Planning & Environment

McInnes Wilson Lawyer’s multidisciplinary Planning and Environment team is committed to achieving the best possible solutions to our client’s legal and commercial challenges.

“Balancing the competing demands of government regulation against the immovable forces of nature while dealing with growing community concern for the environment is no easy task.”

The area of planning and environmental legislation and litigation is often complex and sensitive for many of our clients. We bring to the table an experienced team who partner with various discreet specialist non-legal consultants including town planners, engineers, ecologists, architects and economists. This gives our clients access to a team of professionals, used to working together, who can move quickly and deliver sensible business solutions to what are often significant commercial problems.

A lack of uniformity in planning and environmental law across regulatory bodies means that federal, state and local government can impact in varied and significant ways. Our team is committed to remaining up to date with legislative and policy change.

Our lawyers have multidisciplinary backgrounds and have significant experience in town planning and environmental compliance.

Expertise

We have expertise in all areas of planning and environment law including:

• Providing local government, planning and environmental law advice for developments.
• Undertaking prosecutions on behalf of local governments and the State of Queensland.
• Native title advice.
• Due diligence investigations.
• Town Planning.
• Advising on and providing representation in planning appeals.
• Interpreting environmental planning instruments.
• Managing complex development applications.
• Mining.
• Compulsory acquisition.
• Environmental incidents and investigations.

Our lawyers are familiar with the requirements of many local governments and their associated legislation, and have undertaken several substantial Planning and Environment Court appeals.

Experience

Our Planning and Environment team has experience acting for a wide range of Queensland local governments, submitters, developers, commercial competitors and significant businesses that require ongoing town planning and environment legal advice.

Examples of our proven experience include:

• Providing local government, planning and environment law advice in respect of major residential, retail, industrial and commercial projects.
• Undertaking prosecutions on behalf of local governments and the State for alleged breaches of local laws and planning policies, the Environmental Protection Act 1994, the Integrated Planning Act 1997 and related Acts.
• Litigation in the Planning and Environment Court on behalf of property developers, local governments and submitters, including applications, appeals and enforcement proceedings.
• Undertaking town planning and environmental due diligence.
• Providing in-house training on various aspects of the Integrated Planning Act 1997 and the IDAS process, as well as investigation and enforcement of planning and environment related offences.
• Reviewing and re-drafting local laws on behalf of Queensland local governments.
• Representing landowners in compulsory acquisitions.
• Applications for mining leases and claims for compensation.
• Valuation disputes.

Value Added Services

Wherever possible we seek to provide our clients with value added services to enhance our relationship and better deliver our services.

We maintain membership of a number of relevant bodies and pride ourselves on our ability to make our vast network of contacts throughout Queensland and Australia available to our clients wherever possible.