Katharine Huxley

Special Counsel - Sydney

Areas of Expertise

Planning, Environment & Sustainability

Contact Katharine

+61 2 8083 0446 katharine.huxley@holdingredlich.com Connect

Expertise

Katharine specialises in planning, development and environmental law with a particular interest in civil litigation within these areas.

Katharine provides pragmatic and strategic advice to government and private sector clients on matters spanning planning and environmental law, local government law and administrative law. She regularly appears in the Land and Environment Court of NSW as a solicitor advocate and instructing counsel and has expertise acting on all sides of disputes including development appeals, order appeals, civil enforcement and judicial review proceedings.

Katharine is recognised for planning and environmental law in the 2025 , 2026 and 2027 editions of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch and the 2026 edition of Doyle’s Guide Planning and Environmental Law Rising Stars.

Katharine sits on the NSW Law Society Environmental Planning & Development Committee, and is currently completing a Masters in Environmental Law.

Experience

Katharine’s experience includes:

providing practical advice on matters including:
- land zoning, permissibility and characterisation of development
- the validity and enforcement of development consents
- contamination of land
- the issue and enforcement of development control orders
- unlawful tree clearing and development.
advising on development applications and acting in development appeal proceedings concerning residential, industrial and commercial land uses
advising on and drafting bespoke voluntary planning agreements and works in kind agreements
Advising and acting in proceedings concerning the enlargement or expansion of existing and historic uses
acting for a private developers in relation to the redevelopment of state heritage items, complex and heavily constrained sites, contamination, and mixed zoning
acting for consent authorities and the beneficiaries of development consents in judicial review proceedings commenced in relation to allegations of invalidity of development consents.
advising on Commonwealth environmental legislation and policy.

Publications

27 January 2026 - Knowledge

Integral to agriculture - how are protected cropping structures characterised under NSW planning law?

#Planning, Environment & Sustainability, #Local Government

A recent decision of the Land and Environment Court provides guidance on whether polytunnels are part of intensive plant agriculture or used for a separate purpose as ‘farm buildings’.

10 October 2025 - Knowledge

NSW Government Bulletin: Opportunity for climate resilience under proposed NSW planning reforms

#Government

Proposed reforms to NSW planning law will establish an Authority to streamline development approvals, but more detail is needed to understand whether it will deliver climate resilience.

14 May 2025 - Knowledge

NSW Government Bulletin: Restoring certainty – Parliament responds to courts’ interpretation of the EPA Act

#Government, #Property & Development

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Bill 2025, recently passed by NSW Parliament, introduces 3 key changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (EPA Act) in response to notable decisions of the Land and Environment Court and Court of Appeal.

31 March 2025 - Knowledge

Reconsidering reconsiderations – changes to the EPBC Act narrow the scope of merit review

#Planning, Environment & Sustainability

Amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) have been passed to narrow the scope for the Federal Minister for the Environment to reconsider past decisions. However, more fundamental changes to the Act may be coming.

Upcoming Seminars

30 Apr 26 to 14 Oct 26 - Brisbane

2026 Project Lifecycle series

From procurement to completion: managing risk across the life of a project

Register now

21 May 26 - Brisbane

Project delivery – driving performance and managing risk | Part 2: Project lifecycle series

Even the best-drafted contract cannot save a poorly administered project. Part 2 of our Project Lifecycle Series focuses on the discipline of project delivery and contract administration, and how proactive management can prevent disputes before they escalate, and how to manage those disputes when they do.

Register now

21 May 26

C&I Webinar Series: Limitations of Liability, Order of Precedence and Annexures

This session focuses on three clauses that frequently determine risk outcomes in construction and infrastructure contracts: Limitations of Liability, Order of Precedence and Annexures. Partner, Helena Golovanoff, and Special Counsel, Krishneel Kumar, will unpack how these provisions are interpreted in practice, where parties often assume protection they do not have, and how drafting missteps can shift risk in unexpected ways. We will provide clear guidance for principals, contractors and advisors on negotiating, structuring and managing these clauses to achieve greater certainty and avoid costly disputes.

Register now

Holding Redlich respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate as the continuing custodians of this land. We recognise their continuing connection to Country, practices, knowledge systems and communities. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present.