On 14 July 2021, the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment introduced updated guidance for councils in respect of flooding in land-use planning, to support better management of flood risk beyond the 1% annual exceedance probability (“AEP”), and to ensure best management practises in managing and mitigating severe to extreme flood events. The updated guidance and materials are:
- a new planning circular: Considering flooding in land use planning: guidance and statutory requirements (and revoking the existing planning circular PS 07-003);
- a new guideline: Considering Flooding in Land Use Planning (2021) (and revoking the Guideline on Development Controls on Low Flood Risk Areas);
- an amendment to clause 7A of Schedule 4 to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000. The changes will simplify the notation to advise of flood-related development controls up to the flood planning area (clause 7A(1)) or between the flood planning area and the PMF (clause 7A(2));
- two standard instrument local environmental plan (LEP) clauses which introduce flood related development controls (one mandatory, one optional);
- a SEPP amendment to replace councils existing flood planning clause with the new mandatory standard instrument clause; and
- a revised local planning direction regarding flooding issued under section 9.1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
Section 10.7 Planning Certificates
Under Schedule 4: There are new requirements in section 10.7 planning certificates for land affected by flood-related development controls. [...]
