In Stage 5, the Territory Planning Authority will conduct a quality check of the assessment.
All DAs are reviewed by a senior assessing officer. This review may be followed by further review from the Stage 5 Support Group (SSG) or the Assessment and Environment Advisory Panel (AEAP).
Stage 5 acts as a layer of oversight to improve consistency in decisions on DAs.
Stage 5 Support Group (SSG)
The SSG may review and provide advice to the assessing officer on particular assessment items that were not able to be resolved during the senior officer’s review.
The SSG is an informal advisory group that is made up of minimum of two senior members of the Authority, which may include:
- Outcomes Manager, DA Assessment
- Landscape Officer, DA Assessment
- Senior Director, DA Assessment
- Directors, DA Assessment
- Senior Director, Impact Assessment
- The likely delegate (deciding officer).
There is no ‘trigger’ for when a DA needs to be presented to the SSG. It is an escalation point for the senior officer review where presentation to the AEAP is not required.
Assessment and Environment Advisory Panel (AEAP)
The AEAP reviews and provides advice on the assessment and determination of major DAs. The AEAP will convene with a minimum of four members.
The core members of the AEAP include:
- Outcomes Manager, DA Assessment
- Landscape Officer, DA Assessment
- Senior Director, DA Assessment
- Directors, DA Assessment
- The likely delegate (deciding officer)
- Where a potential approval decision would depart from entity advice – a member from the referral entity.
Other optional members (where applicable) may include:
- Senior Director, Impact Assessment
- Senior Director, Leasing
- Director, Leasing
- A representative from a referral agency who raised concerns (if clarification of advice is needed)
- Any other individual or group (including external members), as needed.
If any of the following triggers are met, advice will be sought from the AEAP:
- Territory Priority Projects
- Significant developments, when
- supported by an environmental impact statement
- advice from the National Capital Design Review Panel is provided
- It is for a subdivision design application that implicates 3 or more blocks.
- Where the development triggers consideration of the Urban Design Guide
- Where the development triggers consideration of the Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design Guide
- When 30 or more representations are received during the public notification period(s)
- All developments containing 12 or more residential or commercial units.
- Where the height of the building or structure is 25m or more.
- Where there is a 25% shortfall (or more) in the parking rates outlined in the relevant Technical Specifications.
- For all developments that are supported by an environmental significance opinion.
- When a potential approval decision would depart from entity advice (including on protected tree or environmental matters) – this does not include where conditions are proposed to be included to address entity advice.
- When escalated from Senior Officer Review or SSG.
Advice from the AEAP is summarised in the Notice of Decision for applicable DAs.
It should be noted that the SSG and AEAP hold no decision-making powers. They provide advice on the assessment to inform the decision-making process.
After all review is finalised, the DA decision will be made. The decision may be to approve, conditionally approve or refuse a DA.
The Authority will also identify essential design elements and request pre-decision advice at this stage.
