{"id":"nsw:sl-1999-0214","name":"Environmental Planning and Assessment (Sydney Cove) Savings and Transitional Regulation 1999","slug":"environmental-planning-and-assessment-sydney-cove-savings-and-transitional-regulation-1999","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"nsw","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"214 of 1999","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":179118,"registerId":"nsw-nsw:sl-1999-0214-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"# Part 1 Preliminary\n\nPart 1 Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Regulation","content":"#### 1 Name of Regulation\n\n1 Name of Regulation\n\n> This Regulation is the [Environmental Planning and Assessment (Sydney Cove) Savings and Transitional Regulation 1999](/view/html/inforce/current/sl-1999-0214).","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 2 Definitions\n\n2 Definitions\n\n> In this Regulation:\n> \n> approved scheme means the approved scheme for the purposes of the [Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority Act 1968](/view/pdf/asmade/act-1968-56), as that scheme was in force immediately before 10 July 1998, and as amended in accordance with this Regulation.\n> \n> Director-General means the Director-General of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning.\n> \n> Sydney Cove Development Area has the same meaning as development area had in the [Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority Act 1968](/view/pdf/asmade/act-1968-56) immediately before its repeal.\n> \n> the public domain means land available for public use and includes streets, lanes, squares, boardwalks, roads, playgrounds, parks, open space, pedestrian walkways and the like.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Notes","content":"#### 3 Notes\n\n3 Notes\n\n> The explanatory note and table of contents do not form part of this Regulation.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Amendment of approved scheme","content":"# Part 2 Amendment of approved scheme\n\nPart 2 Amendment of approved scheme","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application for variation to approved scheme","content":"#### 4 Application for variation to approved scheme\n\n4 Application for variation to approved scheme\n\n> > (1) If a person proposes to carry out development on land within the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Area and the proposed development does not comply in all respects with the approved scheme, the person may apply to the Minister for a variation to the approved scheme that the person considers necessary to be made to enable development consent to be granted to the proposed development.\n> \n> > (2) The application must:\n> > \n> > > (a) describe the respects in which the proposed development does not comply with the approved scheme, and\n> > \n> > > (b) set out the reasons for the variation to the approved scheme for which the person is applying, and\n> > \n> > > (c) address the matters referred to in clause 9 (2) in relation to which the Minister must form an opinion before making a variation to the approved scheme.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Decision as to preparation of draft variation","content":"#### 5 Decision as to preparation of draft variation\n\n5 Decision as to preparation of draft variation\n\n> > (1) On receipt of an application under clause 4, the Director-General is to decide whether or not to prepare a draft variation to the approved scheme that would enable development consent to be granted to the proposed development.\n> \n> > (2) The Director-General may, with the concurrence of the Minister, decide not to prepare a draft variation if the Director-General is of the opinion that the variation will not conform with the general planning and design principles for the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Area.\n> \n> > (3) The Director-General must notify the applicant of his or her decision.\n> \n> > (4) If the applicant is notified that the Director-General has decided to prepare a draft variation to the approved scheme, the applicant is to make a development application for the proposed development if the applicant has not yet done so.\n> \n> > (5) After the Director-General has notified the applicant that he or she has decided to prepare a draft variation to the approved scheme and if the Director-General has received a development application for the proposed development, the Director-General is to prepare a draft variation to the approved scheme that will enable development consent to be granted to the proposed development.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Public notice and exhibition of draft variation","content":"#### 6 Public notice and exhibition of draft variation\n\n6 Public notice and exhibition of draft variation\n\n> A draft variation to the approved scheme must be publicly exhibited with the development application to which it relates and notice of the draft variation must be included in any notice given of the development application.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Inspection of, and submissions concerning, draft variation","content":"#### 7 Inspection of, and submissions concerning, draft variation\n\n7 Inspection of, and submissions concerning, draft variation\n\n> > (1) During the period for which an application under clause 4 and a draft variation to the approved scheme are publicly exhibited, any person:\n> > \n> > > (a) may inspect, and make extracts from or copies of, the draft variation to the approved scheme, and\n> > \n> > > (b) may make a written submission to the Minister concerning the draft variation.\n> \n> > (2) A submission by way of objection must set out the grounds of the objection.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Public notice of development that is not designated or advertised development","content":"#### 8 Public notice of development that is not designated or advertised development\n\n8 Public notice of development that is not designated or advertised development\n\n> > (1) If the development the subject of an application under clause 4 is not designated development or advertised development, the application must be publicly exhibited and notice must be given of it as if:\n> > \n> > > (a) the development were development to which clause 65 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 1994 applied, and\n> > \n> > > (b) the period for which the application may be inspected is the period of 30 days commencing on the day after the day on which the published notice is first published in a newspaper,\n> > \n> > subject to subclause (2).\n> \n> > (2) The Director-General may modify the application of clause 65 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 1994 in relation to any particular application in such manner as the Director-General thinks fit.