The Draft Planning Agreement Policy applies to all planning agreements proposed or entered into by Council, and applies to all land in the Local Government Area (LGA).

What is a Planning Agreement (PA)

A PA is a voluntary agreement entered into between a planning authority (Port Macquarie-Hastings Council) and a developer for the provision of funds or works for infrastructure, services, or other public amenities in connection to a Planning Proposal or Development Application. A PA can also involve the dedication of land or any other public benefit to be used for a public purpose.

It sets out Council’s position, and procedures, relating to voluntary planning agreements under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (Act) and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021. Section 7.4 of the Act enables Councils to enter into planning agreements with developers. PAs are voluntary and the acceptance of an offer to enter into an agreement is at the absolute discretion of Council.

Why is the policy being reviewed

The policy is being reviewed in accordance with clause 29(a) being within 12 months of any general election of Council and to amend minor grammatical errors.

The list of the proposed changes to the Draft Planning Agreement Policy can be found in the Council meeting report held on the 17 July 2025 on the right-hand side of this page under the Documents tab, along with the proposed draft documents. The text in red reflects the proposed changes to the policy.

Objective of PAs

PAs enable Council to enter into agreements with developers to provide public benefits in conjunction with a development application or planning proposal.

The agreements are voluntary, and the public benefits can be in the form of a monetary contribution, the dedication of land or the provision of material public benefits directly.

Standard PA template

No changes are proposed to this template, which assists developers in preparing a PA, and contains clauses that Council considers to be standard and mandatory inclusion in all PAs. Any variation will need to be negotiated and agreed upon by Council. This template can be viewed on the right-hand side of this page under Documents.

Have Your Say

During the public exhibition period, all interested persons are encouraged to view the draft policy and provide written comments. All comments will be reported to a future Council meeting for consideration before a final decision is made. Please note that any submission may be made public. Contact details remain confidential, however, you can let us know if you would like your name to remain confidential.