Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act), some infrastructure projects are considered state significant because they are important to NSW for economic, environmental or social reasons.
Types of state significant infrastructure
An infrastructure project may be state significant if it meets relevant criteria, for example:
- is over a certain size, or
- will exceed the estimated development cost threshold.
State significant infrastructure (SSI) includes:
- energy transmission infrastructure
- rail and road infrastructure
- water storage and treatment plants
- pumped hydro
- wharves and boating facilities
- pipelines
- some developments in national parks.
SSI types and sites are listed in Schedule 3 and Schedule 4 of State Environmental Planning Policy (Planning Systems) 2021. The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces can also declare specified development on specified land to be SSI by a State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) or by an order of the Minister.
Critical state significant infrastructure
The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces can declare an SSI project as essential for economic, environmental or social reasons. These critical state significant infrastructure (CSSI) projects are determined directly by the Minister. Examples of CSSI projects include WestConnex, Snowy 2.0, Sydney Metro, and EnergyConnect.
The Critical State Significant Infrastructure Guideline (PDF, 131 KB) sets out the general principles for the declaration of projects as SSI and CSSI.
Assessment of state significant infrastructure
All SSI applications are assessed under Division 5.2 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The Department coordinates the assessment. This includes carrying out relevant administrative functions, coordinating inputs from State and Commonwealth agencies and working closely with councils to ensure local and regional issues are considered.
Community involvement is an important part of the process. All SSI applications are publicly exhibited for at least 28 days.
Determination of state significant infrastructure
SSI applications are determined by the Minister for Planning. The Minister may delegate the power to make specific decisions to senior department officers. These are known as delegated decisions.
CSSI applications all go to the Minister for a determination.
State Significant Infrastructure Guidelines
The State Significant Infrastructure Guidelines explain the SSI process and set clear expectations of environmental assessment documentation.
SSI proponents must consider these guidelines when:
- requesting Secretary Environmental Assessment Requirements
- preparing environmental impact statements
- responding to submissions
- amending an application
- preparing a preferred infrastructure report
- applying to modify SSI approvals.
Application fees
All proponents must pay a fee for the Department to assess their application.
Submitting a complete and accurate application helps avoid delays. Where required, this includes providing a quantity surveyor’s report to support the estimated development cost stated in the application.
State significant infrastructure
Learn how the merits of projects are assessed before a final decision is made.
Information about how approvals can be modified.
Find out what information is required to make an application.
Search for state significant infrastructure projects.
Frequently asked questions
All SSI applications are listed on Major Projects, where you can view the application, supporting information, track the project’s progress, and access the assessment report and final determination, including any conditions of consent or reasons for refusal.
Once you have established that your proposal is SSI, you can lodge your application online at Major Projects.
All SSI applications are publicly exhibited for at least 28 days. We extend this period during the Christmas/New Year period (between 20 December and 10 January inclusive). During the public exhibition, we publish the application and all supporting information at Major Projects.
Submissions for SSI applications must be made online through Major Projects during the exhibition period.
To make a submission:
- visit Major Projects
- search for the relevant application or find it amongst the applications currently on exhibition
- click on 'make a submission' button
- log in or create a new user account.
There are resources on the portal to help you including a step-by-step guide on How to make a submission on a state significant application (PDF, 1.2 MB) and answers to frequently asked questions.
For more help with making a submission, call the Department’s customer support team on 1300 305 695.
If you think you may need help making a submission through the portal, it’s a good idea to contact customer support early. Make sure you allow enough time to submit before the project’s exhibition end date.
When we assess SSI applications, we consider:
- existing strategic plans and policies (including state, regional and local)
- feedback and comments from the relevant local council(s)
- specialised and technical input and advice received from federal and state government agencies
- public submissions received during the exhibition
- the public interest.
Our assessment and recommendation are set out in our assessment report. The recommendation (including either conditions of approval or reasons for refusal) is referred to the Minister or delegate for determination.
A proponent can apply to modify an SSI approval online via Major Projects. The extent of public notification will depend on the scale of the modification and any environmental or social impacts.
There is no provision for merit appeals from applicants or objectors who disagree with the outcome of an application.
Anyone can request a judicial review of a decision if they think the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 has been breached. The appeal must be made within 3 months of the decision being notified. However, decisions on CSSI projects are only subject to judicial review with the approval of the Minister.
We have prepared indicative standard conditions of approval (PDF, 1.8 MB) for transport related SSI applications.
The conditions will help everyone to understand the types of conditions that are likely to apply to these projects.
The final conditions of approval applied to each project will differ depending on the outcomes of the assessment. Some conditions may not be applied or may be modified. Additional conditions may also be added to respond to specific social, economic, and environmental issues.
The Guideline for drafting conditions for state significant projects (PDF, 823 KB) outlines the Department’s best-practice approach to drafting conditions of approval for SSI applications when the Department recommends a project for approval.
The guideline provides information for applicants, stakeholders and the community, and sets out:
- the roles and responsibilities that the Department, other regulatory agencies, and the Independent Planning Commission have, when preparing, and enforcing conditions
- the purpose of conditions
- a framework for drafting effective conditions.
The Department is committed to drafting conditions that stakeholders can understand. This guideline aims to make conditions more consistent and give applicants, the community, and regulatory agencies greater certainty.