The response came after a report in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald said the Office of the Information Commissioner had been advised by the Crown Solicitor that federal copyright laws prevented councils from copying, publishing or distributing copyrighted plans or consultants’ reports without permission from the author.

The report said the advice stated documents could only be

‘‘viewed’’ at council premises, not copied, and could not be published on council websites.

The move would potentially hamstring residents who wanted to read about proposed developments however could not get to the council during business hours.

But Wollongong council lawyer Jeff Reilly yesterday told the Mercury that NSW councils were protected under state legislation when it came to copyright laws and development application documents.

‘‘The Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 contains a provision which creates an indemnity for councils in relation to breach of copyright,’’ he said.

‘‘In other words, councils are able to advertise and make publicly available development applications, including putting them online, and are protected from any claim that may arise in relation to an alleged breach of copyright.’’

Mr Reilly said as a further precaution, the council’s development application form asked applicants to sign a declaration saying any information they provided would be put online.

‘‘Accordingly, the council will continue to provide access to development applications for community consultation and submission purposes,’’ Mr Reilly said.

Wollongong neighbourhood forum secretary David Winterbottom yesterday welcomed the news, saying access to development reports and plans online was crucial for people leading busy lives.

‘‘From our perspective we would find it impossible to make an informed submission, either for or against, on plans without real-time access to this information,’’ he said.