Confirm the development plan and its promulgation status. The core permission to develop is tied to the development plan promulgated by regulation under s 8(1). Compliance for any development activity requires confirming that a development plan has in fact been promulgated as the development plan, and reviewing any amendments promulgated under the same power. The Minister responsible for planning must have invited representations at least 30 days before promulgation or amendment and must have had regard to any representations (s 8(2)); verifying the administrative record of those invitations and representations will be important for procedural compliance.
If seeking or using Ministerial Building Act exemptions: document and monitor conditions. The Minister may grant exemptions from the Building Act 1970 (s 5(3)) that are subject to conditions (s 5(4)). Any party that is to benefit from an exemption should ensure the conditions are recorded, understood and complied with, because contravention is an offence with a $50,000 penalty (s 5(6)). The Minister may vary or revoke conditions at any time (s 5(4)), and must lay a written statement in Parliament within six sitting days after any grant or variation (s 5(5)); parties should therefore maintain a compliance register tied to the Minister’s public statements and the Parliamentary tabled materials.
Respond to Ministerial remedial notices promptly. If the Minister serves a written notice under s 5(7) requiring a person to desist or to remedy a contravention, failure to comply attracts a penalty not exceeding $5,000 per day for each day of non‑compliance. Parties should treat such notices as urgent and ensure that legal, technical and operational steps to remedy are taken immediately to limit daily exposure.
Check title and register consequences. Where land is vested under s 4, the Registrar‑General will issue a certificate of title without payment of fee and make consequential amendments to the Register Book (s 4(4)-(5)). Parties should apply under the process described, track the Registrar‑General’s actions, and obtain and review the certificate of title that results from vesting. Also check that no duty is being improperly claimed in respect of those applications because s 4(6) stipulates that no duty is payable under the Stamp Duties Act 1923 for the application referred to in s 4(4).
If negotiating State agreements to obtain fiscal exemptions, confine terms to statutory windows. Agreements under s 6(1) may confer exemptions from specified statutory imposts, but those exemptions must conform to the Act’s temporal limits: Waterworks, Sewerage and Local Government Act exemptions must expire before 1 July 1991 (s 6(2)); Land Tax Act exemptions before 1 July 1996 (s 6(3)); and Stamp Duties Act exemptions only for documents executed before 1 July 1991 (s 6(4)). Any agreement should be drafted to reflect these strict dates and to manage expectations about the duration of relief.
Engage the Corporation of the City of Adelaide early when municipal land access is involved. Section 7 requires the Minister to confer with the Corporation about proposed rights before publishing a Gazette notice granting access or exclusive occupation rights over municipal land (s 7(1), (3)). Practically, any developer or State agency seeking access over municipal land should obtain the Corporation’s input and ideally a written record of the conferral process to reduce administrative friction and to demonstrate compliance with the consultation duty.
Maintain records for parliamentary disclosure. The Minister must table a written statement in each House within six sitting days after granting or varying an exemption or varying a condition (s 5(5)). Beneficiaries of exemptions should track these statements and ensure their corporate records reflect the content tabled in Parliament, since those statements form part of the public record and may be relevant for enquiries, audits and compliance verification.
Plan for expiry and re‑engagement with ordinary regulatory regimes. The Act contains fixed expiry dates for many exemptions (s 5(8); s 6(2)-(4)) and a cessation of access/occupation rights after completion of the development (s 7(4)). Compliance planning should include transition arrangements for when statutory exemptions lapse and when ordinary approvals and charges (for example under the City of Adelaide Development Control Act 1976 or the Building Act 1970) become operative again.
Document consent and benefit chains. Because the Act allows exemptions and confers benefits by agreement between the State and contracting parties (s 6(1)), parties should ensure agreements clearly record who benefits from each exemption, the relevant dates of operation, the conditions attached (if any) and the processes for variation, revocation or termination, consistent with the Minister’s powers under s 5(4) and the tabling requirement in s 5(5).
Confirm whether your activity falls within “the proposed development.” The Act’s disapplication of the City of Adelaide Development Control Act 1976 applies only “in respect of the proposed development” (s 5(2)). Parties should obtain legal advice and factual clarification about whether particular works or phases fall within that statutory definition of the proposed development in the context of the development plan promulgated under s 8, to avoid inadvertently operating outside the statutory carve‑out and thereby risking compliance breaches.
Where procedural uncertainty exists, preserve administrative records. The Act imposes several administrative steps (Gazette notices, consultation with the Corporation, invitations for representations, tabling in Parliament). Parties should keep contemporaneous records of conferrals, consultations, invitations, submissions and the Minister’s statements to demonstrate compliance with statutory procedures and to assist with any potential administrative or legal scrutiny.