Office of Strategic Lands

The Office of Strategic Lands performs a key role in supporting government’s strategic planning in the Greater Sydney Region, particularly for open space and land for public purposes.

Spread across the Greater Sydney Region are some of the best open spaces ranging from coastal walks and sprawling parklands to riverfront biking trails and natural conservation areas.

This vast network of regional open space has grown over time as a direct result of the Office of Strategic Lands’ unique ability to identify, acquire and manage land through the Sydney Region Development Fund.

Since the Office of Strategic Lands was established, they have bought land to deliver significant community benefits in the Greater Sydney Region, including:

• a network of open spaces where people meet, play, relax and experience nature
• transport corridors
• strategic priorities for housing, employment, tourism
• coastal headlands and beaches
• universities.

Download the Strategic Business Plan – Planning Ministerial Corporation 2020 (PDF, 3.3 MB).

Functions

For more than 60 years, the Office of Strategic Lands has worked with local councils and other partners within the Greater Sydney Region to secure land for regional open space, important biodiversity corridors and natural conservation areas. The Office of Strategic Lands has also protected corridors important for infrastructure, acquired land for new town centres, residential areas and employment hubs.

As a result, the Office of Strategic Lands currently manages a portfolio of more than 6,000 parcels of land (4,900 hectares), 75 per cent of which is open space. Local councils across the Greater Sydney Region manage around 1300 hectares of open space within the portfolio.

Over the years, the Office of Strategic Lands has used its unique ability of buying and holding on land to enable government to protect land in future growth areas, accommodate population growth and new infrastructure and deliver future planning projects.

The Office of Strategic Lands has ensured that its functions are self-sustaining by selling lands no longer required for the original planning purpose and reinvesting the proceeds in Sydney Region Development Fund. Land held for other agencies has also been leased and licenced to help contribute funding for acquiring and enhancing open space. In addition, the local councils across the Greater Sydney Region make annual contributions of around $8 million towards the purchase and enhancement of open space.

Contact us

Enquiries, compliments, complaints and general feedback submitted on this page should relate to the functions of The Office of Strategic Lands (OSL) only.

Please be aware OSL are not entering into any new, or renewing any existing, agistment agreements at the present time..

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