New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT ACT 1979 - SECT 20

20 Class 4--environmental planning and protection, development contract and strata renewal plan civil enforcement

(1) The Court has jurisdiction (referred to in this Act as "Class 4" of its jurisdiction) to hear and dispose of the following--

(a) proceedings under section 44 or 153 of the Heritage Act 1977 ,

(aa) proceedings under section 282 of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 ,

(b) proceedings referred to in section 3.27 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 ,

(ba) proceedings under section 10 of the Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Act 1986 ,

(bb) proceedings under section 18 of the Ozone Protection Act 1989 ,

(c) proceedings under section 9.45 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 ,

(ca) proceedings under section 57 of the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act 1985 ,

(caa) proceedings under Divisions 6 and 6A of Part 3, Part 7 and Division 3 of Part 10 of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 ,

(cab) proceedings under the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 , section 95AE or 95C,

(cb) proceedings under section 96 of the Pesticides Act 1999 ,

(cbb) proceedings under section 108 or 110 of the Pesticides Act 1999 ,

(cc) proceedings under the Pesticides Act 1999 , section 99(6) or 112C,

(cd) proceedings under section 60B of the Pipelines Act 1967 ,

(ce) proceedings referred to in section 69G of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 ,

(cf) proceedings under section 91H of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 ,

(cg) proceedings under sections 193 and 202 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 ,

(cga) proceedings under Division 2 of Part 13 and sections 13.22 and 13.27 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 ,

(ch) proceedings under section 27 of the Wilderness Act 1987 ,

(ci) proceedings under Part 8.4 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 ,

(cia) proceedings under sections 247 and 307 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 ,

(cib) proceedings under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 , section 251A,

(cic) proceedings under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 , section 253B,

(cj) proceedings that have been transferred to the Court under section 149B of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (
"transferred civil proceedings" ),

(cja) proceedings under section 100H of the Rural Fires Act 1997 ,

(ck) proceedings under section 57 of the Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Act 2008 ,

(cn) proceedings relating to elections for members of local boards (including relating to enrolment) under regulations made under the Local Land Services Act 2013 ,

(co) proceedings under the Protection from Harmful Radiation Act 1990 , section 24A, 25B, 26(5), 27, 27A or 28,

(d) proceedings under sections 673 and 674 of the Local Government Act 1993 ,

(da) applications under section 17 of the Restricted Premises Act 1943 ,

(db) proceedings under section 50 (Prevention of unauthorised work) of the Coal Mine Subsidence Compensation Act 2017 ,

(dc) proceedings under section 30 of the Swimming Pools Act 1992 ,

(dd) proceedings under Division 5 of Part 7 of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 ,

(de) proceedings under section 91 of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 ,

(dea) proceedings under section 31 of the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 ,

(df) proceedings under section 10.32, 11.13 or 11.19 of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 ,

(df1) proceedings under sections 335, 336 and 336E of the Water Management Act 2000 ,

(dg) proceedings under section 353D of the Water Management Act 2000 ,

(dh) proceedings under section 57 or 60 of the Plantations and Reafforestation Act 1999 ,

(di) proceedings under section 40 of the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2011 ,

(dj) proceedings under sections 109, 148, 171, 350 and 385 of the Biosecurity Act 2015 ,

(dk) proceedings under section 105 of the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 ,

(dl) proceedings under the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 , section 34,

(e) proceedings referred to in subsection (2).

(2) The Court has the same civil jurisdiction as the Supreme Court would, but for section 71, have to hear and dispose of the following proceedings--

(a) to enforce any right, obligation or duty conferred or imposed by a planning or environmental law, a development contract or a strata renewal plan,

(b) to review, or command, the exercise of a function conferred or imposed by a planning or environmental law, a development contract or a strata renewal plan,

(c) to make declarations of right in relation to any such right, obligation or duty or the exercise of any such function,

(d) whether or not as provided by section 68 of the Supreme Court Act 1970 --to award damages for a breach of a development contract.

(2A) The Court has jurisdiction to hear and dispose of proceedings referred to in subsection (1)(dd).

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a planning or environmental law is--

(a) any of the following Acts or provisions--

Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (other than Division 5 of Part 7),

Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 ,

Biological Control Act 1985 ,

Coal Mine Subsidence Compensation Act 2017 ,

Coastal Management Act 2016 ,

Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 ,

Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Act 2008 and regulations made under the Act,

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 ,

Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act 1985 ,

Fire and Emergency Services Levy Act 2017 ,

Part 5A or 5B of the Forestry Act 2012 ,

Heritage Act 1977 ,

Part 2 of Chapter 6, Chapter 7 or Chapter 15 of the Local Government Act 1993 ,

Part 5A or 5B of, and Schedule 5A to, the Local Land Services Act 2013 ,

Schedule 3 to the Miscellaneous Acts (Planning) Repeal and Amendment Act 1979 ,

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 ,

Ozone Protection Act 1989 ,

Pesticides Act 1999 ,

Plantations and Reafforestation Act 1999 ,

Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 ,

Plumbing and Drainage Act 2011 ,

Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991 ,

Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 ,

Protection from Harmful Radiation Act 1990 ,

Rural Fires Act 1997 ,

Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 ,

Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Act 1986 ,

Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2001 ,

Waste Assets Management Corporation Act 2010 , or

(b) any statutory instrument made or having effect thereunder or made for the purposes thereof, including any deemed environmental planning instrument within the meaning of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 ,

as respectively in force at any time, whether before, on or after 1 September 1980.

(3A) The Court (constituted by a Judge) may, by order, declare that any proceedings in the Court that it considers to be related or ancillary to transferred civil proceedings are to be dealt with together with the transferred civil proceedings. In the event of such an order being made, the proceedings that are the subject of the declaration may be dealt with under this Act as if they belonged to Class 4 of the Court's jurisdiction even if they belong to a different class of the Court's jurisdiction.

(4) Subject to any adaptations prescribed by the rules, the provisions of the Supreme Court Act 1970 , the Civil Procedure Act 2005 and the rules made under those Acts apply to the enforcement of a judgment or order of the Court in the same way as they apply to the enforcement of a judgment or order of the Supreme Court.

(5) In this section--

"development contract" means a development contract within the meaning of the Community Land Development Act 2021 or an agreement implied by or section 81 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 .

"strata renewal plan" means a strata renewal plan under the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 that has been given effect by an order of the Court.