Lands, Planning and Mining Tribunal

About the Lands, Planning and Mining Tribunal

Chairperson: Mr Greg Cavanagh
Registrar: Alicia-Ann Heyworth
Location: Level 3, Zone A,
Nichols Place,
Magistrates Courts,
Cnr Cavanagh and Bennett Street
Darwin NT 0801
Telephone: (08) 8999 5001
Facsimile: (08) 8999 5005
Email: landsmining.tribunal@nt.gov.au

Outline
Chairperson
Tribunal Staff
Jurisdiction
Tribunal Procedures - What Usually Happens?
Objections to Compulsory Land Acquisitions
How long does a Lands Acquisition Matter Take?
How Long does it Take to Finalise a Planning Appeal?
For Appeals Against an Authority under the Planning Act
Appeals Against Tribunal Recommendations - Lands Acquisition
Appeals Against Tribunal Decisions - Planning

Outline

The Lands and Mining Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) is an independent statutory body established under the Lands and Mining Tribunal Act (“LMT”). LMT commenced on 1 August 1998. The Tribunal is currently vested with jurisdiction in the following areas:-

Making recommendations is respect of compulsory land acquisitions under the Lands Acquisition Act 1978 (“LAA”)
Decisions or lack of them by the Development Consent Authority under the Planning Act 1999 (“PA”)
Compensation claims in respect of land compulsory acquired as a consequence of orders of the body which preceded the Tribunal.

Pending Jurisdiction

Appeals under the Heritage Act.
Jurisdiction of the Mining Wardens Court previously vested in the Magistrates Court.

Chairperson

Mr Greg Cavanagh was appointed Chairperson of the Lands, Planning and Mining Tribunal on 3 July 2012.

Tribunal Staff

The Tribunal is staffed by the Chairperson and a Registrar. At the current time Alicia-Ann Heyworth is Registrar.

Tribunal Procedures - What Usually Happens?

For the information of members of the public, the principal Tribunal procedures are outlined below. Please note that these are in very general terms and are not exhausted of all the possible procedures which can be ventilated before the Tribunal. A party should not act on any aspect of these published procedures without first obtaining competent legal advice.

Objections to CompulsoryLand Acquisitions:

The process to acquire relevant land commences under LAA by the Minister as Applicant filing a Form 2 at the Tribunal Registry. This form advises the Tribunal that there are Objectors to a proposed land acquisition. The Tribunal sets the matter down for a directions hearing no sooner than 28 days after the filing of the Form 2. The parties are notified of the Tribunals willingness to make orders by consent providing written minutes are filed not less than 48 hours prior to the scheduled directions hearing. At the directions hearing, or pursuant to any consent Minutes, a timetable for filing written material is set out in the Tribunal order. When all material has been filed and oral evidence, if any, has been completed the Tribunal is required to make a recommendation to the Minister in relation to the intended land acquisition. If the parties rely on the written material No formal hearing is convened.

How Long does a Lands Acquisition Matter Take?

LPMT Act requires that the Chairperson makes a decision within 2 months after that date.

Appeals Under the Planning Act

Right of Appeal

You have a right to appeal to the Appeals Tribunal in relation to any of the following:

A refusal by the consent authority to consent to a development proposed in a development application;

A failure by the consent authority to five notification of a determination a development application within 12 weeks after the application is made;

A refusal by the consent authority to extend the period of a development permit;

A determination by the consent authority to alter the proposed development in a development application or to impose a condition on the proposed development in a development application or on the altered proposed development;

A refusal by a service authority to refund or remit all or part of a contribution;

A decision of the consent authority refusing to vary a condition of a development permit.

In addition, if you made a submission in relation to a development application you may appeal against a decision of the consent authority to consent to a development, as proposed or altered, or to impose conditions on the proposed development or proposed altered development. This is known as a “third party” appeal.

Strict Time Limits on the Right to Appeal

Please remember that there are strict time limits on the right to appeal. Appeals made outside these time limits will normally be turned away.

If you wish to appeal a decision of the consent authority refusing to consent to a proposed development, then the appeal must be made within 28 days after the notice refusing consent is served on you.