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Variation of approved scheme","content":"#### 9 Variation of approved scheme\n\n9 Variation of approved scheme\n\n> > (1) The Minister is to consider all submissions concerning a draft variation to the approved scheme made during the period of public exhibition of the draft variation.\n> \n> > (2) If, after considering those submissions, the Minister is of the opinion that the draft variation, if made:\n> > \n> > > (a) will not permit development that will adversely affect:\n> > > \n> > > > (i) development on adjoining land, or\n> > > \n> > > > (ii) the heritage significance of buildings, structures or sites in the locality, or\n> > > \n> > > > (iii) the quality of the public domain in the locality, and\n> > \n> > > (b) will not permit development that will have an adverse impact on the natural or built environment or an adverse social or economic impact in the locality, and\n> > \n> > > (c) will conform with the general planning and design principles for the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Area,\n> > \n> > the Minister may make the variation to the approved scheme in accordance with the draft variation or make the draft variation with such alterations as the Minister thinks fit.\n> \n> > (3) The Minister may make a variation to the approved scheme in accordance with this clause, whether or not development consent is granted to the application in relation to which the variation was submitted.","sortOrder":10}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The text preserves and provides a procedure to vary the existing approved scheme; it does not itself expand or reduce the defined Sydney Cove Development Area or expressly change the substantive scope of the approved scheme. The Regulation sets transitional and procedural mechanisms for amendments but contains no clause that independently alters the redevelopment area’s boundaries or fundamental controls."},"complexity_factors":["Layered decision‑making: applicant → Director‑General (whether to prepare draft) → Minister (final decision) (clauses 4–5, 9)","Significant administrative discretion in refusal or alteration of draft variations (clause 5(2); clause 9)","Public exhibition and submissions process with inspection and objection rights, plus procedural variations by the Director‑General (clauses 6–8)","Substantive but subjective statutory criteria (adverse effects on adjoining land, heritage, public domain, natural/built environment, social/economic impacts, and conformity with planning/design principles) (clause 9(2))","Cross‑reference to external rules for notification and exhibition (EP&A Regulation clause 65) and allowance for the Director‑General to modify those application rules (clause 8)","Ability for the Minister to make a variation irrespective of whether development consent is granted (clause 9(3))","Defined terms tie the operation to the pre‑repeal approved scheme and the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Area, requiring interpretive attention (clause 2)"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation lets a person proposing development in the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Area apply for a formal variation to the existing approved scheme when their proposal does not fully comply. The Director‑General decides whether to prepare a draft variation, drafts are publicly exhibited with the development application, and the Minister decides whether to make the variation after considering submissions.\n\nThe Minister may only make a variation if satisfied it won’t adversely affect adjoining development, heritage, the public domain or the local environment and if it conforms with the area’s planning and design principles. Applicants carry the application and exhibition burden and face public scrutiny."},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, the regulation appears to have maintained its original narrow scope — managing the transition of planning rules specifically for the Sydney Cove area. The attempted repeal and subsequent revival of the repeal did not alter its substantive scope; it simply preserved the original instrument in its original form."},"complexity_factors":["Unusual legislative history — the regulation was repealed and then had that repeal revoked, creating a convoluted status trail that requires cross-referencing multiple instruments","Specialist planning law context — requires understanding of how NSW environmental planning instruments (EPIs) interact and transition","Limited substantive text available — the actual operative provisions of the regulation are not reproduced in the document provided, making full analysis impossible","Temporal complexity — the regulation is over 25 years old yet remains in force, raising questions about what transitional matters could still be live","Jurisdictional specificity — applies only to a defined geographical area (Sydney Cove), requiring knowledge of the relevant planning history of that precinct"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation preserves and manages the transition of planning rules for the historic Sydney Cove (Circular Quay/The Rocks) precinct, ensuring applications, approvals and processes begun under the old planning regime continue to be treated appropriately. \n\nIt affects developers, property owners and planning authorities in that area and matters because—despite being made in 1999—it remains in force, so legacy development rights and transitional protections still apply."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Status Notes — Repeal","severity":"high","reasoning":"A savings and transitional regulation is, by definition, intended to operate for a finite period to bridge the gap between two legal regimes. The fact that it remains in force from 1999 to the present day (2026, per the access date) — over 27 years — is internally contradictory to its stated transitional purpose. Furthermore, the repeal-then-revocation-of-repeal cycle raises a logical question: if the repeal was valid when enacted in 2011, the instrument ceased to exist at that point. A proclamation purporting to revoke a repeal of subordinate legislation raises serious questions about whether the instrument was validly revived or merely notionally continued, as repeals generally cannot be undone without explicit revival machinery.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The Regulation was purportedly repealed by Schedule 5 to the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No 2) 2011, but that repeal was itself revoked by a subsequent Proclamation in 2012. The instrument therefore exists in a legally ambiguous state: it was repealed, then un-repealed, yet no amending or replacement content appears to have been added. The regulation continues 'in force' in its original 1999 form indefinitely, despite the entire purpose of a savings and transitional regulation being time-limited by nature."