Penalties for Planning Act Offences: How Serious Can It Get?

Penalty Units and Maximum Fines

Planning Act offences carry significant penalties. The maximum penalty for each offence for an individual and a company or corporation are:

Offence	Maximum Penalty: Individual	Maximum Penalty: Company or Corporation
Carrying out prohibited development	4,500 penalty units	22,500 penalty units
Carrying out assessable development without a permit on a heritage place	17,000 penalty units	85,000  penalty units
Carrying out assessable development without a permit	4,500 penalty units	22,500 penalty units
Contravening a development approval	4,500 penalty units	22,500 penalty units
Unlawful use of premises	4,500 penalty units	22,500 penalty units
Contravening an Enforcement Notice	4,500 penalty units	22,500 penalty units
Contravening a Court Enforcement Order	4,500 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment	22,500 penalty units

As at May 2026, a penalty unit was $166.90 (the value of a penalty unit increases each July). This mean that:

• an individual charged with an offence of contravening a development approval faces a maximum fine of $751,050.00

• a company charged with an offence of contravening a development approval faces a maximum fine of $3,755,250.00

In determining penalty, the Courts consider various matters including the seriousness of the breach, the impact on the community, whether the conduct was deliberate and what action has been taken to remedy the breach.

Factors That Increase Penalties

• commercial benefit assosciate with the offending

• environmental harm (potential or actual)

• ignoring council directions

• repeated non‑compliance

• deliberate or reckless conduct

  
  

Factors That Reduce Penalties

• early cooperation

• genuine mistake

• prompt rectification

• no prior history

• strong compliance steps taken

  
  

Other Consequences

• court orders to remove or alter structures

• reputational damage

• delays to projects

• increased scrutiny from council