Starting proceedings in the court

If you have matters relating to planning and environment—such as development, environmental protection, coastal protection, fisheries, marine parks, nature conservation, heritage, transport infrastructure and vegetation management—you may have the matter heard in the Planning and Environment (P and E) Court.

The P and E Court can hear proceedings such as:

  • appeals against decisions on development applications
  • appeals about infrastructure charges
  • appeals against decisions on compensation claims
  • appeals from decisions of the Development Tribunal
  • applications for enforcement orders, to remedy or restrain the commission of a development offence
  • applications for declarations.

Below is the general process for starting a proceeding in the court.

File a notice of appeal

First file a notice of appeal (PDF, 193.0 KB) or (DOC, 46.5 KB) at the registry and pay the appropriate fee.

Time limits apply for starting appeals in the P and E Court. See the relevant legislation to determine the time limit applicable to your situation.

Serve the notice of appeal

The process for serving the notice depends on the type of appeal. See the relevant legislation to determine the process applicable to your situation.

Apply for a directions order

The party with the onus of proof (usually the developer) must apply for a directions order within six weeks of the notice of appeal or originating application being filed.

They will file the application in pending proceeding (PDF, 171.0 KB) and (DOC, 63.0 KB) in the court and a directions hearing before a judge will be set for a specific day.

Read about what happens in hearings and reviews.