The exhibition of the draft Sydney Plan has now closed
Public consultation on the draft Sydney Plan has now closed. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback. Your insights will help shape the final plan that will guide the growth of the Sydney region.
About the Sydney Plan
Sydney is home to one of the fastest-growing populations in Australia. By 2045, it will be home to more than 6.5 million people.
The Sydney Plan is a strategic land use plan that will guide how the NSW Government manages growth in the Sydney region over the next 20 years.
It covers 33 local government areas and sets out how Sydney will accommodate a growing population, while ensuring that communities have access to housing, infrastructure, jobs, sustainability and vibrant places to live and work now and into the future.
The plan will guide:
- state and local strategic planning and assessment processes
- infrastructure planning and prioritisation
- public and private investment decisions.
A new generation of regional plans
The Sydney Plan is the first of the new regional strategic plans that will be delivered across NSW. It demonstrates how the new statewide priorities, proposed in the A New Approach to Strategic Planning Discussion Paper, are applied at a regional scale.
The state priorities are:
- Aboriginal outcomes
- housed
- prosperous
- connected
- resilient
- liveable
- coordinated.
The Sydney Plan takes the state priorities and applies them to areas in the Sydney region, clearly setting out targeted policy directions and actions for both the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure and local councils.
When the plan is finalised, councils will be able to use it to update their own planning documents, like their Local Strategic Planning Statements and Local Environmental Plans, so they can deliver the priorities for their local areas.
Planning processes will continue to promote the spiritual significance of land, along with Aboriginal culture and economic self-determination.
The draft Sydney Plan exhibition
The draft Sydney Plan was on public exhibition on the NSW Planning Portal from 10 December 2025 to 27 February 2026.
Exhibition documents
- The Sydney Plan (public exhibition)
- Appendix A – Using the technical appendices
- Appendix B – Summary of actions
- Appendix C – Glossary
- Appendix D – Pipeline of State Rezonings
- Appendix E – Jobs guidance
- Appendix F – Public open space provision
- Appendix G – Blue-green grid
- Appendix H – Sydney Industrial lands categorisation or view the draft Sydney industrial lands categorisation map
- Appendix I – Flood planning principles
- Appendix J – Urban footprint policy guidance
What happens next
With the exhibition period complete, the Department is now:
- reviewing all submissions and surveys received during the consultation period
- assessing proposed refinements based on community, council and industry feedback
- working with stakeholders and councils to ensure the plan’s directions are practical and achievable
- preparing the final Sydney Plan for consideration and release.
This process ensures that community voices meaningfully inform the final Plan and that it aligns with the statewide strategic planning framework.
Frequently asked questions
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More information
If you have any questions about The Sydney Plan, email [email protected]