Significant reforms to the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 and other legislation proposed by the Statutes Amendment (Planning, Infrastructure and Other Matters) Bill 2025 (‘the Bill’).

20 October 2025

As several of you would have seen last week in the detailed email from PIA, the Bill has been introduced into Parliament and proposes several significant reforms to the PDI Act.

The Bill is, however, broader than amendments to the PDI Act alone. It represents a significant modernisation of all Acts affected, including as a response to the current ‘housing crisis’ and the use of technology with a range of changes relevant to development and property professionals.

In this Alert we summarise key legal changes for councils to be aware of, noting that the passage of the Bill is anticipated to be relatively expedient.

1.         Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994

1.1      Section 6 of this Act:

1.1.1     renders contracts for the sale and purchase of land which require payment of an amount more than a deposit before settlement, void; and

1.1.2     makes contracts that:

(a)       give a person the right to, or obligates them to purchase, land; and

(b)       obligates the person to pay rent to occupy the land for more than six (6) months;

voidable (i.e. can be cancelled voluntarily) at the option of the person with the right or obligation.

1.2      The only exceptions are in section 6(4) which include contracts for the sale of land by the SA Housing Trust and bodies prescribed by regulation.

1.3      This provision is an obvious hindrance to long-term rent-to-own housing schemes which have been discussed as being one of many potential measures to address the current ‘housing crisis’.

1.4      The Bill includes a new section 6(4)(c) which allows contracts for the sale of land prescribed by regulation to be exempt from [1.1] above, potentially allowing for specific contracts for long-term rent to own schemes to be developed where housing is constructed by persons other than SAHT or other government agencies.

2.         Law of Property Act 1936

2.1      To amend section 41(1)(c) of this Act to allow Deeds to be executed by an individual person acting with express or implied authority of a person, and for Deeds to be executed electronically.  This reform is significant for councils as it will allow Deeds to be executed under delegated authority – something that cannot currently occur and which is an administrative burden in many circumstances.

2.2      The Bill also proposes to amend section 41A of this Act to more easily allow easements in gross to be created.  Easements in gross do not require the easement to be connected to the land which holds the benefit of the easement – as often held by councils – e.g. easements for drainage purposes.  Presently, easements in gross can be held by councils, the Crown and bodies declared by the Governor.  The Bill proposes to allow declarations to be made by the Minister and delegates of the Minister, thereby potentially allowing more persons to hold easements in gross over time.  This could potentially assist with private infrastructure provision.

3.         Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016

3.1      Practice Directions – section 42 – the Bill proposes that section 42(2) to be amended to read ‘a practice direction may specify substantive procedural requirements or steps in connection with any matter arising under the Act’.  This proposal will elevate the status of Practice Directions such that it will be more difficult to argue that they are a guidance document only.

3.2      Code amendments – section 73 – the Bill proposes to remove the requirement for the Minister to act on the advice of the State Planning Commission when allowing a Code amendment to be initiated.

3.3      Complying Code amendments – section 75 – the Bill proposes to broaden the ability for changes to the application of zones, subzones or overlays where this is of a kind prescribed by regulation.  The current requirement is that the amendment be consistent with a primary infrastructure scheme initiated and adopted under sections 163A and 167 of the Act.

3.4      Land division conditions – sections 102(1)(c) and 102(1)(d) – land division consent requirements are proposed to be broadened to include specific requirements prescribed by regulation for the provision of water supply and sewer services, not simply the requirements of an entity under the Water Industry Act 2012.  This could potentially allow uniform requirements for pump outs and other temporary service infrastructure pending significant public infrastructure rollouts.

3.5      Design standards and ‘deemed-to-satisfy’ development – the Bill proposes to amend section 106 to allow developments to be assessed as ‘deemed-to-satisfy’ developments where a design standard applies to them.

3.6      Design standards and performance assessed developments – the Bill proposes to amend section 107 to clarify that performance assessed developments are assessed on their merits against the ‘Planning Rules’ – i.e. including design standards rather than just the Planning and Design Code.

3.7      Death of the ‘hypothetical development’ quandary? – section 119(13) – the Bill proposes an amendment to prohibit the making of a development application without the owner’s consent or otherwise where the applicant is a prescribed body or the application is of a prescribed kind.

3.8      Land division certificates – section 138 – the Bill proposes to provide for binding agreements between developers and SA Water for the provision of sewer and water services prior to the issuing of a certificate under this section.

3.9      Temporary occupation of buildings – section 153 – the Bill proposes to provide for a practice direction to govern when and how temporary occupation of buildings should be approved.

3.10    Physical open space contributions for Torrens title land divisions of 20 and less allotments and Community Title divisions – section 198 – the Bill proposes to allow the State Planning Commission to require physical open space contributions for these developments, including physical contributions to be vested in councils.

3.11    Civil penalties and enforceable voluntary undertakings not to require State Planning Commission approval – sections 225 and 230 – the Bill proposes to allow councils to use these enforcement mechanisms without any SPC approval.

3.12    AI development authorisations– section 242A – the Bill allows for AI decision making on all development authorisations required under section 102 and, where a decision is made through such means, the person responsible and liable is the Chief Executive of the Department responsible for administering the Act.  Whilst AI decisions are anticipated to be available for deemed-to-satisfy planning applications, section 242A is drafted more broadly, presumably to allow more decisions to be made by AI as technology and expectations evolve over time.

3.13    Local area plans for councils – section 245A – the Bill proposes to formalise the strategic planning that most councils undertake for their areas on a regular basis through requiring the preparation, provision and publication of local area plans by councils.

4.         Real Property Act 1886

4.1      Execution definition modernised – section 3 – bringing the Act into modern times is the proposal to expressly state that execution of documents under the Act can be made via various means, including electronically.

4.2      Removal of caveats – section 191 – the Bill proposes to simplify the process for having a caveat removed by establishing a process for removal by the Registrar-General instead of the current process which requires action in the Supreme Court.

For further information please contact Victoria Shute on 8113 7104 or vshute@kelledyjones.com.au.