06 August 2026
5 min read
#Planning, Environment & Sustainability, #New South Wales Government
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The first half of 2026 has seen the exhibition of two policies aimed at building climate resilience in NSW: the introduction of a new Climate Change and Natural Hazards State Environmental Planning Policy (Climate Change SEPP) and amendments to existing State Environmental Planning Policies to facilitate Blue Carbon projects (Blue Carbon Amendments). These changes follow the introduction of a new object into the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) (EPA Act), which seeks to “promote resilience to climate change and natural disasters through adaptation, mitigation, preparedness and prevention”. While these changes propose significant amendments to the planning framework around development assessment, land use planning and delivery of nature positive projects, it is important to recognise that they build on existing principles and practices.
Climate Change and Natural Hazards State Environmental Planning Policy
The proposed Climate Change SEPP will replace the State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021, aiming to better address natural hazard risk through land use planning. As acknowledged in the explanation of intended effects to the Climate Change SEPP, the NSW planning system is uniquely placed to address climate risk through future planning decisions.
Consistent with the approach in the State Disaster Mitigation Plan 2024-2026, the proposed Climate Change SEPP will adopt a risk-based approach to planning for climate change and natural hazards. This is not entirely new as the task of assessing and balancing competing interests in planning decisions is already being carried out by consent authorities under section 4.15 of the EPA Act. Similarly, in preparing instruments under part 3 of the EPA Act, planning authorities are already making decisions to balance environmental risk in delivering housing and infrastructure objectives. Consideration of climate change and natural disaster risk in both existing functions is reflected in the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure’s ‘Consideration of tolerable risk for natural hazards in land use planning guideline’ which supports risk-based assessment within the existing merit-based frameworks.
The explanation of intended effects highlights that the Climate Change SEPP will not require consideration of a development’s contribution to climate change, but rather how the development will be impacted by projected environmental change. This is similarly not a novel concept in development assessment. Existing hazard specific controls such as the flood planning controls in clause 5.21 of Standard Instrument Local Environmental Plans follow a similar format. This clause is proposed to be moved out of the standard instrument and into the Climate Change SEPP.
The proposed Climate Change SEPP will seek to support existing legislated hazard management, including bushfire and coastal management frameworks, while also implementing new provisions to better address underrepresented hazards such as urban heat impacts. The Climate Change SEPP is also proposed to address recovery after natural disasters, with the potential to support the NSW Reconstruction Authority’s powers to make planning decisions after natural disaster.
While it builds on existing principles and controls, the proposed Climate Change SEPP will be a considerable development in planning law in NSW, with consequence to a wide range of planning and infrastructure delivery functions, development types, and assessment protocols.
The second policy that may see significant improvements in resilience building for NSW are the proposed “improving coastal management and supporting blue carbon and ecosystem restoration projects” amendments (blue carbon amendments). Once finalised, these changes will be introduced to either the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 or the new Climate Change SEPP.
Coastal and marine ecosystems including saltmarsh, mangroves and seagrass, are highly efficient vehicles for carbon capture, provide essential habitat to support fisheries and can create resilience in coastal communities through minimising the impacts of tidal inundation during storm events. They can also be critical ecosystems for biodiversity repair, allowing revegetation and regeneration of land that cannot otherwise be developed.
The blue carbon amendments propose new planning pathways for tidal restoration projects to provide clarity where existing land use definitions do not clearly encompass these projects, and where the nature of the works involved may not fall within the scope of ‘environmental protection works’. Further amendments are also proposed to clarify the appropriate planning pathway for a range of coastal protection works.
More broadly, the blue carbon amendments propose a new framework for ecosystem restoration projects generally, recognising the need for the planning system to accommodate projects that will deliver nature positive outcomes. This proposed change recognises that the planning system is focussed on assessing development or projects that may have a negative environmental impact, and not on projects that seek to reverse or repair historical environmental impact.
In line with the proposed Climate Change SEPP, the blue carbon amendments also include provisions to require consideration of migratory paths for coastal wetlands and environments as tidal inundation forces these ecosystems landward.
While the blue carbon amendments propose seemingly new provisions, it is important to recognise that they will sit as part of an existing legal framework. For local councils and other crown land managers, the blue carbon amendments may unlock opportunities for the creation of biodiversity stewardship sites, or the opportunity to explore tidal restoration projects that generate carbon credits under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (Cth) having regard to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative – Tidal Restoration of Blue Carbon Ecosystems) Methodology Determination 2022.
As of July 2026, these policies remain under consideration. However, resilience building will be a key focus in the planning framework as the state balances housing targets, the NSW Plan for Nature and the need to protect communities from worsening natural hazard events. While decisions about risk and resilience will continue to permeate decision making and land use planning, the proposed changes will also help NSW Government agencies and Local Government Authorities to identify new opportunities to deliver a range of positive environmental and social outcomes.
Disclaimer
The information in this article is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavour to provide accurate and timely information, we do not guarantee that the information in this article is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future.
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