A public hearing is only held if a formal request is made by the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces. If such a request is made, the Commission must hold a public hearing, it is not discretionary.
The Commission has powers to require certain people to attend the public hearing and to give evidence.
When the Commission, at the request of the Minister, holds a public hearing in relation to a state significant development application for which it is the consent authority, merit appeal rights in respect of any future decision on that application are extinguished. See ‘Merit appeal rights’ below.
Given the effect of a public hearing on the merit appeal rights of the applicant and objectors, a public hearing will also involve the Panel seeking to address issues within the public hearing – for example, asking clarification and related questions of the applicant, DPHI and others throughout the public hearing and at its close. For more information, please see the Commission’s Public Hearing Guidelines.
A public meeting provides an opportunity for the Commission to hear public views on DPHI's assessment report as part of its determination process for SSD applications.
There is no statutory requirement for the Commission to hold a public meeting before determining an application. The considerations that will guide the Commission in relation to the holding of a public meeting before making a decision on an application are set out in our Public Meeting Guidelines.
The public meeting does not affect appeal rights under the EP&A Act.
The Commission reserves the right to cancel or postpone a public meeting without prior notice at its discretion, including on the advertised day of the public meeting. Where a public meeting is postponed or cancelled, the Commission will publish a statement to this effect on its website as soon as is reasonably practicable after the decision to postpone or cancel the public meeting has been made.
A public hearing held by the Commission affects merit appeal rights for both the applicant and objectors.
After a public hearing, no merit appeal may be brought under Division 8.3 of the EP&A Act, in respect of any future decision made by the Commission as consent authority under the EP&A Act in relation to the carrying out of any development that is the subject of this public hearing. See Division 8.3 of the EP&A Act for more details.
We recognise the importance of community participation in our decision-making process. Using our ‘Make a submission’ form is the easiest way for you to make a submission on cases currently before the Commission.