Finn Roache Lawyers is pleased to share that Stephen Patterson, Thomas Bassil and Christa Pericleous will present at the 2026 IPWEA NSW Development Engineering Forum, held at Parkroyal Darling Harbour, Sydney, on 12 and 13 November 2026.
The forum brings together development engineers, local government, state agencies and industry from across New South Wales. This year's theme is "Accountability, Sustainability, and Availability", which looks at the responsibility development engineers have to deliver resilient, sustainable and future-ready communities.
Our Session: Expert Engineers in the Land and Environment Court
Stephen, Thomas and Christa will present "Navigating the Land and Environment Court as an Expert Engineer: practice and procedure in Class 1 appeals" at 4:00pm on Thursday 12 November.
Class 1 appeals are merit appeals in the Land and Environment Court, most often about development applications. Engineering issues such as stormwater, flooding, traffic, access and servicing are often at the centre of these disputes, and engineers are regularly called as expert witnesses. The session will talk through the practice and procedure that applies when an engineer is involved in a Class 1 appeal.
Key topics at this year's forum
The two-day program covers a range of issues that matter to councils, developers and engineers, including:
- conditions of development consent and post-consent support;
- flood planning levels and what to look for in a DA referral;
- engineering specifications, including AUS-SPEC;
- subdivision works certificates and the role of the principal certifier;
- Australian Rainfall and Runoff, climate change and water-sensitive urban design;
- development pathways, including CDCs, council DAs and state significant development; and
- the use of AI in technical and planning work.
About the presenters
- Stephen Patterson, Senior Consultant, is a Law Society Accredited Specialist in Local Government and Planning. He acts for councils and private clients, and has extensive experience appearing in the Land and Environment Court and the Court of Appeal.
- Thomas Bassil, Associate, practises in litigation with a focus on building and construction law.
- Christa Pericleous, Solicitor, practises mainly in commercial litigation, business transactions and leasing.
Finn Roache Lawyers values the work IPWEA NSW does to support development engineering professionals across New South Wales. We look forward to joining colleagues at the forum.
For advice on a planning, development, local government or Land and Environment Court matter, please contact the team at Finn Roache Lawyers on 02 8297 1100 or [email protected].