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Introducing Propinion

Melissa Neighbour • January 28, 2025

Uniting the Industry to Resolve Ambiguity in Planning & Building Legislation


We’re introducing a collaboration between Ballast Point and Sky Planning aimed at clearing up the confusion that plagues the entire property industry.


The problem

Working as an expert in the NSW property and planning industry goes hand in hand with navigating a legislative landscape filled with rules, regulations, and policies. While these frameworks aim to create structure and fairness, they sometimes leave room for interpretation—grey areas where legislation is unclear or conflicting.


Whether it's differing definitions of a term in council versus state legislation, or nuanced discrepancies in the Building Code, these ambiguities often lead to inefficiencies, disputes, and unnecessary delays.


As professionals, we've all experienced those moments when a simple question turns into a complex debate, impacting projects and people alike.


It's often not until a matter becomes case law that the industry achieves clarity. But we think that's just too late in the development process.


That’s why we created Propinion.


Why We’re Doing This

Ballast Point and Sky Planning see these issues daily. They slow approvals, affect projects, create needless disputes, and drive up expenses. Rather than wait for case law to provide clarity (usually after problems escalate), we believe in tackling these grey areas preemptively, so the entire planning industry can benefit.




Introducing Propinion

We’re launching Propinion to gather real-life scenarios where the rules aren’t clear and to work together on practical solutions. By pooling expertise from respected architects, planners, certifiers, builders, specialist consultants and lawyers, we aim to identify why these gaps occur, find consensus in interpretation and share this in a central repository that is easily accessible and user friendly.


How It Works

  1. Identify Real Cases: Share situations where the planning law or code leave too much room for interpretation.
  2. Review & Discuss: Respected Experts provide an opinion as to interpretation.
  3. Publish Guidance: We compile these insights into clear, actionable reference points to help guide the industry.


In short, Propinion is here to create clarity, improve efficiency, and unify the NSW property and planning community.



Get Involved

We can’t do it alone though, and we’re calling on professionals like you to join us.


Whether you have a story to share about navigating legislative grey areas, want to provide expert insight, or simply have ideas to improve the system, your input is invaluable.


Let’s build a future where clarity replaces confusion, and collaboration defines our industry. If you’re ready to make a difference, reach out, share your experiences, and become part of the Propinion community today. Together, we can transform the way we approach planning and property development in NSW.


  • Share Your Experiences via our 3-minute form.
  • Offer Your Expertise to review and clarify common roadblocks.
  • Stay in the Loop by signing up for our mailing list.


For questions or more details, email [email protected].


Let’s tackle the grey areas together—and build a planning framework with improved clarity and certainty.



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