The notice of refusal may be served in a number of ways [see s 25 Interpretation Act]:

If you are an individual, it may be given to you personally. If you are a body politic or body corporate, it may be given to the executive officer of the body. In any case, it may be given to a person authorised by an individual or body to receive the notice;
The notice may be sent to the individual or body by prepaid post addressed to that individual or body at his or hers of its address. The address of an individual or body includes the last home and business addresses of that individual or body, which are recorded for a law in force in the Northern Territory. If the notice is served in this manner it is taken to be served when it would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post. [Note that Australia Post’s advice is that mail is usually delivered the next business day after posting];

The notice may be sent to an individual or body by fax, in which case it is taken to be served when it was sent to a current fax number of an individual or body; or

The notice, addressed to an individual or body, may be left at his or her or its address with someone who appears to be at least 16 years old and appears to live or be employed there.

If you wish to appeal to the Appeal Tribunal because the consent authority has failed to determine your application within the prescribed 12 weeks you may make an appeal at any time before the consent authority determines the application.

If the consent authority has refused to extend the period of a development period, then an appeal against that refusal must be made within 28 days after you have been given the statement of reasons for the determination. The statement of reasons is taken to be given if it has been served in any of the ways mentioned above.

If you wish to appeal against a determination of the consent authority to alter the proposed development in an application or to impose a condition on the proposed development in an application or on the altered proposed development, the appeal must be made within 28 days after you have been served with a notice concerning that determination. That notice may be served in any one of the ways previously mentioned.

If a service authority has refused to refund or remit a contribution, an appeal against the refusal must be made within 28 days after you have been notified in writing of the refusal. You are taken to have been notified in writing if you have been served with the document containing the notification in any of the ways previously mentioned.

If a service authority does not determine an application for a refund or remittance of a contribution within 12 weeks after the authority receives the application, the service authority is taken to have refused to refund or remit any of the contribution. In those circumstances you may appeal to the Appeals Tribunal at any time after the expiry of those 12 weeks and before the matter is determined by the service authority.

If you wish to appeal against a determination of the consent authority refusing to vary the condition of a development permit, the appeal must be made within 28 days after you have been given the statement of reasons for the determination. The statement of reasons is taken to have been given to you if you have been served with it in any of the ways previously mentioned.

If you wish to make a third party appeal the appeal must be made within 14 days after you have been served with the notice of determination concerning the development application. Such notice may be served in any of the ways previously mentioned.

When an appeal is required to be made within either 28 or 14 days from the service of a notice or statement of reasons, the giving of a statement of reasons, or notification in writing, the period is to be calculated by excluding the day of such service, giving or notification. Where the last day of any 14 or 28 day period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the appeal may be made on the first day following which is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.

Where and how to make the appeal

The paper work for making an appeal, which is known as a Notice of Appeal, can be obtained from the office of the Lands Planning and Mining Tribunal, which is located at Nichols Place Level 1, Corner Cavenagh and Bennett Streets, Darwin NT 0800, telephone number (08) 8999 5001. The business hours of that office are 8.30am to 12 noon and 1.00pm to 4.00pm.

In order to make the appeal you must complete the Notice of Appeal, making sure that all information requested on the form is provided. It is particularly important to specify the section of the Planning Act under which you are making the appeal and to attach to the Notice of Appeal a statement setting out your grounds of appeal.

You will also need to provide the Registrar with documentary evidence of the decision of the consent authority or service authority which you wish to appeal, for example a signed copy of Notice of Refusal, Notice of Determination or Notice of Consent & Development Permit.

Once you have properly completed three copies of the Notice of Appeal (or four copies in the case of a third party appeal) you must give all three or four documents to the Registrar of the Lands Planning and Mining Tribunal, and pay a fee of $630.00 (or $230.00 in the case of third party appeals). This is known as lodging the Notice of Appeal, and this must occur within the timeframe limits referred to above.

The Registrar will stamp and date all three or four copies of the Notice of Appeal. As soon as practicable after a Notice of Appeal has been lodged, the Registrar sends a copy of the notice to each party to the appeal. The third or fourth copy of the Notice of Appeal is retained by the Tribunal as part of its records and placed on a file which is opened in relation to the appeal.

What happens next?

The Planning Act requires the parties to an appeal to take part in the process of mediation before having the appeal decided by the Appeals Tribunal. The purpose of mediation is:

to determine the matters in dispute between the parties; and

to enable the parties to discuss their reasons for making or resisting the appeal and where possible to settle or resolve the matters in dispute without requiring the Appeals Tribunal to decide the appeal one way or the other.

