Disclosure Statement of Political Donations and Gifts

You are required to make a disclosure statement if:

you are submitting a planning application or commenting on a development application

AND

you, or any person with a financial interest in the planning application, have:

made a political donation to any Councillor, or

provided a gift to any Councillor or Council employee.

A relevant planning application includes:

• A development application
• Applications to modify a development consent
• Formal requests to initiate an environmental planning instrument or development control plan in relation to development on a particular site

A political donation or gift includes those made within two years of the planning application or submission being made. A political donation is a donation of $1,000 or more made within a financial year.

If a political donation or gift was made before the planning application or submission was made, the disclosure statement needs to be made at the time the planning application or submission is made. If a political donation or gift was made after the planning application or submission was made but before Council has made a determination, the disclosure statement needs to be made within seven days of the political donation or gift being made.

Note: If you have not made a political donation or provided a gift, you do not need to make a disclosure statement.

We are required by law to make disclosure statements available to the public within 14 days of the statement being made.

Disclosure statements will be attached to our file for the planning application. Files can be made available for inspection by members of the public. Also, details of disclosure statements will be included in reports on planning applications.

Failure to make a disclosure statement can result in heavy penalties. The maximum penalty is $22,000 or 12 months imprisonment or both.