about the court

About the ERD Court | ERD Court & Self Represented Litigants | Location | 
Members of the Court | History | Logo | Annual Report

The ERD Court was established by the Environment, Resources and Development Court Act  in 1993.  It has jurisdiction given to it by Parliament under a wide range of legislation dealing with issues of development, heritage, the environment, water resources, irrigation, mining and native title.

The ERD Court and Self Represented Litigants

Many of the people who appear in the court are self represented.  The court is committed to making sure that as many people as possible can access its services.  In 2002 a report was commissioned into how the court could better assist self represented people in particular.  Much of the information of this website is a response to that report, particularly the user friendly Step-by-Step Guide to running an appeal concerning a development application in the court.

Location

The ERD Court is in the

                    Sir Samuel Way Building
                    Victoria Square
                    Adelaide
                    South Australia

The court's front counter (or registry) is on the lower ground floor.  Go in the front doors; take the stairs going down to the left, turn left again and the ERD Court Registry is directly in front of you.

The conference rooms and court rooms used by the court are all on the 5th level.

The court also sits from time to time in country areas.

Members of the Court

Members of the ERD Court include:

• two District Court Judges

  • Judge Christine Trenorden (Senior Judge)

  • Judge Susanne Cole

• four permanent Commissioners

  • Commissioner John Hodgson

  • Commissioner Terry Mosel

  • Commissioner Richard Green

  • Commissioner Stephen Hamnett
    

• three Masters (shared with the District Court)

• 25 sessional Commissioners

  • Commissioner John Agnew

  • Commissioner Ian Blackburn

  • Commissioner John Botting

  • Commissioner Robert Cheesman

  • Commissioner Mary Crawford

  • Commissioner Megan Dyson

  • Commissioner Bryan Harris

  • Commissioner Brook Hill

  • Commissioner Alan Hutchings

  • Commissioner Carolyn Ireland

  • Commissioner Hugh Kirkman

  • Commissioner Peter Koukourou

  • Commissioner Frank Lampard

  • Commissioner Megan Lewis

  • Commissioner Andrew Lothian

  • Commissioner Jennifer McKay

  • Commissioner David Moyle

  • Commissioner Olga Morozow

  • Commissioner Joanne Pfeiffer

  • Commissioner Demetrius Poupoulas

  • Commissioner Kim Read

  • Commissioner Toni Robinson

  • Commissioner John Schenk

  • Commissioner Barbara Wingard

• Registrar and Deputy Registrar

• five registry staff members

• five judicial support officers

The Court is a specialist court.  Its Commissioners are not lawyers.  They are appointed for their specialist qualifications and expertise in areas relevant to the court's jurisdiction.  For example, the four permanent Commissioners are all qualified town planners and amongst the part time Commissioners are town planners, architects, engineers, irrigation, water resources and native vegetation experts.

History

The Environment, Resources and Development Court of South Australia (ERD Court) commenced operation on 15 January 1994.

Its establishment was one of the recommendations of a Government review in 1990 -1992 of the State's planning and development system (the Planning Review).  The Court was established by the Environment, Resources and Development Court Act 1993.

The court's predecessor in relation to planning appeals was the Planning Appeal Tribunal and prior to that the Planning Appeal Board.  Some other matters now within the jurisdiction of the court had previously been heard by the District Court, or an appeal body comprising a judge of that court.

The Final Report of the Planning Review envisaged the proposed court as a "new, integrated system of dispute resolution", and "the primary forum for all matters involving the development and management of land", with its jurisdiction being enlarged to deal with matters affecting the environment. 

Initially the court had jurisdiction under the Development Act 1993 and the Heritage Act 1993.  Other jurisdictions in the "environment" and "resources" categories were added by subsequent legislation.

The Logo

The design of the logo is simple but unique.

The logo was designed by a commissioner and a member of staff of the ERD Court of South Australia.

   The leaf represents the environment.

   The water drop represents resources.

     Colonel William Light's 1836 plan for Adelaide represents development.
                    This plan is a well-known international symbol of South Australia among
                    urban and regional planners.

Annual Report

Every year the Authority publishes an annual report.  Click here to view the most recent report.

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