The Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) contains procedures for amendments to state planning policies, regional plans, the Planning and Design Code and design standards. This involves public consultation and engagement, to provide the community with the opportunity to have a say about the proposed changes. The aim of this engagement is to achieve better outcomes, decisions, projects and policies.
The Community Engagement Charter (see below) establishes key principles and processes to guide how public consultation is to be conducted, before amendments to the Planning and Design Code are made [Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) s 75]. Minor or operational amendments to the Planning and Design Code may be made by the Minister, and notified in the Government Gazette [s 76]. Examples include changes to required forms, removing or including specific Stage Heritage listed sites or buildings, correcting an error etc.
The State Planning Commission (SPC) is responsible for developing and maintaining the Community Engagement Charter (the Charter) [Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) s 44(2)].
The Charter was introduced in 2018 and is available on the Plan SA - Community Engagement Charter webpage.
The Charter must be used by planning and development authorities to guide them on how to seek public participation when developing or changing planning policies, strategies and schemes [see Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) Part 4, Division 1].
The Charter seeks to ensure communities have enough time and the opportunity to participate in consultation, or access to information, about policy planning and development [s 44(3)].
The Charter consists of mandatory requirements, general principles, and performance outcomes and measures for engaging the community. The Charter must be used to guide community consultation in respect of developing or changing:
Compliance with the Community Engagement Charter
The State Planning Commission (SPC) is responsible for ensuring that the Charter is complied with. The SPC may provide direction to development body or intervention if it considers the Charter is not being complied with. In some cases, the SPC may intervene and undertake the community engagement process on behalf of the development body. In these circumstances the SPC may recover the cost of undertaking the community engagement from the development or planning body [s 44(12)].
The SPC can also direct a planning entity or local government authority to consult with a particular person or community body to ensure the objectives of the charter are met. The Community Engagement Charter applies to various development and planning bodies, including:
Mandatory requirements
The bodies which the Charter applies to must consider, and aim to achieve, the principles and performance outcomes that apply under the Charter and must also comply with the mandatory requirements that are applicable, based on the consultation category, as shown in the table below.
| Consultation Category | Mandatory Requirement |
| Proposals that are specifically relevant to a particular Council or Councils (where Council did not initiate the proposal). | That Council or Councils must be directly notified of the proposal and consulted. |
| Proposals that are generally relevant to Councils. | The Local Government Association must be notified in writing and consulted. |
| A proposal to enter a place within the Planning and Design Code as a place of local heritage value. | The owner of any land on which the place resides, must be directly notified in writing of the proposal and consulted for a minimum period of four weeks. |
| A proposal to amend the Planning and Design Code to include any heritage character or preservation policy that is similar in intent or effect to a local heritage listing. | The owner of any land on which the place resides, must be directly notified in writing of the proposal and consulted for a minimum period of four weeks. |
| Infrastructure delivery scheme. | Landowners affected by the scheme must be directly notified in writing of the scheme under section 166 of the PDI Act for a minimum of four weeks. |
Table 1: The content of Table 1 is reproduced under Creative Commons Licence and is attributed to The Department for Housing and Urban Development, the Government of South Australia, Community Engagement Charter – 2025, Sourced on 11 September 2026, https://plan.sa.gov.au/resources/planning/community_engagement_charter.
A person or body proposing a Complying Change to the Planning and Design Code must comply with specific mandatory consultation requirements [see s 75 and the Charter, page 7]. A ‘complying change’ is a change to the Code (eg. rezoning land) that aligns with a recommendation in the Regional Plan for that area.
The Five Principles
The Charter sets out the following principles which guide good engagement, and it is mandatory that they are applied when a decision maker determines the appropriate approach to community engagement:
Performance Outcomes & Measuring Performance
The Charter describes the above principles and outlines performance outcomes to show what successful community engagement looks like. The Charter also gives examples of measuring performance to assist with evaluating the community engagement plan.
Amendments to Planning Policies
The types of planning policies that may be amended under the Act are:
Designated entities [see s 73] may propose to prepare a new planning policy, or amend an existing policy under the Act. The process for entities initiating the creation of a new planning policy, or proposing an amendment to an existing policy is set out below.
Step 1 - Proposal to Initiate:
The designated entity (eg. councils, joint planning boards etc) initiates and lodges a proposed new policy [s 73(1)] or a proposed amendment to a policy [s 73(2)] and an engagement plan.
Step 2 - Minister's Approval:
Minister for Planning approves the preparation of the new policy document or proposed amendments [s 73(2)].
Step 3 - Investigations and Draft:
The designated entity (eg. councils, joint planning boards etc) carries out investigations [s 73(6)(f)] and prepares the draft of the new policy or proposed amendments to an existing policy.
