TERRITORY COORDINATOR REGULATIONS 2025

The Regulations operate around a small set of recurring concepts. They do not define these concepts within the Regulations; rather they reference terms and sections of the Territory Coordinator Act 2025 and then prescribe what must appear in certain notices. The important concepts, as used in the Regulations, are the following.

• Notice of designation or revocation of designation of a significant project. Regulation 3 prescribes the required content for notices that designate or revoke designation of a significant project, for the purposes of s 24(2)(b) of the Act. The Regulation requires inclusion of the project name and the date of effect.

• Infrastructure coordination area (ICA) and infrastructure coordination plan (ICP). Regulation 4 prescribes the information required in notices of declaration of an ICA and in notices that vary ICA boundaries. It expressly requires that a declaration notice include the information mentioned in s 25(2) of the Act and include a date of effect (r 4(2)). A variation notice must include a description of the boundaries of the ICA as amended and the date of effect (r 4(3)). Regulation 5 sets minimum public consultation requirements for proposed ICPs and proposed variations to ICPs: a period of at least 20 business days and a requirement that the Territory Coordinator give notice on the Territory Coordinator or Agency website before the consultation period begins (r 5). Regulation 6 prescribes the content of notices approving an ICP, varying an ICP, or revoking approval of an ICP, including name of the project, date of approval or effect, and a statement as to where copies of the ICP or the ICP as varied may be obtained (r 6(2)-(4)).

• Territory development area (TDA) and TDA plan. The Regulations treat Territory development areas in parallel with ICAs. Regulation 7 imposes the same minimum consultation period of at least 20 business days and the same website pre-notification requirement for proposed TDA plans and proposed variations to TDA plans (r 7). Regulation 8 prescribes content for notices relating to designation, variation and revocation of a Territory development area, including that a designation notice must include the information in s 43(3) of the Act and the statement of reasons mentioned in s 43(4) of the Act, as well as the date of effect (r 8(2)). A variation notice must include the name, a description of boundaries as varied, the statement of reasons mentioned in s 53(3)(b) of the Act and the date of effect (r 8(3)). A revocation notice must include the name of the TDA and the date of effect (r 8(4)). Regulation 9 sets out the content for notices approving a TDA plan or approving a variation, and for revocations of TDA plans; each must state the name of the TDA, the date on which the plan becomes effective or the date of effect of the variation or revocation, and where copies of the plan as approved or as varied may be obtained (r 9).

• Public consultation window and notice medium. The Regulations use the term "business days" to set the consultation period as at least 20 business days (r 5(a), r 7(a)). They require website notice on the Territory Coordinator or Agency website prior to the consultation period beginning (r 5(b), r 7(b)). The Regulations do not define "business days" nor "Agency" within the text of the instrument.

• Statements of reasons. For certain TDA notices the Regulations require inclusion of the statement of reasons already required by the Act (r 8(2)(b), r 8(3)(c)). The Regulations therefore incorporate material that is produced under disciplinary Act provisions into the statutory notice.

Taken together the Regulations select which procedural items must be communicated to the public and set a minimum consultation period. They do not supply additional definitions or process steps beyond the content lists and consultation timeframe. The substantive criteria, thresholds and consequences for designation, declaration, approval, variation or revocation remain in the Act, with the Regulations prescribing what the corresponding notices must state and how consultation for specified plans is to be carried out in time and by pre-notification on the designated website(s).

The Regulations allocate practical duties to the Territory Coordinator and use the Territory Coordinator or Agency website as the required medium for pre-consultation notice. The primary administrative actor is therefore the Territory Coordinator, and potentially nominated Agencies that host the required online notices. The Regulations repeatedly require the Territory Coordinator to give notices and to undertake public consultation, for example r 5(b) and r 7(b) require the Territory Coordinator to give notice on the Territory Coordinator or Agency website that public consultation will be undertaken.

