Pursuant to section 69B of the Development and Planning Act 1974 (the ‘Act’), which came into operation on 1 July 2022, this page sets out the statement of principles which will be used by the Department of Planning in the issuance of civil penalties, which were published in the Official Gazette on 9 November 2023.

Civil penalties may be charged to any party involved with the breach of planning control on top of other enforcement action as set out by the Act, which should be read in conjunction with the below. The Department will typically consider issuing a civil penalty where there has been a breach of planning control which has resulted in irreparable harm or the person(s) responsible for the breach cannot or are unwilling to take the necessary steps to rectify or mitigate such harm. Additionally, in deciding whether to issue a civil penalty, the Department will consider whether the person(s) responsible benefitted from the breach of planning control.

Once the Department has ascertained that it would be appropriate to proceed with a civil penalty, the value of the penalty will be determined based on the tables below. A separate assessment will be made for each person responsible for the breach of planning control. If a score of less than 5 is achieved, the Department will typically conclude that civil penalties are not warranted in that instance. Further details on each of the factors set out below are provided in the Department’s Guide to Enforcement and Civil Penalties.