CHANGING, CANCELLING
AND EXTENDING
DEVELOPMENT
APPROVALS
A development approval can be changed, cancelled or the currency period can be
extended aer approval has been given.
The Planning Act 2016 largely sets out the
requirements and processes for changing,
cancelling or extending the currency period for a
development approval. However, certain change
processes use the development assessment
process in the Development Assessment Rules
(DA Rules).
Changes during the applicant’s
appeal period
After receiving a decision notice for a development
application that has been approved, the
applicant can make representations to the
assessment manager about changing the
development approval. These are called ‘change
representations’.
The Planning Act prescribes when and how
change representations may be made, considered
and decided, including the relevant timeframes.
Change representations must be made during the
applicant appeal period, which is a 20 business
day period following the assessment manager
giving the applicant a decision notice. Change
representations cannot be made or decided after
the applicant’s appeal period has ended.
For more information, see our fact sheet on change
representations.
Changes aer the applicant’s
appeal period
The Planning Act allows an applicant to change
a development approval after the applicant’s
appeal period has ended. An application to
change a development approval is called a
‘change application’. Depending on the type of
change proposed, and who may be affected by the
proposed change, there are a number of things
that need to be considered.
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Factsheet – September 2021
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> a development approval given or changed by
the Planning Minister for an application that
was called in under a call in provision – in which
case the responsible entity is the Planning
Minister.
A change application must meet certain
requirements in order to be considered by the
responsible entity. This includes, but is not
limited to:
> being made in the approved form,
> the required fee, and
> owner’s consent, if relevant.
For a minor change application, the affected
entities must be notified about the application.
An affected entity is:
> a referral agency for the development
application, if the responsible entity is the
assessment manager or another referral agency
> the assessment manager of the development
application, if the responsible entity is a referral
agency
> the assessment manager and any referral
agency of the development application, if the
responsible entity would be the Planning and
Environment Court
> another person prescribed by regulation.
Making a change application
A change application (both minor and ‘other’)
must be made to the ‘responsible entity’. The
responsible entity for the change application is the
assessment manager of the original development
application unless:
> the change application is for a minor change to
a development condition that a referral agency
imposed – in which case the responsible entity
is the referral agency, or
> the change application is for a minor change,
and the development approval was given
because of an order of the court, and there
were properly made submissions – in which
case the responsible entity is the Planning and
Environment Court, or
> the change application is for a change to a
condition of a development approval that the
Planning Minister directed the assessment
manager impose or amend – in which case the
responsible entity is the Planning Minister, or
> the change application is for a change to a
condition of a development approval that the
Planning Minister directed the assessment
manager impose under repealed planning
legislation – in which case the responsible
entity is the Planning Minister, or
Type of changes
There are two types of changes that can be made to development approvals after the applicant’s
appeal period has ended. These are set out below.
Minor change to a development approval
For a change application to be a considered a minor change, the change to the development
approval must meet the definition of a minor change as set out in schedule 2 of the Planning Act.
The process to be followed is also prescribed in the Planning Act.
This definition includes the requirement that the proposed change would not result in
‘substantially different development’. Schedule 1 of the DA Rules contains further information
about substantially different development.
‘Other’ change to a development approval
A change that is not a minor change is also able to be made to a development approval. For
these ‘other’ changes, the change application is assessed and decided by following the process
set out in the DA Rules .
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The ‘other’ change application is assessed and
decided by following the process set out in the
DA Rules as if:
> the responsible entity was the assessment
manager
> the change application were a development
application including the change, but made
when the change application was made
> with other necessary changes.
The DA Rules are to be followed for an ‘other’
change application noting:
> references in the DA Rules to section 51 of
the Planning Act and ensuring an application
is properly made should, for the purposes of
a change application, be taken to reference
section 79 of the Planning Act to ensure a
change application is properly made
> if public notication is applicable to the ‘other’
change application, it must be undertaken
in the way prescribed in the DA Rules, unless
section 82(3) of the Planning Act is applicable
to the ‘other’ change application. This section
establishes that public notication does not
apply if the change application is only an ‘other’
change application because the application
would require referral to new referral agencies
or referral for additional referral requirements
> the application must be referred to all referral
agencies triggered by the development
application including the change application
> all of the features provided in the DA Rules (for
example, stopping a current period or further
advice) are able to be called on during the
process of assessing and deciding an ‘other’
change application
> references in the DA Rules to section 63 of
the Planning Act and deciding the application
should be taken to be a reference to section 83
of the Planning Act for the purposes of giving
the decision about the change application and
publishing the notice of decision (statement of
reasons)
Where the department’s chief executive (State
Assessment and Referral Agency ) was a referral
agency for the development application, the chief
executive is not an affected entity.