The Registrar must as soon as practicable after a Notice of Appeal has been lodged:

fix a date, time and place for a conference between the parties;

give to each party notice in writing of the date, time and place fixed for the conference; and

to nominate a mediator appointed under the Planning Act to mediate at the conference and to inform the parties of the identity of the mediator.

If neither party has an objection to the mediator conducting the mediation, then he or she will conduct the mediation as he or she see fit and to take all necessary steps to ensure that the objects of the mediation are fulfilled.

Without limiting the powers and discretion of a mediator, he or she may make any orders that they consider necessary for the expeditious handling of the appeal, including orders for and in relation to the exchange of reports or other documents or proofs of evidence between parties who intend to tender those reports or other documents or evidence at the hearing of the appeal.

If either party has an objection to the appointed mediator, it is for the mediator to determine whether he or she should disqualify her or himself from conducting the mediation. In the event of the mediator disqualifying her or himself from mediating between the parties the matter will be referred back to the Registrar to fix another conference and to appoint another mediator to preside over that conference.

If mediation is successful, and the parties have reached a compromise or settlement which has been reduced to writing and signed by the parties and the mediator, that compromise or settlement is binding on the parties, and there is no need for the Appeals Tribunal to decide the appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed on the basis of the binding compromise or settlement.

However, if mediation has not been successful and a compromise or settlement has not been reached, the appellant may give notice to the Registrar that he or she wishes the appeal to be determined by the Appeals Tribunal. Such notice is to be in the form approved by the Registrar. [The Act contemplates that the form will be filed in the office of the Lands Planning and Mining Tribunal]

The Registrar must provide the other party to the appeal with a copy of such notice together with a notice stating that that party has 14 days from the receipt of the notice to make a submission to the Appeals Tribunal in relation to the grounds of appeal.

The appellant must, within 14 days of giving notice to the Registrar that he or she wishes the appeal to be determined by the Appeals Tribunal, make a written submission to the Tribunal specifying his or her argument in relation to the grounds of appeal specified in the Notice of Appeal and serve a copy of the submission on the other party to the appeal.

The consent authority, or other relevant service authority (if the appeal is against a service authority to refund or remit all or part of a contribution), must, within 14 days after receiving the appellant’s notice to the Registrar that he or she wishes the Appeals Tribunal to determine the appeal, make a written submission to the Tribunal in response to the grounds of appeal set out in the notice of appeal and serve a copy of the submission on the other party to the appeal.

[Note that the date of receipt of the appellant’s notice to the Registrar will depend on the mode of service used by the Registrar in providing the consent authority or service authority with the appellant’s notice to the Registrar]

A copy of a submission may be served on the other party in any one of the ways referred to earlier in the section entitled “Strict Time Limits on the Right of Appeal”.

A party may, within 28 days after the appellant has given notice to the Registrar that he or she wishes the appeal to be determined by the Tribunal, make a written submission to the Tribunal in response to a submission made by the other party.

[Note that the 28 days runs from the date of lodgement of the notice of appeal, which is the date notice is given to the Registrar]

[S 128 makes no provision for service of submissions in reply].

How Long does it Take to Finalise a Planning Appeal?

It is difficult to generalise a timeframe for all matters as it depends on the kind of material filed and whether the parties settle at mediation or the matter is adjudicated by the Chairperson, however section 17(2)(a) Lands, Planning and Mining Tribunal Act obligates the Chairperson to deliver his decision within 2 months after hearing a proceeding.

Heritage Appeals and Mining Wardens Jurisdiction

Although the relevant authorised persons have advised the Tribunal of the intention to vest the jurisdiction concerned in the Tribunal there is at the time of this update no legislation in place to do so.

Appeals Against Tribunal Recommendations – Land Acquisition

Under LAA in respect of any recommendation to acquire, there is no appeal from the Tribunal’s decision. Section 84 LAA provides for certain specific appeals in relation to issues of compensation alone or certain matters involving reconsideration where determination of Native Title has been revised. Any such appeal is an appeal in the strict sense and the Supreme Court may only consider the material filed in the Tribunal.

Appeals Against Tribunal Decisions – Planning

In terms of PA, section 133 deals with appeals to the Supreme Court and specifies that an appeal only exists on a question of law and must be made within 28 days after service by the Tribunal of a statement of its reasons for any decision.