A recent decision by the NSW Land and Environment Court in Kingfisher Properties Pty Ltd v Northern Beaches Council [2025] NSWLEC 39 (Kingfisher Case) is a timely reminder that development control orders (DCO) must adhere to statutory requirements.
In this case, the Court reduced a $100,000 penalty to just $9,000 after finding that the DCO issued went beyond the powers permitted under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) (EP&A Act).
Background
Kingfisher Properties Pty Ltd (Kingfisher) was a company that built a carport without obtaining the necessary development consent for the construction. Northern Beaches Council (Council) issued a DCO requiring Kingfisher to remove the carport. Initially, this was done via a Compliance Order under item 11, part 1 of Schedule 5 of the EP&A Act. However, a Compliance Order can only be used when a planning approval exists but has not been complied with. Given there was no planning approval in this instance this was not the appropriate order to issue. [...]
