Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts

LAND (PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT) ACT - SECT 224

Subdivision B—General

Offence—controlled activities

225. (1) A person who, without reasonable excuse, conducts—

        (a)     a controlled activity specified in Schedule 4; or

        (b)     an activity declared under another Act to be a controlled activity for the purposes of that Schedule;

other than in accordance with an approval, is guilty of an offence punishable, on conviction, by a fine not exceeding the amount specified in that Schedule in relation to that activity.

(2) A Territory authority shall not, without reasonable excuse, conduct a controlled activity except in accordance with an approval.

Application to conduct controlled activities

226. (1) An application for approval to conduct a controlled activity shall—

        (a)     be in a form made available by the Minister;

        (b)     set out, or be accompanied by, such information relating to the controlled activity as is required by the form;

        (c)     be executed by the applicant;

        (d)     be lodged with the Minister; and

        (e)     be accompanied by the determined fee.

(2) An application made by a person who is not the lessee of the place to which the application relates shall be executed by the lessee of that place.

(3) The Minister may, before giving notice under section 229—

        (a)     at the request of the applicant—make an alteration to an application or correct a formal error; or

        (b)     of his or her own motion—correct a formal error in an application.

(4) Where the Minister makes an alteration or a correction under subsection (3), the Minister may, if the applicant is not the lessee of the place to which the application relates, require the applicant to notify the lessee of the place to which the application relates of an alteration or correction made under that subsection and to make a declaration that notice has been given.

Register of applications, approvals and orders

227. (1) The Minister shall keep a register of—

        (a)     each alteration or correction to an application made pursuant to subsection 226 (3);

        (b)     each application that has not been withdrawn, or that is not to be taken to have been withdrawn and in respect of which the period for making an application under section 275 or 276 has not expired;

        (c)     each approval in respect of which the period for making an application under section 275 or 276 has not expired;

        (d)     each approval, for the period for which it remains in force; and

        (e)     each order, for the period for which it remains in force.

(2) A person may, during office hours—

        (a)     inspect the register; and

        (b)     on payment of the determined fee, make copies of, or take extracts from, the register or any part of a document relevant to an application.

Restrictions on inspection of applications

228. (1) An applicant for approval to conduct a controlled activity may apply in writing to the Minister for a part of any copy of the application to be excluded from being made available to the public or for public inspection.

(2) The Minister may approve or refuse to approve an application under subsection (1).

(3) If, on application being made under subsection (1), the Minister is satisfied that—

        (a)     a part of an application to conduct a controlled activity contains information related to the personal or business affairs of a person, being information—

              (i)     supplied to the Minister in confidence;

              (ii)     the publication of which would disclose a trade secret; or

              (iii)     the disclosure of which would, or would reasonably be expected to, adversely affect a person in respect of the lawful business affairs of that person; and

        (b)     it would not be in the public interest for that part to be published;

the Minister shall cause that part to be excluded from any copy of the application to conduct the controlled activity made available to the public or for public inspection.

(4) Where a part of an application is excluded from the copies of that application made available to the public or for public inspection, each copy shall include a statement to the effect that an unspecified part of the application has been excluded for the purpose of protecting the confidentiality of information included in that part.

Notice of application

229. (1) The Minister shall—

        (a)     if a place adjoining the place to which an application relates—

              (i)     is occupied—give notice by post of the making of the application to the lessee of each adjoining place at the address of the adjoining place; or

              (ii)     is unoccupied—give notice by post to the lessee of the adjoining place at the address of the lessee last known to the Minister;

        (b)     publish notice of the making of each application in a daily newspaper; and

        (c)     forward a copy of the application to each concurring authority in relation to the controlled activity to which the application relates.

(2) Paragraphs (1) (a) and (b) do not apply if—

        (a)     in the opinion of the Minister, the number of places adjoining the place to which the application relates is such that it would be impractical to give notice by post to the lessee of each place; or

        (b)     the Plan specifies circumstances in which persons are not entitled to apply for review of decisions referred to in this Part.

(3) The Minister shall, if the application is to conduct a controlled activity specified in item 2 or 3 of Schedule 4, give notice in writing of the making of the application to each person having an estate or interest in the place to which the application relates (being an estate or interest that is registered under the Real Property Act 1925 ).

(4) The Minister—

        (a)     shall forward to the Heritage Council for comment a copy of each application affecting the requirements specified in the Heritage Places Register or an interim Heritage Places Register for the conservation of the heritage significance of places specified in the Register; and

        (b)     may forward a copy of an application to any other person or body for comment.

(5) An applicant shall erect a sign in a conspicuous place in or on the place to which his or her application relates.

(6) A sign erected under subsection (5) shall—

        (a)     be in a form approved by the Minister; and

        (b)     specify the nature of the controlled activity proposed to be conducted in or on that place.

(7) A reference in subsection (1) to a lessee is to be read as a reference to the person registered as lessee in the Register Book kept under the Real Property Act 1925 in relation to the place to which the application relates.

(8) The regulations may prescribe circumstances in which the provisions of—

        (a)     subsection (1); or

        (b)     paragraph (1) (a) or (b);

need not be complied with.

Approvals

230. (1) The Minister may approve or refuse to approve an application to conduct a controlled activity.

(2) The Minister shall not give an approval in terms inconsistent with the lease of the land to which the application relates.

(3) The Minister shall not approve an application without first obtaining the concurrence of each concurring authority in respect of the controlled activity to which the application relates.

(4) If the Minister fails to make a decision on an application before the expiration of the prescribed period, the Minister is to be taken to have refused to approve the application.

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4), the Minister may approve an application at any time during the period commencing on the expiration of the prescribed period and ending on the expiration of the last day on which application may be made to the Tribunal for a review of a decision to refuse to approve the application.

(6) Subsection (2) does not apply in relation to an approval to conduct a controlled activity specified in item 2 or 3 of Schedule 4.

Matters to be considered

231. (1) Before approving or refusing to approve an application, the Minister shall—

        (a)     consider—

              (i)     any comments of a person or body to which the application has been referred for comment;

              (ii)     each objection or other submission the Minister has received in relation to the application which has not been withdrawn;

              (iii)     a preliminary assessment under Division 2 of Part IV, or a report under section 128; and

              (iv)     any Assessment made, or the report of any Inquiry conducted, in relation to the controlled activity to which the application relates; and

        (b)     in the case of an application to conduct a controlled activity affecting the requirements for the conservation of the heritage significance of an Aboriginal place included in the Heritage Places Register or an interim Heritage Places Register—take all reasonable steps to consult with, and consider the views of, any relevant Aboriginal organisation.

(2) In paragraph (1) (b)—