Amendments to the Territory Plan

Depending on the type of proposal, a minor amendment may have to go through a consultation process. These types of amendments are set out in the Act.

Types of minor amendments that do not require consultation include:

• correction to errors in the Territory Plan that would not affect anyone's rights
• minor rezone boundary changes next to unreleased land
• changes to bring the Territory Plan into line with the Nation Capital Plan
• adding or changing a reference to a design guide
• removing something that is obsolete or redundant.

Types of minor amendments that require consultation include:

• a change to a zone boundary consistent with a development proposal
• moving provisions from one section of the Territory Plan to another
• changes to provisions that don't change the substance of the plan and are consistent with intent of the provision
• changes relating to Future Urban Areas under Section 89 of the Act.

Where consultation is required, the Authority must release the minor amendment for a minimum of 20 working days. It must also publish the minor amendment and information about how to comment on the Authority's website.

Comments received must be made available on the Authority's website 10 working days after consultation has ended. They must stay on the website for at least 15 working days.

The Authority will determine the correct type of minor amendment and prepare the document. The Authority must then tell the National Capital Authority (NCA) about the Minor Amendment.

The Authority must:

• be satisfied that the proposal is a minor amendment according to the Act
• consider any comments received from the NCA and the public if consultation was required
• be satisfied the minor amendment is not inconsistent with the ACT Planning Strategy or any relevant district strategy.

Once these steps have been undertaken, the minor amendment can commence. Commencement of a minor amendment will be notified on the Authority's website.

View minor plan amendments to the Territory Plan.

The pre-application process is a voluntary process which is available to all types of major amendments but is used mostly by proponents of proponent-initiated major amendments.

In preparing initial advice back to the proponent, the Authority may seek comments from relevant government agencies.

The proponent may then use this information to prepare their supporting report to accompany their application for a major amendment.

The main benefits of the pre-application guidance process are:

• highlighting opportunities and constraints of a proposal early, before the proponent invests more time and money
• the ability to tailor the supporting report following early comments from relevant entities
• increased likelihood of the application being supporting by the Authority if issues are addressed early in the process.

To initiate the pre-application process a proponent should contact terrplan@act.gov.au. A summary of the proposal should be provided, including the:

• location of the proposal
• scale and nature of the proposal
• initial ideas regarding changes to the Territory Plan.

Request for a proponent-initiated amendment to rezone residential land

A common request for proponent-initiated major amendment to the Territory Plan is to rezone an individual block of residential land. For example, to rezone a block of residential land from RZ1 Suburban Zone to RZ2 Suburban Core Zone.

In considering whether to accept an application for a proponent-led amendment to rezone land under the Planning Act 2023, the Territory Planning Authority must have regard to “anything else the authority considers relevant to the amendment”. This includes further relevant policy work required to strategically plan for land across the city, including looking at land for housing, employment and other uses more broadly, rather than making small changes to rezone individual parcels of land.

While an application to rezone an individual parcel of land could be accepted by the authority, it would not be approved, as it does not meet the requirements of the Act. The application would be refused on the grounds that broader policy work is required to be done to inform such zoning changes. The RZ1 and RZ2 zones, are more appropriately being considered at the strategic level as part of policy work within EPSDD. In this regard, EPSDD is currently progressing a range of strategic planning projects across the city, consistent with the district strategies and the ACT Planning Strategy.

A Supporting Report is a document which tells the government about your proposal, how it will impact the surrounding area and how consistent it is with government policy.

A Supporting Report is required for all proponent-initiated major amendment and will be prepared by the proponent. While a Supporting Report is required for all government-initiated major amendments it will be prepared by the Authority. Minister-initiated major amendments do not require a Supporting Report but the Minister must give the Authority a direction to undertake a major amendment.

A Supporting Report must contain:

• the need for the proposed amendment
• the positive and negative impacts of the proposed amendment
• a statement about how the proposed amendment would give effect to the ACT Planning Strategy and any relevant district strategy (existing or proposed)
• a statement about how the proposed amendment would be consistent or inconsistent with relevant planning outcomes contained in other government strategies or policies
• any public, entity or land custodian consultation undertaken in the preparation of the Supporting Report.

The Authority can provide guidance in the preparation of a Supporting Report as part of the pre-application process.

The Supporting Report will then be used to draft and provide background information for the major amendment or, in the case of a proponent-initiated major amendment, allow the proponent to submit an application for a major amendment.

All proponent-initiated major amendments require an application to be lodged.

To submit an application for a proponent-initiated major amendment the following is required:

• a completed application form
• a Supporting Report for the proposed amendment.

The Authority will check if the application contains all of the required documentation. When all information has been received, the Authority will ask for initial fees to be paid. Once initial fees are paid and receipt has been received by the Authority the application is considered lodged.

Fees can be paid online on the Access Canberra Website.

This information applies to proponent-initiated major amendments only. Other types of major amendments to not require applications.

The Authority will assess the application once it is formally lodged. It must be refused or accepted by the Authority within 3 months.

The Authority may refer the application to relevant entities for comment.

In assessing the application, the Authority must consider:

• the ACT Planning Strategy
• any relevant district strategy
• any current or proposed amendments and policies in the Territory Plan
• the statement of planning priorities
• anything else the Authority considers relevant to the amendment.

The Authority may also require the proponent to provide additional information during the assessment of the application. The application may be refused if the information is not provided in the specified time.

If accepted, an Application Outcome Notice will be given to the proponent. The Authority will also request that the final fee be paid.

If refused, an Application Outcome Notice will be provided to the proponent, detailing the reasons for refusal. The proposal will not progress any further, however a new application can be lodged and considered.

The preparation of a major amendment can begin in three ways:

• the Minister provides direction to the Territory Planning Authority to begin a major amendment
• the Authority has prepared a Supporting Report
• the Authority has accepted an application for a proponent-initiated major amendment.

As part of the preparation of a major amendment it will be referred to entities specified in the Act.

Interim effect may be applied to the amendment at this time. This means the changes will apply to development proposals being assessed before the full amendment process finishes.

This will determine whether the major amendment requires changes to be made before it is referred to the Minister or is withdrawn in part or entirely.

If the major amendment is not withdrawn it must be recommended to the Minister for approval.

Within 5 working days of this, the recommended amendment will be provided by the Minister to the relevant Legislative Assembly standing committee. The committee may choose to undertake an inquiry on the recommended amendment. If this occurs, they may seek submissions from the public. They will also provide a report to the government with recommendations to respond to.

After receiving a report, the Minister may approve or refuse the recommended amendment. They can also send it back to the Authority for revision.

If approved by the Minister, it is presented to the Legislative Assembly. If a resolution rejecting the amendment has not been passed by the Legislative Assembly by the end of the fifth sitting day, the amendment will commence on a day set out in a commencement notice.

Once it commences, the amendment becomes a formal part of the Territory Plan. The changes will then be applied to development applications.