New South Wales Consolidated Acts

WATER MANAGEMENT ACT 2000 - SECT 47

47 Validity of management plans and exercise of plan-making functions

(1) The validity of a management plan may not be challenged, reviewed, quashed or called into question before any court in any proceedings, other than before the Land and Environment Court in proceedings commenced within the judicial review period.

(2) The judicial review period in respect of a management plan is:

(a) the period of 3 months after the date the plan was published in the Gazette, except as provided by paragraph (b), or

(b) in relation to a provision of the plan that was inserted by an amendment of the plan (other than an amendment under section 45 (1) (c)), the period of 3 months after the date that the amendment was published in the Gazette.

A judicial review period does not arise as a result of the extension of the duration of a management plan.

(3) The judicial review period cannot be extended by the Land and Environment Court or any other court, despite any other Act or law.

(4) Without limiting subsection (1), the exercise by a designated person of any plan-making function may not be:

(a) challenged, reviewed, quashed or called into question before any court in any proceedings, or

(b) restrained, removed or otherwise affected by any proceedings,

other than before the Land and Environment Court in proceedings commenced within the judicial review period.

(5) The provisions of or made under this Act and the rules of natural justice (procedural fairness), so far as they apply to the exercise of any plan-making function, do not place on a designated person any obligation enforceable in a court (other than in the Land and Environment Court in proceedings commenced within the judicial review period).

(6) Accordingly, no court (other than the Land and Environment Court in proceedings commenced within the judicial review period) has jurisdiction or power to consider any question involving compliance or non-compliance, by a designated person, with those provisions or with those rules so far as they apply to the exercise of any plan-making function.

(7) This section is not to be construed as applying the rules of natural justice to the exercise of plan-making functions for the purposes of proceedings instituted within the judicial review period.

(8) In this section:
"court" includes any court of law or administrative review body.
"designated person" means the Minister, a management committee, the Director-General or any person or body assisting or otherwise associated with any of them.
"exercise" of functions includes the purported exercise of functions and the non-exercise or improper exercise of functions.
"judicial review period" -see subsection (2).
"management plan" includes purported management plan.
"plan-making function" means:

(a) a function under this Act relating to the making of a management plan (including relating to the amendment, replacement or repeal of a management plan or the extension of the duration of a management plan), or

(b) a function under section 46 of this Act relating to the statement of the purpose for which any provision of a management plan has been made.

"proceedings" includes:

(a) proceedings for an order in the nature of prohibition, certiorari or mandamus or for a declaration or injunction or for any other relief, and

(b) without limiting paragraph (a), proceedings in the exercise of the inherent jurisdiction of the Supreme Court or the jurisdiction conferred by section 23 of the Supreme Court Act 1970 .