For a medium level of certainty, the agency should obtain a Concept Plan approval under Part 3A of the EP&A Act, prior to issuing the Call for Detailed Proposals. This will allow the short-listed bidders to provide design and construction innovation within the development envelope approved at the Concept Stage. For example the Concept Approval might be based on a project which defines the scale of operations or the height and density of the buildings.
Final Development Approval would need to be sought based on the successful proponent’s design. The private party would normally bear the contractual risk and ultimate responsibility for obtaining approval for the modified design or proposal. However, as the project must be consistent with the parameters of the Concept Approval, the risks are limited.