The Urban Drainage Act 2013 is Tasmania's primary legislation governing the provision of urban stormwater drainage services by local councils. The Act was approved by Parliament and received Royal Assent on 19 December 2013.
During the development of the Act it was clearly identified that regulations would need to be made to provide additional information to local councils so they can effectively implement the legislation. The Urban Drainage (General) Regulations 2016 provides detail on what constitutes a "prescribed structure". This detail is necessary to permit councils to apply the powers in section 13 of the Act, which assist councils to protect their urban drainage infrastructure. Section 13 of the Act provides that a person must not permit a prescribed structure to be built on or over a stormwater easement or stormwater infrastructure unless they have the relevant council's permission.