Affected parties fall into three broad groups: public and private stakeholders who must be informed and consulted, the administrative actors responsible for producing and publishing notices, and those who receive the notices and must act or respond in consequence. Specific affected categories are:

• The Territory Coordinator, responsible for preparing notices with the prescribed content, giving the pre-consultation website notice, and ensuring minimum consultation periods are observed (r 3-9). The Regulations create specified administrative tasks for that office.

• The Agency or Agencies whose website is used for pre-consultation notice. The Regulations require the Territory Coordinator to give notice on the Territory Coordinator or Agency website before the consultation period begins (r 5(b), r 7(b)). An "Agency" is not defined in the Regulations, so the responsible Agency will be the one identified or used by the Territory Coordinator.

• Proponents of significant projects. Their project names and project-related documents will be specified in notices (r 3, r 6). While the Regulations do not impose substantive obligations on proponents, they make the proponent identity and the existence of ICPs publicly visible and subject to public consultation, which is an operational effect on proponents.

• Owners, occupiers and users of land within an infrastructure coordination area or a Territory development area. Notices must include boundary descriptions or amended boundaries (r 4(3), r 8(3)). Those persons will receive the practical effects of public information and any subsequent statutory actions under the Act.

• Members of the public and stakeholders who would be entitled to participate in the prescribed public consultation periods for proposed ICPs and TDA plans. The Regulations entitle them to a minimum consultation window and require a prior website notice of the consultation (r 5, r 7). The Regulations do not themselves create rights to object or appeal, but they create a procedural expectation that consultation will be available for at least 20 business days.

• Other government bodies and service providers that must respond to or work with an ICP or TDA plan. The Regulations do not set out obligations for other bodies, but by requiring publication of where copies of plans may be obtained (r 6(2)(c), r 6(3)(c), r 9(2)(c), r 9(3)(c)), the Regulations facilitate access to the plans that other bodies will need to review.

Costs and burdens are concentrated on the Territory Coordinator and any Agency required to host notices, which must prepare the notices and maintain website publication records. Preparing the content required by the Regulations may also require input from technical drafters, legal advisers and the policy teams who prepare statements of reasons under the Act (because the Regulations require inclusion of those statements in certain TDA notices, r 8(2)(b) and r 8(3)(c)). Project proponents and landholders will incur the time cost of reviewing published documents and participating in consultation where they choose to engage.

The Regulations set out discrete duties for the Territory Coordinator in relation to notification content and the conduct of public consultation, and they create procedural entitlements for the public in the sense of minimum consultation windows and access to information. The duties and entitlements, stated strictly as required or provided for in the Regulations, are the following.

Duties imposed by the Regulations

• Duty to include specified information in notices of designation or revocation of designation of a significant project. Regulation 3 requires the notice to include the name of the significant project and the date of effect of the designation or revocation, for the purposes of s 24(2)(b) of the Act.

• Duty to include specified information in notices relating to infrastructure coordination areas. Regulation 4(2) requires a notice of declaration of an ICA to include the information mentioned in s 25(2) of the Act and the date of effect. Regulation 4(3) requires a notice of variation of ICA boundaries to include a description of the amended boundaries and the date of effect. Those requirements are prescribed as the content necessary to satisfy s 25(5)(b) of the Act.

• Duty to conduct public consultation for proposed ICPs and proposed variations to ICPs for at least 20 business days, and to give a pre-consultation notice on the Territory Coordinator or Agency website before the consultation period begins. Regulation 5 implements ss 29(b) and 32(2)(b) of the Act by prescribing a minimum consultation duration and pre-notification medium and timing.

• Duty to include prescribed information in notices approving, varying or revoking an ICP. Regulation 6 sets out the required items: name of the significant project, date of approval or date of effect of variation or revocation, and a statement as to where copies of the ICP or the ICP as varied may be obtained (r 6(2)-(4)).

