The Property Council has raised no concerns with the recent the amendments to the State Planning Policy in a submission to the Department of State Development Infrastructure and Planning.
The Submission does, however highlight a key concern of Property Council members – the misuse of requirements for ‘net gain’ for koala habitat for development applications.
Local governments are using the development assessment code in the SPP and its link to the Draft SPP Guideline: State Interest- Biodiversity to condition offsets in accordance with the Net Gain in Bushland Koala Offset Policy.
This interpretation is costing Property Council members millions of dollars in additional offsets, on sites which were not intended to be captured by the policy.
The Property Council has requested the Department revise the SPP and its associated guidance material to ensure the correct interpretation.
The submission is available at the PDF link below.