Residential development appeals - How to start an appeal

1. Check your information

Check that you are making the right appeal (see above) and that you are making the appeal within the specified time limit.

2. Find the right form

A residential development appeal, being an appeal under s 8.7 or s 8.9 of the Planning Act, is allocated to Class 1 of the Court’s jurisdiction (by s 17(d) of the Land and Environment Court Act). The appeal is to be commenced by a Class 1 application (Form B (version 2)  (DOC , 71.0 KB)).

3. Attach the right documents

The application should attach:

• the development application or modification application
• any documents which accompanied that application, including a statement of environmental effects
• any plans for the residential development — see Schedule A to the Practice Note - Class 1 Residential Development Appeals (PDF , 341.9 KB) (paragraphs 12 and 13 of the Practice Note)
• any determination of the consent authority of the development application or modification application.

If the appeal concerns the imposition of conditions of development consent for residential development, the applicant is to file in the Court and serve on the consent authority with the application, a statement of facts and contentions explaining the conditions with which the applicant is dissatisfied. 

The applicant’s statement of facts and contentions is to comply with the requirements in Schedule C of the Practice Note - Class 1 Residential Development Appeals (PDF , 341.9 KB) (paragraph 19 of the Practice Note).

4. Check the fee

A court filing fee must be paid to commence the appeal. The amount of the filing fee depends on the value of development or building and whether the person appealing is a natural person or a corporation.   The range of filing fees is specified in the Schedule of Court fees.

5. File the appeal 

A development appeal can be commenced by filing three copies of the completed Class 1 Application and paying the Court’s filing fee at the Court’s registry on Level 4, 225 Macquarie Street, Sydney or by posting three copies of the completed application and the filing fee to the court at GPO Box 3565, Sydney, NSW   2001. 

An objector appeal can be commenced by filing four copies as described.

In addition, all Local Courts throughout New South Wales act as agents for the Land and Environment Court.   Applications can be filed and the filing fee paid at any Local Court registry. The Local Court registry staff will give a receipt for the payment of the filing fee and will forward the papers to the Land and Environment Court for processing.

The Court will process the application at the Court’s registry. The application will be recorded in the Court’s record system and stamped as having been filed with the Court. The date, time and place for the first directions hearing before the Court will be set and written by the Court’s staff on each of the copies of the application.  The first directions hearing will usually be 21 days after the date of filing of the application.

The Court’s registry will keep one copy of the application for the court’s file and return the other copies of the application to the applicant. One of the returned copies is for the applicant to keep and the other copies need to be served on the consent authority and any other respondent.

6. Serve the application

A stamped copy of the application needs to be served on the local council who is the consent authority and the respondent to the appeal, within 3 days of filing. The Court has prepared a guide for the service of documents for self-represented litigants (PDF , 68.3 KB). The guide explains what is meant by service of documents and how this is to be undertaken.

7. Respondent files notice of appearance

After the applicant serves the application, the consent authority needs to acknowledge service and register its desire to take part in the proceedings.  This is known as filing a notice of appearance. (DOC , 50.0 KB) The consent authority needs to complete and file with the court, and serve on the applicant, a Notice of Appearance.