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Status Notes — Repeal (revocation of repeal)","severity":"high","reasoning":"Under orthodox statutory interpretation principles, a repeal effected by an Act of Parliament (even in a Schedule) stands until reversed by equivalent or superior legislative authority. A Proclamation is executive in character and subordinate to Acts of Parliament. Revoking a parliamentary repeal via Proclamation inverts the legislative hierarchy and may render the purported revival of the Regulation legally ineffective, meaning the Regulation may have in fact ceased to exist from the date of the 2011 repeal. If so, publishing and certifying it as 'in force' from 1999 to date would itself be legally misleading.","confidence":0.75,"description":"The repeal was 'revoked' by a Proclamation rather than by primary or subordinate legislation of equivalent standing. Using a Proclamation to undo a repeal effected by a Schedule to an Act is of questionable legal competence, as the hierarchy of instruments suggests an Act-level repeal should require Act-level reversal, not executive proclamation."},{"type":"other","section":"Currency of version / Provisions in force","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Transitional regulations operate to preserve rights or procedures during a changeover period. Once that period has elapsed — and given this regulation relates to a 1999 planning transition — it is logically impossible for the provisions to remain operative in any meaningful substantive sense 27 years later. The continued formal publication as 'in force' without any note of the provisions having been 'spent' (a recognised status in Australian legislative drafting) suggests an administrative or legislative oversight rather than genuine ongoing legal effect.","confidence":0.7,"description":"The status information states 'The provisions displayed in this version of the legislation have all commenced' and identifies the current version as running from '14 May 1999 to date'. Given the regulation is a savings and transitional instrument, asserting that all provisions remain in force and current as of 2026 is logically absurd — transitional provisions exist to be spent, not to endure indefinitely."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"Status Notes — Repeal (Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No 2) 2011 No 62, Sch 5)","section_b":"Status Notes — Repeal revoked by Environmental Planning and Assessment (Sydney Cove) Savings and Transitional Repeal Proclamation 2012 (348)","confidence":0.8,"description":"The legislation records that it was repealed by an Act of Parliament in 2011, and then states that the repeal was revoked by a Proclamation in 2012. These two facts are in direct contradiction: if the Act repealed the regulation, it ceased to exist as a legal instrument. A Proclamation cannot logically revoke a prior parliamentary repeal without explicit statutory authority to do so, creating a direct contradiction between the instrument's recorded legal status (repealed) and its asserted current status (in force)."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Title — 'Savings and Transitional Regulation 1999'","section_b":"Currency of version — 'Current version for 14 May 1999 to date (accessed 5 April 2026)'","confidence":0.72,"description":"The title of the instrument expressly characterises it as a 'Savings and Transitional' regulation, connoting a temporary and time-limited operation. The currency statement asserts it has been continuously in force from 1999 to 2026 — a period of 27 years. These two characterisations are mutually contradictory: an instrument cannot be both transitional in nature and indefinitely enduring in operation."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation maintains its original narrow purpose: providing a transitional mechanism for varying the approved scheme for Sydney Cove after the repeal of the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority Act 1968. It has not expanded beyond this specific geographic area and specific procedural function."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 defined terms in the interpretation section (approved scheme, Director-General, Sydney Cove Development Area, public domain)","Moderate cross-referencing to the repealed Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority Act 1968 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 1994","Clear sequential process (application → decision → exhibition → variation) with minimal nested conditions","Single substantive condition in clause 9(2) with three protective criteria, but structured as a straightforward checklist rather than complex logic","No exceptions to exceptions or deeply nested subclauses","Short length (9 clauses plus preliminary matter)"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation creates a special planning process for Sydney Cove (the area around Circular Quay and The Rocks). It allows developers to apply for changes to the existing planning rules (called the 'approved scheme') if their proposed building doesn't fit within current guidelines. \n\n**Key points:**\n\n- **Who it affects:** Anyone wanting to develop land in the Sydney Cove area, plus the Minister for Planning and the Director-General of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning.\n\n- **How it works:**\n  - If a developer's proposal breaks the existing planning rules, they can ask the Minister to vary (change) those rules.\n  - The Director-General decides whether to prepare a draft variation.\n  - The draft gets publicly exhibited alongside the development application, so the community can have their say.\n  - The Minister can approve the variation only if satisfied it won't harm neighbouring properties, heritage values, public spaces, or the environment, and that it fits with the area's overall planning principles.\n\n- **Why it matters:** This provides a streamlined way to update planning controls for specific developments in Sydney's historic waterfront precinct, rather than requiring a completely new planning instrument each time. It balances development flexibility with protections for heritage and public space."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/environmental-planning-and-assessment-sydney-cove-savings-and-transitional-regulation-1999","history":"/api/acts/environmental-planning-and-assessment-sydney-cove-savings-and-transitional-regulation-1999/history","analysis":"/api/acts/environmental-planning-and-assessment-sydney-cove-savings-and-transitional-regulation-1999/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/environmental-planning-and-assessment-sydney-cove-savings-and-transitional-regulation-1999/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/environmental-planning-and-assessment-sydney-cove-savings-and-transitional-regulation-1999/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/environmental-planning-and-assessment-sydney-cove-savings-and-transitional-regulation-1999/documents"}}