Thursday, 19 February 2026
Housing Affordability: Overview of the Key Changes in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning System Reforms) Bill 2025:
- New objectives in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act – what it means
- Fast tracked and flexible complying development certificates
- A new approach requiring ‘proportionate’ and ‘risk based’ assessment of environmental impacts
- The new ‘targeted assessment pathway’
- Standard conditions of consent
- Housing delivery authority – scope and purpose
- The new development coordination authority – what will it do?
- How NSW legislation reflects broader national trends aimed at improving planning efficiency, boosting housing delivery, and modernising assessment pathways
Other significant changes:
- Low and mid-rise housing reforms
- The ‘pattern book’ complying development pathway
- Boader reflections on how planning system models can adapt across jurisdictions to improve housing outcomes
Presented by Tomas Bush, Special Counsel, Pikes & Verekers Lawyers
Description
Attend and earn 0.5 CPD unit in Substantive Law
This program is based on NSW legislation
* This interactive online recording includes questions and quizzes requiring critical thinking about the topics, so you have no annual limits to the number of points/hours you can claim with this format of learning. Please verify with your CPD rules
Chair
Emma Fleming, Principal Lawyer, Macpherson Kelly; Leading Town Planning & Development Lawyer NSW, Doyle’s Guide 2025
Presenters
Tomas Bush, Special Counsel, Pikes & Verekers Lawyers
Tom is part of our local government and planning law team. Tom has worked as a lawyer for over 10 years, primarily specialising in Environment and Planning Law. Tom first joined Pikes and Verekers in 2015 and re-joined the firm in 2025 after various roles as an inhouse government solicitor and in private practice. Most recently, Tom was Special Counsel in the Environment and Planning Team of a national firm. Tom has successfully acted for developers and consent authorities on a broad range of matters, including merit appeals, judicial review, compulsory acquisition, environmental prosecutions and civil enforcement.
Emma Fleming, Principal, Macpherson Kelley Lawyers
Recognised as a Leading town planning lawyer, Emma’s tact and commercial approach to law has seen her take the lead on several significant environment and planning litigation cases throughout her career. It’s her commitment to seeing client projects through and her keen focus on commercial outcomes that has led to her success on a number of major projects including environmental prosecutions, planning appeals and project challenges relating to controversial developments involving retail, commercial and residential projects and licensed premises. As a specialist in all aspects of local government, planning and environment law and compulsory acquisition, Emma knows the development industry from the inside out. Her clients range from property developers and licensed premises to community groups and private clients. Emma’s experience is particularly sought after amongst property developers as she advises at all stages of the project life-cycle (including development and project applications, environmental assessment, developer and planning agreements and approvals) with consideration to relevant State and Commonwealth environment and planning legislation. Her expansive knowledge and client care makes her one of the leading lawyers in her field.