• Parallel duties in relation to Territory development areas and TDA plans. Regulation 7 imposes the same 20 business day consultation minimum and website pre-notice for proposed TDA plans and proposed variations (r 7). Regulation 8 requires that a designation notice for a TDA include the information mentioned in s 43(3) of the Act, the statement of reasons referred to in s 43(4) and the date of effect (r 8(2)). A variation notice must include the name of the TDA, a description of the boundaries as varied, the statement of reasons mentioned in s 53(3)(b) and the date of effect (r 8(3)). Regulation 9 prescribes the content for notices approving TDA plans, approving variations and revoking TDA plans, including where copies of plans may be obtained.

Rights or procedural entitlements created by the Regulations

• Minimum consultation window. The public and stakeholders are accorded a procedural entitlement to a public consultation period on proposed ICPs and TDA plans of at least 20 business days (r 5(a), r 7(a)).

• Entitlement to pre-consultation notice on specified websites. Before that consultation period begins, the Territory Coordinator must give notice on the Territory Coordinator or Agency website that consultation will be undertaken (r 5(b), r 7(b)). This creates a procedural right to have the consultation publicly announced in a specified online location prior to the opening of the consultation window.

• Entitlement to information about where to obtain copies of approved or varied ICPs or TDA plans. The Regulations require that approval and variation notices include a statement as to where copies of the relevant plan or the plan as varied may be obtained (r 6(2)(c), r 6(3)(c), r 9(2)(c), r 9(3)(c)). This establishes a public entitlement to accessible copies, as identified by the notice.

Notes on interplay with the Act and scope

• The Regulations operate in a supporting, prescriptive manner. Each requirement is framed as "For section X of the Act, this regulation prescribes the information to be included" (see r 3, r 4(1), r 6(1), r 8(1), r 9(1)). That means the substantive decision-making powers and any statutory appeal or enforcement mechanisms remain with the Act. The Regulations specify the minimum content of statutory notices and consultation steps necessary to satisfy the Act's procedural provisions.

• Some required items are partly specified in the Act. For instance, r 4(2)(a) requires inclusion of the information mentioned in s 25(2) of the Act in a declaration notice. The Regulations therefore create a duty to include not only the items listed in the Regulations but also those that the Act itself requires in the cross-referenced sections.

• The Regulations do not prescribe who must receive notices, how notices must be served beyond website notice for consultation, or any particular evidence standard for proving notice was given. They do not contain enforcement penalties or sanctioning rules for failure to comply with the notice content or consultation timeframes; any legal consequences for non-compliance would arise under the Act or general administrative law.

The Regulations do not set out penalties, sanctions or enforcement processes. There is no provision in the text of the Territory Coordinator Regulations 2025 that prescribes fines, criminal offences, administrative penalties, or a mechanism for issuing enforcement notices for failure to comply with the notice-content or consultation requirements set out in the instrument. The instrument is strictly prescriptive as to form and does not itself create enforcement machinery.

Implications of that omission must be read in the statutory context. The Regulations repeatedly frame their provisions as building blocks for complying with particular sections of the Territory Coordinator Act 2025 (for example r 3 is "For section 24(2)(b) of the Act" and r 4(1) is "For section 25(5)(b) of the Act"). That means the Act contains the substantive statutory powers which the Regulations are implementing. Whether there are legal consequences for failing to meet the prescribed notice content or consultation requirements therefore depends on the provisions and remedies in the Act and on general administrative law remedies. The Regulations themselves do not state those remedies.

Practical enforcement risks and compliance considerations

• Administrative legal risk. Because the Regulations specify mandatory content for particular notices, a notice that omits required items (for example, omission of date of effect where the Regulation requires it) will likely fail to meet the statutory prescription when read together with the Act. The immediate statutory consequence of such a failure is not set out in the Regulations, but the omission can give rise to legal challenge under the Act or judicial review for failure to comply with required procedures. The Regulations do not state the remedy or the effect of non-compliance.

• No criminal or administrative sanctions in the instrument itself. There is no internal enforcement apparatus in the Regulations such as infringement notices, penalty units or prescribed regulators. Enforcement must therefore be sought under other statutory provisions or by recourse to courts if the Act permits.

