Supermarkets could be allowed to operate throughout the night whilst restrictions on waste recycling and construction could be temporarily lifted in Western Australia as the government in that state seeks to respond to the coronavirus.

Coming into effect last Friday, amendments to the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015 provide the Minister for Planning with authority to temporarily override requirements and conditions set out in a local planning scheme, and existing conditions in planning approvals.

This could include exemptions relating to noise or amenity restrictions that guide supermarket deliveries, waste and recycling services and construction activities, and take-away and retail delivery services among other locally driven compliance requirements.

Under the amendments, planning minister Rita Saffioti will be able to issue a notice to suppress local scheme provisions for a single council, across a specific region or across the state.

Western Australia is not the only state to provide greater powers to the planning minister in the current crisis.

In New South Wales, amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act have allowed the minister to issue control orders to override normal restrictions where this is necessary for health, safety or wellbeing.

In that state, minister Rob Stokes has thus far extended hours for supermarket/pharmacy operation, deliveries and waste removal, eased restrictions on the number of employees allowed to attend an employer’s personal residence for work purposes and extended construction hours to weekends to allow work to be spread out and fewer trades to be on site simultaneously.

The new provisions in Western Australia require a State of Emergency to be declared in order to have effect and will thus not apply once the coronavirus threat has eased.

In a statement, Saffioti said the powers were critical in a time of need.

“In a State of Emergency, these regulatory changes will provide the Government with an important mechanism to safeguard the supply of essential goods and services, help maintain civil order and lessen the administrative requirement for local councils in favour of direct frontline support in their communities,” Saffioti said.

“We need to keep the trucks rolling and the shutters open, and while there might be some short-term inconvenience, we need greater flexibility, speed and a higher degree of co-ordination around our planning regulations to prioritise these services, at this time.

“These powers would provide for a higher order of community service in the face of an emergency and are not about circumventing public input in our planning processes.”