Students

LAWS8061 – Environmental Planning Law

2023 – Session 1, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Paul Govind
paul.govind@mq.edu.au
Contact via All contact with students is through iLearn
Room, 617 - 6 First Walk (Law Building)
Monday 12 - 1pm or by appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to LLM or GradCertEnvPlan or MPlan or MSusDev or (Admission to JD and LAWS600 or LAWS8001)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Almost every use of land from building a family home to infrastructure projects across cities through to coal mining will require some form of legal assessment and approval. The relevant area of law is environmental planning law. This unit examines the intersection of economic, social and environmental issues in the context of land use and law. The focus is on both the natural and built environment in an urban and rural context with particular emphasis on the regulation of land use under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Law 1979 (NSW) and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). The unit provides a detailed analysis of the legal requirements of land use planning instruments, development assessment methods, environmental impact assessment and administrative decision making relating to land use. A critical analysis is undertaken of the effectiveness of the current regulatory regime including reform proposals and options. Discussion and analysis of relevant case law and the functions of the Land and Environment Court in terms of resolving land planning and development issues is covered extensively.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Acquire and demonstrate specialized knowledge of the theories, principles and policies underlying planning and development law with particular focus on Ecologically Sustainable Development and environmental justice;
  • ULO2: Identify, explain and apply the regulatory scheme for planning, development assessment and approval of land use development at federal, state and local levels as the basis for critically analysis of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) and Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).
  • ULO3: Critically analyse the operation of legal review mechanisms relevant to environmental planning law in assessing the effectiveness and accountability of public authorities involved in environmental planning and assessment at all jurisdictional levels
  • ULO4: Display expertise in forecasting environmental challenges that will affect environmental planning law in the future and how to combat these issues whilst balancing competing interests related to economic benefits of land use planning and development.
  • ULO5: Critically evaluate how environmental law and policy is politicised across federal, state and local government balance levels and how the economic aspects and attempts to balance economic and environmental priorities of land use.

General Assessment Information

Late Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 5 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments - e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Submission

All assessments are submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments.

Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.

Word count

Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked.  Footnotes are to be used only for referencing. Referencing must conform to the requirements set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Analytical Research Essay 40% No 14 April 2023
Reflective paper of learning experience 20% No May 19 2023
Take Home assessment 40% No 1 June 2023

Analytical Research Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 14 April 2023
Weighting: 40%

Students will prepare a research essay that analyses a topic relating to environmental planning law
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Acquire and demonstrate specialized knowledge of the theories, principles and policies underlying planning and development law with particular focus on Ecologically Sustainable Development and environmental justice;
  • Display expertise in forecasting environmental challenges that will affect environmental planning law in the future and how to combat these issues whilst balancing competing interests related to economic benefits of land use planning and development.
  • Critically evaluate how environmental law and policy is politicised across federal, state and local government balance levels and how the economic aspects and attempts to balance economic and environmental priorities of land use.

Reflective paper of learning experience

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: May 19 2023
Weighting: 20%

Students will write and submit a reflective paper on what they have learnt through the unit
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Acquire and demonstrate specialized knowledge of the theories, principles and policies underlying planning and development law with particular focus on Ecologically Sustainable Development and environmental justice;
  • Display expertise in forecasting environmental challenges that will affect environmental planning law in the future and how to combat these issues whilst balancing competing interests related to economic benefits of land use planning and development.

Take Home assessment

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 1 June 2023
Weighting: 40%

Students will submit responses to questions based on a hypothetical scenario
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify, explain and apply the regulatory scheme for planning, development assessment and approval of land use development at federal, state and local levels as the basis for critically analysis of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) and Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).
  • Critically analyse the operation of legal review mechanisms relevant to environmental planning law in assessing the effectiveness and accountability of public authorities involved in environmental planning and assessment at all jurisdictional levels

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Classes:

Lecture material will be delivered each week. Please note that some smaller lectures will be delivered later in the week following the main lecture - though the weekly allocation will not exceed two hours per week in total. 

Tutorials are weekly and begin in Week 1.

Classes will be delivered using various combinations of online and face to face delivery.

Lectures will be exclusively online and recorded and uploaded using Zoom.

Weekly tutorials will either be face to face or online. Please ensure that you check the designation of each tutorial (either online to face to face) before you enrol and select your preference. Zoom invitations will be sent to all students in the online tutorials in the week prior to the commencement of Session 1.

Readings and materials:

The prescribed book for this unit is - Rosemary Lyster et al, Environmental and Planning Law in New South Wales 5th edition (2021) - https://federationpress.com.au/product/environmental-and-planning-law-in-new-south-wales-2/

Additoinal materials will be included on a weekly basis. Additional materials will be available through the MQ Library database. The Reading List will be available on the iLearn page and through Leganto in the week prior to the commencement of Session 1.

 

Unit Schedule

LAWS5040 and 8061 Schedule 2023

Week

Topic

Week 1

Rationale, purpose and function of planning law

Week 2

Sustainability – the core theme of modern planning law

Week 3

Overview of the planning law regime in NSW – (the Environmental Planning and Assessment regime and Land and Environment Court Act)

Week 4

Environmental Planning Instruments

Week 5

Development pathways – assessment and determination (Part 1 – Local development)

Week 6

Development pathways – assessment and determination (Part 2 – State based development)

Week 7

Environmental impact assessment

Week 8

The role of Federal environmental law

Week 9

Adjudication and dispute resolution

Week 10

The future of planning law

Week 11

Planning law and climate change

Week 12

Planning law and biodiversity loss

Week 13

Revision

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

In 2023, LAWS8061 will contain a Class Participation component as part of the assessment schedule. This will be assessed as part of the commitment to reflective learning in the course. The second component of the reflective learning strategy is the assessment of a Reflective Raper where students reflect on what they have learnt through the unit. Further details will be provided in Week 1.

 

 

Unit information based on version 2023.02 of the Handbook