Not all development requires consent. Certain developments undertaken by a public authority, such as Port Authority, are classified as “development permitted without consent” and are allowed under environmental planning instruments, such as the State Environmental Planning Policy (Transport and Infrastructure) 2021.
Before undertaking developments permitted without consent, Port Authority assesses the environmental impact of these activities and prepares a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) in accordance with Division 5.1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act), following the Guidelines for Division 5.1 assessments (Department of Planning and Environment, June 2022).