It is now three months since the amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment (EPA) Act were passed by State Parliament by the narrowest of margins: one Upper House vote. In this process, we requested that an Implementation Advisory Committee be established to oversee and monitor the implementation and impact of the planning reforms, and that a review of the EPA Act be undertaken to ascertain the need for fundamental reforms. We sought representation of the Australian Institute of Architects at all levels. These requests have been taken up by the former Minister for Planning, Frank Sartor. The Institute made a submission on the draft codes that was highly critical of the confusing manner of their presentation, while generally supportive of the principles they were attempting to convey. A respected and highly experienced member of the Institute, Russell Olsson, has been appointed to the expert panel reviewing the preparation of the next draft, and we wish him well for this important work. I have made recommendations to the NSW Department of Planning for the appointment of Institute members to the new Planning Assessment Commission, which will be the consent authority for the Part 3 A DAs delegated by the Minister for Planning; and to the Building Professionals Board, which has responsibility for the regulation and education of accredited certifiers. As President, I am representing the Institute on the Implementation Advisory Committee, which is chaired by the minister.
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