An applicant may seek a pre-request response
notice from an affected entity before making their
change application.
Assessing and deciding a minor change
application
For a minor change application, the process to be
followed is prescribed in the Planning Act.
After making the change application to the
responsible entity, the person making the
application must give the application to affected
entities. Affected entities are provided with the
opportunity to assess the change application and
provide a response to the responsible entity. This
can either take the form of a pre-request response
notice before the change application is made or
can be given as a response notice after the change
application is made.
Sections 81 and 81A of the Planning Act sets out
how a responsible entity must assess and decide a
change application for a minor change, the period
of time in which to decide the change and the
period in which to give a decision notice about the
change.
The responsible entity must also publish a notice
of decision (statement of reasons) on their website.
Assessing and deciding an ‘other’
change application
Where a change application is not a minor change,
it is considered to be an ‘other’ change application.
An ‘other’ change application must be assessed
and decided in accordance with the process
established under the DA Rules and have regard to
the following parts of the Planning Act:
> part 2, division 2 (making or changing
applications)
> part 3 (assessing and deciding development
applications) excluding:
• section 51 (making development applications)
• section 63 (notice of decision)
• section 64(8)(c) (application of deemed
approval conditions).
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Referral agencies are not required to be involved or
advised about the extension application before it
has been decided.
If the extension application is approved, the
development approval now lapses at the end of
the extended period. If the extension application is
refused, the development application lapses on:
> the day the decision notice is given or the end
of the currency period (whichever occurs last), if
the applicant does not appeal the decision
> the day the appeal is dismissed or withdrawn or
the end of the currency period (whichever occur
last), if the applicant appeals the decision and
the appeal is dismissed or withdrawn, or
> the end of the extended period decided by
court, if the applicant does appeal the decision
and the appeal is allowed.
If the applicant does appeal the extension
decision, the applicant may not start or carry out
the development until the appeal is decided,
unless allowed by the Planning and Environment
Court.
Extension or suspension of periods under the
Planning Act
The Planning Minister has powers to declare an
applicable event. The concept of the ‘applicable
event’ ensures that the state government is able
to make advance preparations or respond to
emerging circumstances that affect a State interest
under the Planning Act.
Once an applicable event is declared, the
Planning Minister can extend or suspend statutory
timeframes to provide for actions, such as those
that occur in development assessment, to still be
undertaken in a timely manner.
To date, the Planning Minister has issued two
notices which have each extended timeframes
relating to the currency periods of development
approvals by six months. Find out more about how
these extension of time notice’s may have applied
to your development approval.
Cancelling a development approval
The Planning Act allows for a development
approval to be cancelled. To cancel a development
approval, a cancellation application must be made
to the assessment manager. However, where the
development application was called in by the
Planning Minister, the cancellation application
must be made to the original assessment manager.
For the cancellation application to be valid it
must be accompanied by the required fee and, if
required, owner’s consent.
If the assessment manager receives a cancellation
application that complies with section 84 of the
Planning Act, the assessment manager must cancel
the development approval by issuing a notice of
the cancellation. A cancellation application cannot
be made if:
> the development has started
> there are unlled or ongoing obligations
under the approval, or
> the obligations have not been superseded
under another development approval,
or authority.
Extending a development approval
The Planning Act allows the currency period of
an approval to be extended at any time before
the development approval lapses. To do this,
an extension application must be made to the
assessment manager and be accompanied by the
required fee and, if relevant, owner’s consent. An
applicant may use the template provided by the
department.
The assessment manager must decide the
extension application within 20 business days of
receiving the application (or longer if agreed). The
assessment manager must decide to either:
> refuse the application, or
> give the extension sought, or
> alternatively extend the currency period for
a period dierent from the one sought in the
extension application.
After the assessment manager has decided the
extension application, a decision notice must be
given within five business days.
