Houston Dearn O’Connor has been in existence since 1966. We acted for our first local Council in the early 1980s and have built our Local Government practice to a point where we presently have panel arrangements with numerous Councils in Sydney and regional NSW.

We provide our Local Government clients with a diverse range of services relevant to their operations. We appear with or without Counsel in planning and miscellaneous appeals and in classes 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the Land and Environment Court’s jurisdiction.

We have represented our Local Government clients variously in the Supreme Court, Federal Court and High Court of Australia.

Matters is which we provide a service to Local Government include:

• Development Control Orders, LG Act section 124 Orders and POEO Act directions
• Development Applications and modification applications
• Planning and miscellaneous appeals (classes 1 and 2) including s34AA residential appeals
• Tenders and tender processes
• General commercial agreements and contracts
• Valuations and resumptions including class 3 valuation appeals
• Building control and unlawful use proceedings (Local Court and classes 4 and 5)
• Other enforcement and compliance proceedings (Local Court and classes 4 and 5)
• Animal control proceedings (prosecutions, destruction orders and defending appeals against Council orders)
• Community and operational land issues
• POEO Act offences
• Rate recovery and debt recovery generally
• Food Act matters
• Delegations of authority
• ICAC and Commissions of Inquiries