The applicant can ask the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) to review a refusal, the conditions placed on an approval, or a refusal to amend or cancel one; for a local government decision, the owner of the land can too. Western Australia gives no third-party review rights, such as to the owner next door, though a third party can take some part in a review an applicant has started, including by making a submission.
General informationThis page follows the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage’s review of planning decisions page (last updated 26 February 2024), the Tribunal’s planning decisions page and Part 14 of the Planning and Development Act 2005. It is not legal advice about any decision; the Tribunal’s own pages explain how it handles planning review applications.
Which decisions can be reviewed
Most reviews arise because an application was refused, was taken to be refused when no decision came in time, or was approved with a condition the applicant wants looked at again. Each pathway has its own route in:
| Decision-maker | What can be reviewed | Who can apply |
|---|---|---|
| Local government, under the deemed provisions | A refusal, an approval with conditions, or a refusal to amend or cancel an approval | The applicant, or the owner of the land |
| A Development Assessment Panel | A refusal, any condition, or an application taken to be refused because time ran out | The person who made the application |
| The Commission, under Part 11B | A refusal, or the conditions of an approval | The proponent |
| Any responsible authority using a discretion under a planning scheme | A refusal, or a grant subject to conditions | The applicant |
That last row matters where a scheme says nothing about review: the department notes that applicants still have the right whenever the decision involved an exercise of discretion. Strategic planning and zoning decisions, on the other hand, cannot be reviewed. Where a scheme gives its own right of review as well as the Act, using one right ends the other for that decision.
The Tribunal’s own list also takes in a local government’s decision not to approve a structure plan, and development decisions under the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority Act 2011, the law for the redevelopment areas where Development WA now decides.
Why neighbours cannot start a review
The department puts it simply: the right to begin review proceedings belongs to the person who applied for the decision, and the deemed provisions add the owner of the land for a local government decision. There are no third-party review rights in the State, so an adjoining landowner, for example, cannot start one.
Neighbours are not shut out of a review that is already running. Section 242 of the Act lets the Tribunal receive or hear submissions from a person who is not a party, if it considers that person has a sufficient interest in the matter. Section 243, headed “Exclusion of powers to join parties”, switches off section 38 of the State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004 for these reviews.
Outside the Tribunal, anyone who thinks a local government is not properly enforcing or carrying out its own planning scheme can put that view to the Minister. The Minister can seek the Tribunal’s advice and can give the local government an order. Any body or organisation may also ask the Minister, or the Commission, for advice on a land use planning matter.
Where the Minister comes in
The Minister for Planning is generally not involved in development matters, but there are rare exceptions. If the Tribunal thinks a review could have a substantial effect on the future planning of the area, it may invite the Minister to make a submission, and the Minister may make one uninvited on the same ground. The parties receive a copy of any written submission and a chance to answer it.
The Minister may also call in a review that raises issues of State or regional importance. Under section 246, that means directing the Tribunal’s President to refer the application to the Minister to decide, or directing the Tribunal to hear it and then refer it, with recommendations, to the Minister. The limits are firm:
- not for an application made under the Heritage Act 2018
- not more than 28 days after the application was made to the Tribunal
- not once a final determination has been made.
A call-in direction is published in the Government Gazette within 14 days.
Heritage in a review
Where the land is land the Heritage Act 2018 applies to, the Tribunal is to refer the matter to the Heritage Council for advice, may hear the Council’s submissions and join it as a party, and is to have due regard to that Act’s objects. State Planning Policy 3.5, Historic Heritage Conservation, can serve as a default heritage policy for local governments, and the Tribunal usually gives it significant weight.
Beyond the Tribunal
In rare cases a party may seek the Supreme Court’s intervention, but that is usually limited to whether the decision-maker made a legal mistake, not whether the planning merits were right. Within the Tribunal, a decision on a question of law made without a legally qualified member can be reviewed by a judicial member, on application by a party within one month.
One route belongs to subdivision, not development: an applicant can ask the Commission to reconsider its decision on a subdivision application, which calls for additional information rather than disagreement alone. Development decisions go to the Tribunal.
The routes into review start from each pathway: see the local government clock, Development Assessment Panels and the Part 11B pathway. Reviews of conditions are easier to follow alongside the tests a condition must pass.