• Evidence and proof issues. The Regulations require website pre-notice and content in notices, but they do not prescribe record-keeping rules or proof of service. Practically, this raises evidentiary issues if the question arises whether the consultation notice was properly given or whether the consultation period met the minimum requirement. Administrators will need to keep contemporaneous records of website postings and the dates of effect stated in notices to demonstrate compliance.

• Interaction with administrative law. Because the Regulations set out information and consultation obligations, failure to comply can feed into an administrative law challenge on procedural fairness or statutory procedural non-compliance in respect of decisions made under the Act. The Regulations do not state the consequences, but the procedural items they require are the sorts of matters that courts consider when assessing validity or fairness of administrative decisions.

In short, while the Regulations do not themselves create penalty regimes, they create mandatory procedural steps. Enforcement consequences and remedies for breach are matters for the Act and for the general law, rather than for the Regulations.

The Regulations are an implementing instrument for the Territory Coordinator Act 2025 and therefore operate only by reference to that Act. The Regulations repeatedly cross-reference particular sections of the Act as the statutory hooks for the prescribed notice content and consultation procedure. Examples include the following cross-references contained in the Regulations: s 24(2)(b) (r 3), s 25(5)(b) and s 25(2) (r 4), ss 29(b) and 32(2)(b) (r 5), s 37(2) (r 6), ss 48(b) and 55(2)(b) (r 7), s 60(2), s 43(3) and s 43(4) and s 53(3)(b) (r 8), and s 61(2) (r 9). The Regulations thus sit alongside the Act to supply minimum procedural detail.

Other legal interactions that follow from the Regulations are procedural and practical rather than substantive, and arise from the fact that the Regulations prescribe certain public consultation and notice steps:

• Administrative law. The Regulations prescribe procedural requirements for consultation and notice in respect of decisions or approvals made under the Act. Those procedural prescriptions will interact with judicial review principles and doctrines of procedural fairness in Australian administrative law. While the Regulations do not themselves create remedies, non-compliance with the Regulations can be material to legal challenges to decisions under the Act.

• Interpretation and application of terms. The Regulations do not define terms such as "business days" or "Agency". Those terms will therefore be interpreted in light of any relevant definitions in the Territory Coordinator Act 2025, or failing that, general interpretation legislation (for example, an Interpretation Act of the Northern Territory), and ordinary meaning. The Regulations’ silence on definitions means cross-referencing to the Act and to general statutory interpretation provisions will be necessary in practice.

• Information access and publication obligations. The Regulations require statements in notices as to where copies of ICPs and TDA plans may be obtained (r 6(2)(c), r 6(3)(c), r 9(2)(c), r 9(3)(c)). Those requirements will interact with any broader statutes or obligations that govern public records, freedom of information and the accessibility of government information. The Regulations do not specify whether copies must be provided free of charge, electronically, or in hard copy; those matters are left to other law or administrative policy.

• Land, planning and environmental laws. The Regulations operate in the space where infrastructure coordination and Territory development are relevant. The notices and consultation they prescribe will intersect with planning, environmental assessment, land tenure and local government regulation because ICPs and TDA plans are likely to affect planning and land use outcomes. The Regulations themselves do not amend or displace other statutory regimes, but the publication and consultation they require will be part of the procedural fabric in which those other regimes operate. The Regulations do not specify how conflicts with other statutory timetables or consultation requirements are to be resolved.

• Record keeping and evidence. The Regulations do not set out record-keeping or publication standards beyond the requirement to give a website notice prior to consultation. If other legislation imposes publication standards or retention obligations, those will apply in parallel.

Because the Regulations are narrowly framed as procedural prescriptions in support of specific sections of the Act, their operational interaction with other laws will be through the administrative and judicial processes that govern the making of decisions and the validity of notices, and through any definitional or interpretation frameworks that sit in the Act or in general interpretation legislation.

