Management Plans

Management Plans are an important tool for providing flexibility for consent holders as they provide an opportunity to park some of the more detailed effects management considerations until later.

This is especially helpful if there are aspects that depend on expertise of contractors who are yet to be appointed, or if there are a range of ways that an activity could be undertaken which achieves the same outcome. Some common examples are:

• Construction Traffic Management Plans.

• Construction Noise and Vibration Management Plans.

• Operation and Maintenance Plans.

BUT conditions requiring management plans need to include the necessary objectives and performance measures, what I call the ‘guard rails’, and need to be subject to robust certification processes by councils.

Why is this so important?

Because they are being used more and more often and are being relied on for some pretty grunty environmental effects management.

Looking ahead to a ramped up Fast Track consenting regime, it’s critical to get the basics right. Ambiguity can create implementation issues for both consent holders and councils alike.

On that note:

• If you’re a planner drafting consent conditions requiring management plans, you need to be making sure you are balancing the need for flexibility for how effects are managed, with certainty over an ‘effects envelope’.

• If you’re a compliance officer or other specialist undertaking the certification of the management plan, then you need to be making sure your decision-making is based on the right information, is well-documented, and involves the right experts.

• If you’re the consent holder, make sure you understand what your management plan sets out and what you are obligated to comply with. It isn’t just a ‘piece of paper’. If you’re in breach of a certified management plan, then you’re in breach of your consent.

For Councils, now is a good time to make sure you have robust processes in place for dealing with certification of complex management plans.

Get your staff trained up, sharpen up your processes and document management systems and be ready to ensure your compliance monitoring people provide the necessary checks and balances to provide good outcomes for our environment and communities.

Amanda de Jong – May 2024