The Gateway Process -

What is the Gateway process?

Local Environment Plans (LEPs) start with a planning proposal for a development. In most cases this is done by your local council. Proposals are then assessed by us. This is called the ‘Gateway’ process.

Steps in the process

The five steps in the process

The Planning Proposal – the planning proposal authority prepares the planning proposal. The planning proposal authority is usually the local council, however the Minister can appoint the Secretary of the Department of Planning and Environment, a regional planning panel or a Sydney planning panel to be the planning proposal authority.

Gateway – the Minister (or delegate) decides whether the planning proposal can proceed (with or without variation) and subject to other matters including further studies being undertaken, public consultation, public hearings, agency consultation and time frames. A planning proposal does usually not proceed without conditions of this nature. The conditions are then complied with and if necessary, the proposal is changed. A decision on whether the relevant council is able to finalise particular types of LEPs is also determined at this stage.

Community Consultation – the proposal is publicly exhibited as required by the Minister. A person making a submission may also request a public hearing be held.

Assessment – the planning proposal authority reviews public submissions. Parliamentary Counsel then prepares a draft local environmental plan.

The Making of the LEP – with the Minister’s (or delegate’s) approval the local environmental plan is published on the NSW legislation website and becomes law.

View local planning and zoning resources for plan making and tracking.

New Rezoning Review

We have improved the Pre-Gateway Review process to be clearer and easier to understand.

An applicant such as a developer or landowner may ask for a Rezoning Review if:

a council has notified them that it does not support their plans
a council has failed to indicate its support 90 days after the proponent has submitted a request; or
a council has failed to submit a planning proposal for a Gateway determination within a reasonable time it has indicated its support.

A Rezoning Review will be carried out independently by:

a Regional Planning Panel for regional NSW:
- Northern Region
- Hunter and Central Coast Region
- Western Region
- Southern Region
the Sydney planning panels for proposals that relate to land within the Greater Sydney Region; or
the Independent Planning Commission for prFoposals that relate to land within the City of Sydney.

Note: the rezoning review process does not apply to requests for planning proposals which involve a residential use made to City of Ryde Council from 26 June 2018 to 1 July 2020.

Rezoning Review Fees

Submission of a Rezoning Review Request $20,000 (assessment and referral to Panel/Commission).

Where a Planning Panel or the Secretary is appointed as the planning proposal authority - $25,000.

The Minister has signed a delegation so that a Planning Panel has the power to direct itself to be the planning proposal authority if it carried out a rezoning review of the planning proposal request and the council does not with to take on that role.

Minister's signed Instrument of Delegation

Resources

Review of decisions

In the interests of fairness and accountability, two review mechanisms were introduced in October 2012 for the gateway process. These reviews provide fairness and accountability to the process by allowing an independent body to review some decisions by councils and the department.

Rezoning reviews: may be requested by a proponent if a council has not supported, or made a decision within 90 days, on a planning proposal, or has not submitted a planning proposal for a Gateway determination within a reasonable time after indicating its support. These reviews are carried out by Planning Panels or the Independent Planning Commission for the City of Sydney.

Gateway reviews: may be requested by a council or proponent following a gateway determination by the Department before community consultation on the proposal has commenced.

View the Pre-Gateway LEP Review Tracking System

This system enables you to view proposed LEP amendments that have been lodged with the agency for a Pre-Gateway review.

Tracking System

Tracking a plan or review

In some instances the Regional Planning Panels or Sydney planning panels may be appointed as the planning proposal authority to finalise a planning proposal.

Visit the LEPs Online System

LEPs Online

You can track the progress of a plan or review through our online tracking systems. In some instances the Planning Panels may be appointed as the relevant planning authority to finalise a planning proposal.

Endorsed local council strategies

Local council strategies that are endorsed, in full or part, by the Department (Secretary) may be used:

to demonstrate the strategic merit of planning proposals; and/or
by Planning Panels or the Independent Planning Commission to determine whether a planning proposal being considered for a rezoning review has strategic merit; and/or
by the planning proposal authority to justify inconsistency with certain section 9.1(2) Local Planning Directions

Endorsed local council strategies are listed below for each of the Department’s regions, and endorsement letters are attached. Only the version of the Strategy at the time of endorsement is considered endorsed and no subsequent amendments.

For any questions regarding the endorsement process please contact the relevant regional office.