The text provided contains the instrument as made and the formal endnote particulars. The amendment history recorded in the instrument is minimal:

• Instrument title and number. Territory Coordinator Regulations 2025 (SL No. 10, 2025).

• Date made. The Regulations were made on 28 August 2025 (endnotes).

• Commencement. The Regulations commenced on 29 August 2025, by operation of r 2 which states they commence on the day after they are made.

• No recorded amendments. The endnotes list the instrument and its date made and commencement date but do not record any subsequent amendments, insertions or repeals. The version reproduced is "As in force at 29 August 2025". There are no amendment entries or subsequent dates given in the endnotes.

• No transitional or expiry provisions. The Regulations are silent about expiry, sunset clauses or transitional arrangements. Regulation 2 states the commencement date but does not include savings or transitional provisions.

Practically, the amendment history is therefore current only to the making and commencement dates indicated, and there is no record within the text provided of subsequent amendment, repeal or reissue. Any future change to these Regulations would appear as an amendment in published subordinate legislation records or subsequent versions of the Regulations.

For readers who need to track changes over time, the Regulations as supplied should be checked against the Legislation Register of the Northern Territory to identify any later amendments that would post-date the "as in force at 29 August 2025" snapshot.

The Regulations, as supplied, include no litigation history. There are no cases, decisions or judicial orders cited in the instrument. The endnotes do not include references to any judicial review or challenge. The text is purely a statutory instrument without appended case law or annotations.

Consequently, as of the in-force date shown (29 August 2025), there is no recorded litigation history attached to these Regulations in the provided material. Any litigation that may arise in future would be against decisions made under the Territory Coordinator Act 2025 or against acts or omissions of the Territory Coordinator or Agency in complying with or failing to comply with these Regulations. The Regulations themselves do not list or describe any existing judicial interpretations or authorities.

Users seeking cases that interpret the procedural obligations specified in these Regulations will need to consult court records and reported decisions after the commencement date. The Regulations do not supply precedent or administrative guidance beyond the procedural prescriptions in r 3-9.

This section flags practical pitfalls and points where administrative practice can unintentionally fail to meet the Regulations’ precise prescriptions. The Regulations are short and prescriptive, but small gaps in drafting create operational hazards. The most important "gotchas" to watch are as follows.

• "Business days" is used but not defined in the Regulations. Regulations 5(a) and 7(a) require public consultation to be undertaken for at least 20 business days. The Regulations do not define what counts as a business day, nor do they indicate whether public holidays are excluded. Administrators must therefore check the Territory Coordinator Act 2025, any applicable Interpretation Act, or settled administrative practice to determine whether weekends and public holidays are excluded when calculating the 20 business days.

• Website pre-notice timing. Regulations 5(b) and 7(b) require the Territory Coordinator to give notice on the Territory Coordinator or Agency website that public consultation will be undertaken before the consultation period begins. The Regulations do not specify how long before the consultation the website notice must be posted. A website posting that is made simultaneously with the opening of the consultation period may not satisfy the requirement to give notice "before" the period begins. Administrators should set an internal standard for how far in advance the website notice is published to create a clear contemporaneous record.

• "Territory Coordinator or Agency website" is undefined. The Regulations require publishing on "the Territory Coordinator or Agency website" but do not identify what constitutes the Agency website, whether multiple Agency websites are acceptable, or whether other publication channels are required. A notice posted on an obscure Agency page or on a site with limited accessibility could be susceptible to challenge. Practitioners should ensure the website used is the recognised, official site and that the notice is easily discoverable.

• Statements of reasons are required but are the product of the Act. Regulation 8(2)(b) requires inclusion of the statement of reasons mentioned in s 43(4) of the Act in a designation notice. The Regulations do not themselves contain or require any particular form for the statement of reasons. If the statement of reasons produced under the Act is insufficiently detailed, the notice may technically include it while still falling short of meaningful disclosure or adequate reasoning for affected parties.

