The bushfire expert who devised the reforms in the wake of the 2001 Black Christmas infernos says community safety “shouldn’t be traded off” after requirements for the planning department to consult the Rural Fire Service were removed from the state’s overarching planning legislation.

Planning Minister Paul Scully rolled out the government’s overhaul of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 on Wednesday, announcing a raft of significant changes to the laws that govern development in the state.

One amendment was the removal of two bushfire-related provisions from the Act. The first forbade non-complying development on bushfire-prone land unless a developer obtained the approval of the RFS. The second was that councils were responsible for mapping lands at risk from fires .

See Full Page