Sydney Metropolitan

Local Government Area	Name of Strategy	Date endorsed by secretary or delegate
Northern Beaches	Warriewood Valley Strategic Review 2013	1 May 2013
Canada Bay	Canada Bay Local Planning Strategy 2010-2031	27 November 2009
Willoughby	Chatswood CBD Planning and Urban Design Strategy	9 August 2019
Willoughby	Chatswood CBD Planning and Urban Design Strategy	9 July 2020

Northern Region

Local Government Area	Name of Strategy	Date endorsed by secretary or delegate
Armidale Regional	Armidale Dumaresq Bulky Goods Retail and Industrial Lands Study 2010	28/07/2010
	Armidale Dumaresq Industrial Lands Study 2012	18/04/2013
	New England Strategic Alliance of Councils Development Strategy 2010	16/03/2010
Ballina	Ballina Growth Management Strategy	07/05/2013
Bellingen	Bellingen Shire Growth Management Strategy	12/04/2007
Bellingen	Bellingen Shire Employment Land Strategy	10/07/2013
Byron	Byron Shire Business and Industrial Lands Strategy	29/09/2020
Byron	Byron Shire Rural Land Use Strategy 2017	13/06/2018
Clarence Valley	Clarence Valley Settlement Strategy	08/03/1999
Clarence Valley	Clarence Local Growth Management Strategy (Maclean Urban Catchment Component)	04/11/2011
Coffs Harbour	Coffs Harbour Local Growth Management Strategy Chapter 8 Employment Lands (PDF, 128 KB)	04/11/2020
	Coffs Harbour Local Growth Management Strategy Chapter 5 Rural Lands	03/07/2020
	Coffs Harbour Local Growth Management Strategy – Coffs Harbour to 2040 and beyond: Chapters 1-4 and Chapter 6	13/01/2020
	Our Living City - A Settlement Strategy to 2031	11/11/2009
	Coffs Harbour Local Growth Management Strategy – Business Lands Component Aug 2009	24/09/2010
	Coffs Harbour Rural Residential Strategy	03/05/2010
	Coffs Harbour Local Growth Management Strategy Industrial Lands Component	11/11/2009
Glen Innes Severn	Glen Innes Severn Land Use Plan 2010	17/06/2010
Gunnedah	Gunnedah Shire Local Environmental Study (Bridging Report) 2010 (incorporating the Gunnedah Shire Rural Lands Strategy 2009, and the Gunnedah Shire Commercial and Industrial Lands Study 2009)	19/08/2010
Gunnedah	Namoi 2030 Regional Resource Strategy	31/03/2011
Inverell	Inverell Rural Lands Strategy	23/10/2011
Inverell	Inverell Strategic Land Use Plan 2011-2031	28/03/2012
Kempsey	Kempsey Local Growth Strategy (Residential Component)	06/06/2011
Kempsey	Kempsey Local Growth Strategy (Rural Residential Component)	17/12/2014
Kyogle	Kyogle Local Growth Management Strategy	22/06/2010
Lismore	Lismore Growth Management Strategy 2015-2035	11/08/2015
Liverpool Plains	Liverpool Plains Growth Management Strategy 2009	14/10/2009
Liverpool Plains	Namoi 2030 Regional Resource Strategy	31/03/2011
Moree Plains	Moree Plains Growth Management Strategy 2009	20/04/2009
Nambucca	Nambucca Shire Local Growth Management Strategy (Employment Lands)	14/04/2011
	Nambucca Shire Council Urban Land Release Strategy	13/01/1998
	Nambucca Shire Urban Release Strategy - Annexure 1 Eungai Creek	14/04/2003
	Nambucca Local Growth Management Strategy (Rural Residential Land)	16/01/2009
Narrabri	Narrabri Growth Management Strategy 2010	12/04/2010
	Narrabri Growth Management Strategy Addendum –Boggabri Strategic Planning Review 2014	19/05/2015
	Namoi 2030 Regional Resource Strategy	16/01/2009
Port Macquarie Hastings	Port Macquarie Hastings Urban Growth Management Strategy	05/05/2011
	John Oxley Drive Precinct Structure Plan	01/11/2012
	Port Macquarie Hastings Urban Growth Management Strategy 2036	02/11/2018
Richmond Valley	Casino Urban Land Release Strategy	18/08/2005
	Evans Head Urban Land Release Strategy	21/12/2006
	Richmond River Rural Residential Land Release Strategy	04/03/1999
Tamworth Regional	Tamworth Regional Development Strategy 2008	18/04/2008
	South Tamworth Rural Lands Masterplan	16/04/2013
	Namoi 2030 Regional Resource Strategy	31/03/2011
Tweed	Tweed Rural Land Strategy Tweed Rural Villages Strategy	07/10/2020 25/05/2017
Uralla	New England Strategic Alliance of Councils Development Strategy 2010	16/03/2010
Walcha	New England Strategic Alliance of Councils Development Strategy 2010	16/03/2010

