What happens if the Territory Plan changes while my project is being designed?
A Territory Plan change may affect your design, but it depends on whether the change is actually in effect when your project progresses to a DA.
If an amendment has formally commenced, it becomes part of the Territory Plan and its changes are applied to development applications. This means a project that was designed using earlier planning provisions may need to be checked again before the DA is lodged.
A draft major plan amendment does not automatically apply. If it has interim effect, its proposed provisions apply to current and future DAs alongside the existing Territory Plan. If it does not have interim effect, the draft provisions do not apply to current or future DAs.
Example: You are designing a development based on a 9.5 m maximum building height. During the design process, a draft amendment proposes a 12.5 m maximum and is given interim effect. ACT Planning’s example explains that because the existing 9.5 m limit and proposed 12.5 m limit are inconsistent, a DA may only propose a maximum height of 9.5 m, so that it is consistent with both provisions.
Our planning team can check relevant Territory Plan amendments during the design process so that the proposal is based on the requirements applicable when it progresses to DA.
Reference: ACT Planning, Major Plan Ammendments – https://www.planning.act.gov.au/professionals/our-planning-system/the-territory-plan/major-plan-amendments
Short Answer
Example: a draft major plan amendment with interim effect proposes to increase the maximum building height of a site to 12.5 metres.
Assuming the current Territory Plan states the maximum building height for the site is 9.5 metres, the provisions of the draft major plan amendment and the current provisions of the Territory Plan are inconsistent with each other. Therefore, to be consistent with the provisions of both the draft major plan amendment and the current Territory Plan, a development application may only propose a building to a maximum height of 9.5 metres.
Alternatively, assuming there is no maximum building height provisions for the site in the current Territory Plan, the provisions of the draft major plan amendment would not conflict with the current Territory Plan. Therefore, a development application could be lodged that proposes a building up to a maximum height of 12.5 metres.
Detailed Explanation
There are three situations to distinguish:
1. The amendment has commenced
Under ACT Planning – Amendments to the Territory Plan ? Major amendments ? Post consultation and outcome, once a major amendment commences, it becomes a formal part of the Territory Plan and the changes are then applied to development applications.
Accordingly, if a project is still being designed when a relevant amendment commences, the proposal should be checked against the amended Territory Plan before progressing to DA.
2. A draft major plan amendment has interim effect
Under ACT Planning – Major plan amendments ? Interim effect, the proposed provisions apply to current and future development applications alongside the current Territory Plan. Where the provisions are inconsistent, the more onerous provision applies.
ACT Planning gives the specific building-height example:
- Draft amendment maximum: 12.5 m
- Current Territory Plan maximum: 9.5 m
- Maximum that may be proposed in the DA: 9.5 m
If the current Territory Plan contains no conflicting maximum-height provision, the example states that a DA could instead propose a building up to the draft amendment's 12.5 m maximum.
3. A draft major plan amendment does not have interim effect
The proposed provisions do not apply to current or future DAs. The existing provisions of the current Territory Plan continue to apply until the amendment formally commences.
Therefore, a proposed Territory Plan change does not automatically mean that a project under design must immediately be redesigned. The important questions are whether the amendment has commenced or, if it is still a draft major amendment, whether it has been given interim effect.
No minimum block size does not remove the need for planning assessment.
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