Step 4 - Community Engagement:
The designated entity conducts community engagement and consultation about the new policy or proposed amendment, complying with the Charter [s 73(6)(b)]
Step 5 - Community Engagement Report:
The designated entity reports the outcomes of the community engagement and consultation to the Minister for Planning in accordance with practice directions [s 73(7)] and ensures that a copy of the report is made available on the SA Planning Portal [s 73(8)].
The State Planning Commission also checks that the engagement process under Charter has been followed [s 44(10), s 73(6)(e) & (f), and prepares a report for the SA Parliament Environment, Resources and Development Committee [s 74(3)].
Step 6 - Minister's Determination:
The Minister for Planning, having received the report, decides whether to adopt the new policy, accept the amendments of the existing policy, or make alterations [s 73(10)(c) and (d)].
If the Minister decides to adopt the new policy or amendments, they must be published (either in the Government Gazette if it's a State Planning Policy, or on the SA Planning Portal [ss 73(12)(a) and (b)]. The new policy or amendments do not take effect until they are published, or from a later date specified by the Minster [s 73(12)(c)].
Step 7 - Parliamentary Scrutiny:
The Minister for Planning (or the SPC on the Ministers behalf) provides information about the new policy or amendments to the SA Parliament Environment, Resources and Development (ERD) Committee within 28 days of adopting the new policy or amendment [s 74(2)]. The information provided to the ERD Committee must include a report setting out the reasons for the amendment or new policy, an outline of the consultation process undertaken, and any other relevant material or information prescribed in the regulations [s 74(3)]. The ERD Committee then has 28 days to resolve to:
If the ERD Committee has not come to any resolution after 28 days then it is presumed that the ERD Committee does not object to the new policy or amendment [s 74(5)].
If an amendment is suggested
if the ERD Committee suggests an amendment, the Minister may:
If the policy is objected to
If the ERD Committee continues to object to the policy, the policy (new or amended) is laid before both Houses of Parliament for discussion and resolution [s 74(11)]. If either House of Parliament passes a resolution to disallow the policy then policy ceases to have effect [s 74(12)]. If the policy has been through the process of amendment that has been disallowed, the original policy will continue to apply as if it had not been amended by the proposed amendment [s 74(12)]. Notice of the resolution must be published in the Government Gazette [s 74(14)].
Community Engagement on Development Applications
The Community Engagement Charter does not have a statutory role in the assessment of development applications. The relevant public notification requirements and feedback procedures in relation to development applications are set out in the Act and regulations. These requirements vary across the different assessment pathways within the new planning system. See 'Public Consultation'.
Amendments to the Community Engagement Charter may be proposed by the State Planning Commission (SPC) or at the request of the Minister for Planning [s 45(1)].
The SPC must:
The SPC must also prepare a report on any matters raised during consultation, and give the report to the Minister [s 45(3)]. The Minister can then decide to adopt the Charter as amended, make further alterations, or decide not to proceed with the proposed amendments [s 45(4)]. Amendments to the Charter do not take effect until published on the SA Planning Portal or any later date specified by the Minister [s 44(5)].
Parliamentary Scrutiny – ERD Committee
Within 28 days of adopting any amendments to the Charter, the Minister must refer the Charter (including any reasons for proposed amendments, information about the consultation period and feedback) to the SA Parliament Environment, Resources and Development (ERD) Committee. The ERD Committee then has 28 days to review the Charter and relevant materials, and decide whether it will:
If the ERD Committee does not provide a response within 28 days of the matter being referred from the Minister, it is presumed that the ERD Committee does not object to the Charter or amendment, or propose any amendments [see s 46(4)].
If the Minister has already consulted the ERD Committee before the finalisation of a proposed amendment to the Charter, the ERD Committee may resolve that the amendments do not need to be referred back to the ERD Committee for consideration when it is approved by the Minister [s 46(11)].
If the ERD Committee proposes amendments to the Charter, the Minister may proceed to make the amendments, or report back to the ERD Committee with reasons why the Minister is not prepared to make the proposed amendments [s 46(7)]. The ERD Committee may then decide whether or not to object to the proposed amendments to the Charter. If the ERD Committee objects to the amendments, copies of the Charter and proposed amendments must be laid before both Houses of Parliament [s 46(8)]. If either House of Parliament passes resolution not to support amendments to the Charter, then the amendments will cease to have effect [s 46(9)]. A resolution by Parliament must be passed within 14 sitting days after the day on which the relevant amendments and Charter were laid before the house of parliament [s 46(10)].
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