Western Region

Local Government Area	Name of Strategy	Date endorsed by secretary or delegate
Balranald	Balranald Strategic Framework	05/05/2010
Bathurst Regional	Bathurst Region Urban Strategy 2008	21/05/2008
Bathurst Regional	Bathurst Region Rural Strategy	14/05/2013
Blayney	Blayney Settlement Strategy	10/11/2012
Blayney, Cabonne & Orange	Blayney, Cabonne and Orange – Sub Regional Rural, Rural Residential and Industrial Land Use Strategy	30/06/2011
Bogan	Western Council’s Comprehensive Land Use Strategy	26/02/2010
Bourke	Bourke Shire Strategy Nov 2012	19/12/2012
Broken Hill	Broken Hill Land Use Strategy dated Sept 2012 – Part A- Local Profile & Issues Paper Part B – land use Strategy	04/07/2013
Cabonne	Cabonne Settlement Strategy	15/10/2012
Central Darling	Central Darling Strategy Nov 2012	20/12/2012
Conargo	Conargo Rural Lands Strategy	19/06/2013
Corowa	Corowa 2011-2031 Strategic Land Use Plan & Site Assessment Report dated July 2011	25/06/2012
Cowra	Cowra Shire Land Use Strategy Feb 2011	10/01/2013
Dubbo	Dubbo Land Use Strategies – including Urban Development Strategy, Dubbo Rural Areas Development Strategy associated reviews, amending reports and Council Policies	03/02/2012
Forbes	Forbes Growth Management Strategy and Rural Lands Supplement- February 2009	21/04/2009
Gilgandra	Western Council’s Sub Regional Land Use Strategy	26/02/2010
Griffith	Griffith Land Use Strategy	17/04/2013
Hay	Community and Settlement Sustainability Strategy March 2012	24/04/2012
Lachlan	Lachlan Primary Production/Resource Strategy March 2009	20/09/2010
Lachlan	Lachlan Minimum Lot Sizes for Rural Dwellings Study	03/07/2013
Lithgow	Lithgow Land Use Strategy 2010-2030	24/05/2012
Mid-Western	Mid-Western Comprehensive Land Use Strategy	01/08/2011
Mid-Western	Mudgee-Gulgong Urban Release Strategy	23/01/2015
Narromine	Western Council’s Sub Regional Land Use Strategy	26/02/2010
Narromine	Rural Residential and Agricultural Lands Strategy	08/08/2013
Oberon	Oberon Land Use Strategy – Draft June 2011 and Amendment 2012	16/12/2013
Orange	Orange Sustainable Settlement Strategy	29/07/2011
Orange	Blayney, Cabonne and Orange – Sub Regional Rural, Rural Residential and Industrial Land Use Strategy	30/06/2011
Parkes	Parkes Shire Land Use Strategy 2011	21/08/2012
Wakool	Wakool Shire Land Use Strategy and Supplementary Information	24/03/2011
Walgett	Walgett Shire Council Growth Management Study and Strategy	18/05/2011
Warren	Western Council’s Sub Regional Land Use Strategy	26/02/2010
Warrumbungle	Warrumbungle Shire Council Land Use Strategy	04/07/2013
Wentworth	Wentworth Strategic Framework Document & LES	23/12/2011
Western Councils - Bogan, Coonamble, Gilgandra, Narromine and Warren	Western Council’s Sub Regional Land Use Strategy NB: Coonamble component not endorsed as Council has not adopted it.	26/02/2010

Southern Region

Local Government Area	Name of Strategy	Date endorsed by secretary or delegate
Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council	Queanbeyan Residential and Economic Strategy 2015-2031	24/07/2016
Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council	Bungendore Structure Plan	30/11/2010
Wagga Wagga City Council	Wagga Wagga Spatial Plan 2013-2043	27/02/2014
Albury City Council	Albury Thurgoona Wirlinga Precinct Structure Plan 2013	29/10/2013
Albury City Council	Rural Lands Strategy for Table Top and Splitters Creek	17/08/2016
Yass Valley Council	Yass Town and Village Study	28/06/2011
Junee Shire Council	Junee Residential Strategy 2006	11/01/2008
Shoalhaven City Council	Shoalhaven Growth Management Strategy 2014	20/05/2014
Wollongong City Council	Farmborough Heights to Mt Kembla Concept Plan	20/03/2014
Wollongong City Council	Illawarra Escarpment Strategic Management Plan 2015	01/12/2015

Hunter and Central Coast Region

Local Government Area	Name of Strategy	Date endorsed by secretary or delegate
Upper Hunter	Upper Hunter Land Use Strategy	21/01/2010
Muswellbrook	Muswellbrook Residential and Rural Residential Strategy 2014	08/05/2015
Wyong	Wyong Settlement Strategy 2013	17/09/2013
Maitland	Maitland Urban Settlement Strategy 2008	01/09/2009
Singleton	Singleton Land Use Strategy	08/06/2008

Page last updated: 12/11/2020

The Gateway process