Major hazards planning
The Department plays a key role in contributing to appropriate and safe economic development and community protection. This is achieved through the application of strategic land use safety planning, risk assessment and safety management principles to avoid and minimise the risks of fire, explosion or toxic releases from potentially hazardous industrial developments.
Safer industrial facilities
The Department's Major Hazards Unit main functions in relation to safer industrial facilities are:
- undertaking of area risk assessment studies as part of a strategic approach to land use safety planning around potentially hazardous facilities, such as studies already undertaken of the Botany/Randwick, Port Botany, Kurnell and Kooragang Island industrial areas. View the Kurnell Peninsula Land Use Safety Study (2007) [PDF]
- development of supporting land use safety planning policies and safety-based locational guidelines
- assessment of safety and hazard studies related to:
- proposals for new developments associated with major industrial developments and infrastructure projects
- conditions of consent of both state significant and local developments
- assessment and policy support to local councils regarding potentially hazardous industry. View the SEPP 33 Application Guidelines
- promotion of compliance with safety-related development consent conditions
- provision of technical advice regarding process safety and off-site risk impacts
- development of technical advisory documentation, especially related to process safety management, off-site risk impacts and assessment protocols in support of the major hazards control framework proposals. View the Major Industrial Hazards Advisory Papers.
Control of major hazard facilities
In consultation with key government agencies, the Department has developed framework proposals for the control of major hazard facilities in NSW in order to reduce the risk and mitigate the consequences of major accidents. The proposals build on existing departmental programs relating to land use safety. The Department is supporting WorkCover NSW in finalising and administering the major hazards regulatory framework by undertaking assessments in relation to the technical, process safety management and land use safety planning aspects of the regime.
The control of major hazards focuses on:
- prevention of major accident hazards at fixed facilities handling Dangerous Goods above threshold quantities
- protection for workers on-site, the community, property, surrounding land uses and the environment
- consistency with the provisions of the National Standard for the Control of Major Hazard Facilities as well as international best practice. National
Land use safety planning
The aim of land use safety planning is to ensure that industrial development (including hazardous or potentially hazardous industry) does not pose an unacceptable risk to the surrounding area and that exposures to risk from existing industries are not increased by changes in surrounding land use and new development. Strategic land use safety planning aims to avoid or minimise land use conflicts by considering the issues as early as possible in the planning process.
The Department has prepared the consultation draft Hazardous Industry Planning Advisory Paper No. 10 - Land Use Safety Planning [PDF]. Your comments on the draft guidelines are welcomed until Friday 22 June 2007. Please send to Director, Major Hazards Unit, Department of Planning, GPO Box 39 Sydney NSW 2001 or email mhu@planning.nsw.gov.au.
The consultation draft paper is one of a series of hazardous industry planning advisory papers (HIPAPs) prepared for use by consent authorities and industry proponents. In NSW, risk assessment has long been an integral part of land use safety planning and the development assessment and approval process. This series covers, for example, the preparation of a preliminary hazard analysis, hazard and operability study, fire safety study, emergency plan, hazard analysis at design stage, construction safety study, as well as the implementation of a safety management system and regular hazard audits. Copies are available from the Planning Information Centre.
Further information
Phone 02 9228 6333 or email mhu@planning.nsw.gov.au.