Background
Australian Food & Fibre Pty Ltd and Australian Food & Fibre Properties Pty Ltd appealed under s 368(1)(g) of the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) from the refusal of Flood Work Approval Application No A023457. The application concerned existing and proposed flood works on properties around Snakes Plain, NSW, including levees, below-ground and above-ground channels, and reservoirs.
At a conciliation conference convened under s 34 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW), the parties agreed on an amended application and proposed approval conditions. The applicants relied on updated application materials, mapping, hydraulic assessments and modelling, and a consultant’s report addressing impacts.
The Court’s Holding
Commissioner O’Neill upheld the appeal and granted approval for the existing and new flood works, subject to the conditions in Annexure B. The Court made the parties’ agreed decision after being satisfied that it was one the Court could properly make under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act.
The amended application complied with the applicable Floodplain Management Plan for the Macquarie Valley Floodplain 2021, and its approval would not contravene that plan. The evidence also supported the conclusion that adequate arrangements were in force to ensure no more than minimal harm to water sources or dependent ecosystems. The applicants owned most affected parcels and had the registered owner’s consent for the remaining relevant lot.
Key Takeaways
- A Water Management Act refusal can be resolved in a Land and Environment Court conciliation conference through an amended proposal and agreed conditions.
- The Court approved the works after finding compliance with the applicable floodplain management plan and the statutory minimal-harm requirement.
- Consent from the owner of an affected lot supported the applicants’ entitlement to construct and use works on land owned by a related entity.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates the practical role of Class 1 conciliation in resolving flood-work approval appeals. An applicant can address objections through amended technical material, modelling and conditions, enabling the Court to make agreed approval orders where the statutory criteria are met.
The case also underscores that flood-work approvals require attention to both floodplain-plan compliance and the protection of water sources and dependent ecosystems.