Amendments to Accredited Professionals and General regulations approved
Published Friday, 26 May 2023
Amendments to clarify and improve the Accredited Professionals Regulations and General Regulations have been made by the Governor and are now in effect.
The changes reflect feedback received during consultation on proposed amendments to the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (Accredited Professionals) Regulations 2019 and Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017 in early-2023.
Opportunities to clarify and improve the Accredited Professionals Regulations were identified as part of last year’s Accredited Professionals Scheme review, while improvements to the General Regulations reflect feedback from planning, development and building industries received during the past year.
The proposed changes to the General Regulations were endorsed by the Expert Panel that has undertaken the Planning System Implementation Review.
Key changes include:
Accredited Professional Regulations
- enabling the Accreditation Authority to refuse an application or cancel/suspend an accreditation where an accredited professional has breached another Act of Parliament in the performance of their duty, or a similar Act of another state
- prescribing that a person accredited as a Planning Level 1 may also perform the functions of a Planning Level 2, 3 and 4, or that a person accredited as Planning Level 3 may perform the functions of a Planning Level 2
- enabling an applicant to apply to the Accreditation Authority when they renew their accreditation to change their anniversary date to an earlier date
- removing the requirement to publish accredited professionals’ qualifications and experience on the public register
- clarifying the Continuous Professional Development requirements for persons accredited as Planning Level 2
- realigning the competencies that need to be covered for planning and building accredited professionals
- providing a new provision that allows an accredited professional to apply for a 3-month extension to lodge their renewal in extenuating circumstances
- allowing council planning and building officers to assess or inspect development undertaken by council.
View the detailed summary of amendments to the Accredited Professionals Regulations (PDF, 145 KB)
General Regulations
- enlivening the Essential Infrastructure Pathway to allow specified electricity infrastructure to be assessed under a more streamlined pathway
- clarifying that the State Planning Commission will be the relevant authority for development situated in two or more councils
- introducing a new clause in Schedule 9 that allows a referral body to delegate
- requiring a person applying for development that involves ‘prescribed work’ (as defined by the Strata Titles Act 1988 and the Community Titles Act 1996) to provide evidence that the relevant corporation has authorised the works
- amending Schedule 13 to clarify when development undertaken by a state agency is exempt from requiring approval (eg there are currently no restrictions on the size of a covered outdoor educational area that can be built without requiring approval)
- making minor editorial changes to provide greater consistency throughout the regulations.
View the detailed summary of amendments to the General Regulations (PDF, 205 KB)
