State Planning

The NSW Government is responsible for:

  • The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, which sets out major development concepts and principals including Part 4, which deals with development applications
  • The Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021, which contains all the regulations for the development concept and principles found in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
  • State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs), which can set out when development consent is required and often nominates the consent authority for specific types of development. They provide a state-wide framework for allowing or prohibiting certain types of development considering infrastructure and coastal protection. The SEPPs can override Council's planning guidelines.
  • Hunter Regional Plan, which establishes that land is available and appropriately located to accommodate the housing and employment targets for the region's population to the year 2041.