| Short Title: | Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 |
| Long Title: | An Act to institute a system of environmental planning and assessment for the State of New South Wales. |
| Citation: | 1979 No. 203 |
| Administered By: | Department of Planning and Environment |
| Enacted By: | Parliament of New South Wales |
| Date Passed: | 22 November 1979 |
| Date Assented: | 21 December 1979 |
| Assented By: | Governor Roden Cutler |
| Bill: | Environmental Planning and Assessment Bill 1979 |
| Introduced By: | William Haig |
| Date Introduced: | 13 November 1979 |
| Status: | Current |
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 is an Act of the New South Wales Parliament.
It is an "Act to institute a system of environmental planning and assessment for the State of New South Wales".
The Act covers the entire spectrum of environmental assessment and was divided into 11 Parts.
It was amended in November 2017 by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Act 2017 (commenced on 1 March 2018), and is now divided into 10 Parts.[1]
The Act gained considerable controversy with the introduction of section 3A that effectively allowed the Planning Minister to declare a project as of “State significance” and assume direct approval delegation.[2] Although it was introduced to streamline the planning process and fast track the assessment of large infrastructure projects, a public perception of its misuse was a significant factor in the defeat of the Keneally government.