• Notices reference information in the Act. Several Regulations require inclusion of information "mentioned in" particular sections of the Act (for example r 4(2)(a) requires the information mentioned in s 25(2) of the Act). Compliance therefore requires checking the Act itself. Failing to include information that the Act requires but the Regulations do not expressly list is a compliance risk.

• Date of effect must be clear. Many notices must include a "date of effect" (see r 3(b), r 4(2)(b), r 4(3)(b), r 6(2)(b), r 6(3)(b), r 6(4)(b), r 8(2)(c), r 8(3)(d), r 8(4)(b), r 9(2)(b), r 9(3)(b), r 9(4)(b)). It is essential that the date is clearly expressed and consistent across all published materials; an ambiguous or inconsistent date can give rise to legal uncertainty about when obligations and consequences attached to the notice take effect.

• Boundary descriptions must be accurate and intelligible. Regulation 4(3)(a) and r 8(3)(b) require descriptions of boundaries as amended. Boundary descriptions need to be precise and, where helpful, accompanied by maps or coordinates. The Regulations do not require maps, but a textual boundary description alone may be unclear to lay readers.

• Access statements are required but format is unspecified. Regulations 6(2)(c), 6(3)(c), 9(2)(c) and 9(3)(c) require that approval and variation notices include a statement as to where copies of ICPs and TDA plans may be obtained. The Regulations do not say whether that must include a web link, physical address, or contact details, nor whether copies must be provided free of charge. An inadequate access statement can be the basis for a procedural complaint by an interested party.

• No specification of service method or recipients. The Regulations set content and website-notice requirements but do not indicate to whom notices must be served, whether direct notices must be sent to affected landowners, or whether publication in a newspaper or other channels is required. Administrators who rely solely on the website notice may face challenges if stakeholders argue that they were not reasonably informed.

• No enforcement mechanism in the Regulations. Because no penalties or enforcement procedures are set out in these Regulations, non-compliance must be addressed under the Act or general law. That raises practical evidentiary and procedural issues for any party seeking redress.

• Cross-references require action beyond the Regulations. Obligations that require importing information from the Act (for example the statement of reasons in r 8(2)(b) and r 8(3)(c)) mean that administrative teams must coordinate between policy drafters, lawyers and the publishing team to ensure that the material produced under the Act is included verbatim where required by the Regulations.

These "gotchas" point to the need for disciplined administrative process: clear drafting of notices, early coordination between legal and publishing teams, conservative timing for website postings, and explicit record-keeping to demonstrate compliance with the Regulations’ procedural requirements.

This section provides a compliance checklist and procedural recommendations for the Territory Coordinator, Agencies, project proponents and other practitioners responsible for implementing the notice and consultation requirements set out in the Regulations.

Checklist for notices generally (apply to r 3-r 9 as relevant)

1. Identify statutory hook. For each notice determine which section of the Act the notice is given under, as the Regulations are framed "For section X of the Act, this regulation prescribes..." Ensure you have the Act section identified because some required items are located in the Act (for example r 4(2)(a) calls for inclusion of information mentioned in s 25(2) of the Act).

2. Use the exact content list. Each relevant regulation prescribes the items required in the notice. For example:

   • For designation or revocation of a significant project: include the name and date of effect (r 3).
   • For declaration of an ICA: include the information mentioned in s 25(2) of the Act and the date of effect (r 4(2)).
   • For variation of ICA boundaries: include a description of the boundaries as amended and the date of effect (r 4(3)).
   • For approval, variation or revocation of an ICP: include project name, date of effect or approval date, and statement as to where copies of the ICP may be obtained (r 6).
   • For designation of a TDA: include the information in s 43(3) of the Act, the statement of reasons in s 43(4) of the Act and the date of effect (r 8(2)).
   • For variation of a TDA: include name, description of boundaries as varied, the statement of reasons in s 53(3)(b) and the date of effect (r 8(3)).
   • For approval, variation or revocation of a TDA plan: include name, date of effect and statement as to where copies may be obtained (r 9).

3. Draft the "date of effect" clearly. Ensure the notice states an unambiguous date; if an operative time is necessary, include it as well. Keep internal records showing how the date was determined.

