Reviews of Environmental Factors

Sometimes activities being undertaken by Council that do not require a development approval under Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 may still require an approval under Division 5.1. Division 5.1 is designed to allow for the provision and maintenance of essential infrastructure while still ensuring that measures to protect the environment are considered and included. A Review of Environmental Factors (REF) is required to be prepared, reviewed and signed off by Council for these activities to assess the environmental impacts.

In some cases Council is required to publish the REF document on its website. This is the case for projects with a capital value of more than $5million, where specific permits from the NSW Government are required, or when it is in the public interest. Relevant project REFs are included below.