The Western Australian government has revealed plans to modernise century-old planning legislation, a move designed to cut through redundant red tape and streamline development processes in Perth’s western suburbs.
The targeted legislation, the Cambridge Endowment Lands Act 1920 (CEL Act), is more than 100 years old. Over the decades, many of its provisions have either duplicated or directly conflicted with modern Western Australian planning instruments.
This overlap has frequently sparked confusion and uncertainty for local landowners, decision-makers, and the broader community in areas such as City Beach and Floreat.
Under the proposed amendments, which are scheduled to be introduced to state parliament during the next sitting week, the government will revoke a redundant local law and completely remove the mechanism for new laws to be enacted under the CEL Act.
The overhaul aims to establish a clear, single-track system for development approvals by removing the parallel legislative framework that has historically bogged down proposals.
Despite the removal of the legacy layer, state officials confirmed that the Town of Cambridge will retain full authority to manage local planning and development matters within its borders.
Its governing powers remain securely enshrined under contemporary frameworks, specifically the Planning and Development Act 2005.
Planning and Lands Minister John Carey stated that the legislation had become entirely counterproductive to the state’s modern development goals.
“This legacy legislation is largely redundant, only serving to create an extra layer of bureaucracy and confusion for everyone involved,” Carey said.
“The proposed changes will eliminate the current ambiguity that comes from having two parallel sets of legislation applying to the same planning and development proposals.”
Carey emphasised that the reform aligns with a broader state-wide push to fast-track housing availability, which has already seen simplified regulations for everything from granny flats to multi-storey apartment buildings, backed by a record AU$10.8 billion investment in housing since 2021.
