) consider principles of ecologically sustainable development (ESD).

  2 Oct 08 Jacinta Studdert , Rebecca Pleming and Anna Steffensen

• Deacons in the press: Emissions trading scheme could be major cost burden for councils

  A report by law firm Deacons has found that councils could face significant cost imposts if they are required to participate in the Rudd Government's proposed national carbon trading system, reports LG News, 11 September 2008.

  12 Sep 08 Kate Alexander

• Legal update: New disclosure requirements for political donations and gifts

  The Local Government and Planning Legislation Amendment (Political Donations) Act 2008 (NSW), due to commence on 1 October 2008, will introduce far-reaching obligations on proponents of development to disclose political donations. Councils will have new obligations to receive and make publicly available the disclosed information, and must now record how Councillors vote on applications.

  12 Sep 08 Felicity Rourke , Rebecca Pleming

• Legal update: Release of Garnaut’s Supplementary Report on Modelling

  Professor Garnaut’s supplementary report dealing with emissions reductions targets and trajectories (“Supplementary Report”) was released on 5 September. The release of this report was foreshadowed in the Garnaut Climate Change Review draft report, which was published on 4 July.

  8 Sep 08 Elisa de Wit

• Newsletter: Legally Green - August 2008

  Welcome to the August edition of Deacon's quarterly environment and climate change newsletter, Legally Green. In this edition we summarise COAG's recent discussion paper on possible approaches to the design of the expanded Renewable Energy Target and identify some key issues that have arisen from the paper.

  20 Aug 08 Stephanie Barnes, Eric Coonan, Elisa de Wit , Bradley Melman, Rachael Webb and Jonathan Wilkinson

• Environment and Planning article August 2008: Queensland Built Heritage Legislation

  Over the last 15 years there has been an increasing recognition of the importance of preserving Queensland’s built heritage. As a result both State and local governments have adopted legislative requirements dealing with the preservation of Queensland’s built heritage. These legislative requirements are now an integral part of the development assessment process and consequently impact on the use rights attached to land.

  1 Aug 08 Ian Walker

• Deacons in the press: Business braces for carbon trading costs

  Simon Palan speaks to Elisa de Wit, head of the climate change practice at law firm Deacons, about how business has reacted to the carbon trading plan, Business Today, 17 July 2008.

  18 Jul 08 Kate Alexander, Elisa de Wit

• Legal update: Australian Emissions Trading Scheme becomes Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme

  The Government’s eagerly awaited Green Paper on its climate change strategy was released yesterday. Following hot on the heels of Professor Garnaut’s draft report, the Green Paper finally provides some clarity on the Government’s approach to an Australian emissions trading scheme.

  17 Jul 08 Elisa de Wit

• Deacons in the press: ACCC monitors 'green' business claims

  The July 2008 edition of Australian Environment Review features an article by Deacons lawyer Jonathan Wilkinson and articled clerk Andrew Beck. The article reviews the ACCC's guidance paper, Green marketing and the Trade Practices Act, and discusses the principles and terms outlined within.

  14 Jul 08 Kate Alexander , Jonathan Wilkinson and Andrew Beck