Project approvals and licensing

Most projects of any scale need more than a development consent. Depending on the site and the activity, separate approval regimes can be engaged for water, biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, built heritage and matters of national environmental significance. Each has its own decision-maker, its own test and its own timetable, and the sequencing between them can determine whether a project runs smoothly or stalls.

Water licensing, approvals and NRAR compliance

Taking or using water in New South Wales is regulated under the Water Management Act 2000, which separates the right to take water (a water access licence) from the approvals that attach to works and use. We advise on whether a licence or approval is required, the pathway to obtain or deal in one, the conditions that attach, and how water entitlements interact with development consent and land transactions.

The same licence-and-approval map controls compliance exposure. We also advise on metering and record-keeping, compulsory information notices and interviews, inspections, directions, section 60G and 91O water charges, civil penalty proceedings and prosecutions. If NRAR has made contact, see the water licensing and NRAR guide and the dedicated water and NRAR intake.

Biodiversity

Where a proposal is likely to affect native vegetation or threatened species habitat, the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 can require assessment under the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme and the retirement of credits, and some clearing needs its own approval. We advise on when the scheme is engaged, what the assessment and offset obligations mean for the project, and the approval pathway for clearing.

Aboriginal cultural heritage

Harming an Aboriginal object or declared Aboriginal place is an offence under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 unless it is authorised. We advise on due diligence, cultural heritage assessment and consultation requirements, and on applications for an Aboriginal heritage impact permit where a project cannot avoid impacts.

Heritage impact approvals

Work to a State-listed heritage item or place generally needs approval under the Heritage Act 1977, in addition to any planning consent, and locally listed items carry their own controls. We advise on the approvals engaged, heritage impact assessment, and the conditions on which consent to works is likely to be granted.

Commonwealth EPBC Act approvals

Where a project may have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, it can require referral and approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). We advise on whether the EPBC Act is engaged, the referral and assessment pathway, and how Commonwealth approval interacts with State planning and environmental processes.

Fitting the approvals together

The licensing regimes above rarely operate alone: they run beside the planning system, and the order in which approvals are sought affects cost, program and risk. We map the approvals a project actually needs, the dependencies between them, and a sensible sequence for obtaining them.

Early identification of the applicable approvals can assist with sequencing applications, evidence and project decisions.