Recommendations not implemented: Third-party appeals against regularisations

Recommendations not implemented: Third-party appeals against regularisations

Published October 09, 2024

The complaint

The Commissioner conducted an investigation into the issue concerning third parties’ inability to contest regularisation permits issued by the Planning Authority before the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal.

The investigation

While third parties are allowed to submit representations against regularisation applications under the Development Planning Act, the Tribunal Act does not grant them the right to appeal regularisation decisions.  This legal discrepancy was confirmed in a 2022 Court of Appeal ruling.  The Commissioner deemed this situation unjust, highlighting that third parties do not have the same rights as applicants when it comes to challenging regularisation decisions.  In contrast, for development permissions, both applicants and third parties can submit appeals.

Conclusions and Recommendations

To address this imbalance, the Commissioner recommended amendments to the Tribunal Act, ensuring that third parties can also appeal Planning Authority regularisation decisions, and called for these changes to be reflected in the relevant regulations.

Conclusions and Recommendations

After a prolonged period without action from the responsible authority, the matter was escalated to the Prime Minister and later brought before the House of Representatives, in accordance with the Ombudsman Act.