Policy Statement
Upper Hunter Shire Council is involved in a broad range of regulatory activities.
In recognition of the regulatory responsibilities of all Councils, the NSW Ombudsman has published “Enforcement Guidelines for Councils”, which includes a model enforcement policy. The guidelines and model policy were used as the basis for developing the Enforcement Policy.
The Enforcement Policy reflects the need for the decision making processes of Council’s authorised officers to be carried out in a transparent, efficient, fair and consistent manner while having regard to all the circumstances in each case.
Objective
The purpose of this policy is to:
- Acknowledge Council’s obligation under Section 8 of the Local Government Act 1993 to ensure that its regulatory powers are applied in a consistent manner and without bias, and
- Provide a proactive policy statement regarding the enforcement of compliance with legislation and/or condition/s of development consent, and
- Foster prompt, consistent and effective action by the Council in response to allegations of unlawful activity whilst ensuring that the principles of natural justice are respected.
The policy provides guidelines on:
- How to assess whether complaints of unlawful activity require investigation;
- Options for dealing with unlawful activity;
- How to decide whether enforcement action is warranted.
Scope
While primarily directed at the regulation of development activity, the policy is also applicable to pollution control, animal control, unauthorised development including buildings, non-compliance with development consent conditions, food safety, public health and safety issues.
All Council staff who deal with the proactive enforcement of relevant legislation in addition to written and verbal action requests or complaints alleging unlawful activity are responsible for implementing these policy guidelines.
View the Draft Policy:
Draft Policy - Enforcement(PDF, 723KB)
The public exhibition period will run from 30 September 2026 to 29 October 2026.
Submissions must be received by 5:00pm on 29 October 2026.
Written submissions can be sent to:
The General Manager
Upper Hunter Shire Council
PO Box 208
SCONE NSW 2337
or emailed to: council@upperhunter.nsw.gov.au