4. Prepare boundary descriptions carefully. For any boundary variation, prepare a clear, unambiguous description and, where helpful, attach or reference a map or coordinate set. Ensure the description corresponds to any maps or spatial data held by the Agency.

5. Include the statement of reasons where required. Where the Regulation requires inclusion of the statement of reasons mentioned in the Act (r 8(2)(b), r 8(3)(c)), ensure the exact statement prepared under the Act is included in the notice.

6. Provide a clear access statement for plans. Where the Regulations require a statement as to where copies of an ICP or TDA plan may be obtained (r 6(2)(c), r 6(3)(c), r 9(2)(c), r 9(3)(c)), include a web link and a physical address or contact details as appropriate to ensure accessibility.

Consultation procedure checklist (r 5 and r 7)

1. Calculate the consultation window. The Regulations require a period of at least 20 business days. Confirm what constitutes "business days" under the Act or relevant Interpretation Act, then schedule a consultation period that is at least 20 business days.

2. Publish the pre-consultation website notice. Before the consultation period begins, publish a notice on the Territory Coordinator website or the relevant Agency website that consultation will be undertaken during the specified period (r 5(b), r 7(b)). To mitigate risk, publish the notice a reasonable number of calendar days before the consultation opening and retain published timestamps as evidence.

3. Publish the consultation materials and access instructions. At the opening of the consultation window make the proposed ICP or TDA plan (and any supporting material) available where the access statement in the pre-notice indicates they will be obtained. Provide web links, download options and contact details.

4. Keep contemporaneous records. Save the web pages, take screenshots and keep server logs to demonstrate the date and time of the website postings and the availability of consultation materials.

Administrative workflow and quality control

1. Use standardised templates. Create templates for each type of notice prescribed by the Regulations to ensure consistent inclusion of required elements such as project name, date of effect, boundary description, statement of reasons and access statement.

2. Legal review. Have the notice, the statement of reasons and the access statement reviewed by legal counsel to ensure that the required cross-referenced Act material is correctly quoted and that the notice complies with both the Act and the Regulations.

3. Co-ordinate with technical teams. For boundary descriptions and any spatial data, co-ordinate with GIS and planning teams to ensure the description matches the official map or coordinates.

4. Ensure website accessibility. Host notices on the official Territory Coordinator or nominated Agency website, in a prominent and accessible location. Where possible include direct links, and ensure the site is stable for the consultation period.

5. Record retention. Maintain a records retention plan that preserves copies of notices, consultation submissions, correspondence and web publication logs for the period shown in relevant records retention policies and for any statutory periods required under other laws.

Stakeholder communication and outreach

1. Consider supplementary publication methods. The Regulations require the website pre-notice but do not preclude supplementary methods. To reduce the risk of claims of inadequate notice, consider also publishing notices in other channels used by the Territory government, circulating to relevant local councils, and directly notifying identified affected landholders where appropriate.

2. Prepare a clear "where to get copies" statement. When indicating where copies of ICPs and TDA plans may be obtained, specify a web link and a physical address and make clear any fees or formats, or state that no fee applies.

3. Provide a contact point for enquiries. Include an email address and telephone contact for people seeking further information about the notice or consultation.

Practical final checks

• Confirm the statutory source for each notice and ensure the notice includes both the items prescribed in the Regulations and any information required by the Act in the cross-referenced sections (for example s 25(2), s 43(3) and s 43(4), s 53(3)(b)). The Regulations do not replace the need to comply with the Act.

• Validate the calculation of the 20 business days and build internal buffers. Do not schedule the consultation period so that it expires on a weekend or public holiday without checking how those days are counted.

• Preserve contemporaneous evidence of website posting before the consultation or of the effective date of notices, to support any later legal or administrative scrutiny.

Applying this compliance approach will address the specific procedural prescriptions of the Regulations and will reduce the operational risks that arise from the Regulations’ brief and tightly focused wording.