NSW Department of Planning and Environment

Inspections and enforcements

Activities of the compliance teams

We are committed to carrying out our compliance activities in a transparent way. As part of this, we provide monthly reports on our compliance activities.

The below map shows the number of inspection and enforcement activities in a selected time period. Note that some sites can be the subject of multiple compliance activities in any selected time period. Sites inspected that relate to projects approved by agencies other than the department are not reported on the map. This map is best viewed in Internet Explorer.

The below table includes compliance activities from July 2022 to June 2023.

Compliance monitoring activities

2022/2023 total

Inspections and surveillance carried out

212

Investigations completed

179

Review of compliance documentation

1,393

Subtotal compliance monitoring

1,784

Enforcement activities

2022/2023 total

Official cautions issued

11

Orders imposed

2

Enforceable undertaking 1

Penalty notices

7

Prosecutions

0

Total

21

Compliance reports

We prepare regular reports highlighting the work undertaken by the compliance team.

December 2022 formal enforcements

Enforceable undertakings

Under Section 9.5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979, the Secretary of the department is responsible for accepting Enforceable Undertakings on behalf of the department and NSW Councils. Below is a list of enforceable undertakings accepted by the Secretary on behalf of the department or the relevant NSW Council since the enactment of the provision on 1 March 2018. For more information, please refer to the Enforceable Undertakings Guideline (PDF, 482 KB).

Enforceable undertakings accepted by the Secretary on behalf of the Department of Planning and Environment
Enforceable undertakings accepted by the Secretary on behalf of NSW Councils

Previous compliance reports

Compliance audits and audit reports

As part of our ongoing investigation and enforcement functions, the compliance team conducts audits and other programs throughout the year. Recent audits and reports are listed below.

Renewable energy

Wind farm inspection program

Since December 2018, the department has undertaken 21 inspections of wind farms across NSW to monitor compliance with conditions of approval. For more information, see:

Solar farm inspection program

Since December 2018, the department has undertaken 49 inspections of solar farms across NSW to monitor compliance with conditions of approval. For more information, see:

Political Donations

Since 2013, the department has undertaken regular audits of political donations disclosure statements associated with State Significant Development (SSD) applications. A fact sheet about the program can be found below.

Please note: some of the PDFs on this page contain large amounts of rich content and may take some time to download.

Page last updated: 20/02/2023