Employment lands are areas zoned for industrial or similar purposes. They provide essential land for the delivery of goods, utilities and urban services.
These industries and businesses support jobs growth and development, as well as generating significant economic benefit for the community. They are crucial to the functioning of cities and increasing housing supply.
NSW requires more well located, serviced and affordable employment land to create jobs close to home and to drive business investment.
Industrial Lands Action Plan
Industrial lands support trade, jobs, and essential services—and play a key role in housing delivery, manufacturing, and the energy transition.
Many areas of NSW are facing a shortfall in industrial land, leading to rising costs, low vacancy rates, and businesses relocating interstate. This impacts productivity, affordability, and the delivery of key government priorities.
The NSW Government released the Industrial Lands Action Plan (PDF, 978 KB) outlining a new approach to secure, manage and monitor the supply of industrial lands across NSW.
The plan aims to provide greater consistency and certainty for industrial land planning.
The plan outlines 4 initiatives to be progressed over the next 12–24 months:
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Deliver
Deliver a statewide categorisation policy for industrial lands to replace the existing Retain, Review and Plan and Manage policies.
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Increase flexibility
Make planning and policy interventions to increase flexibility on land zoned for industrial purposes.
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Statewide pipeline
Finalise and release a statewide pipeline for supply of industrial lands.
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Employment Land Development Program
Implement an Employment Land Development Program to coordinate infrastructure investment for the supply of industrial land.
The Department will continue to work with industry, agencies and councils to implement and deliver on the priorities within the action plan.
For more information on the action plan, email [email protected]
Statewide Industrial Lands Policy
The NSW Government is exhibiting a draft Statewide Policy for Industrial Lands, which outlines how industrial lands will be planned, managed, and categorised in NSW. The Statewide Policy demonstrates how we are making a more equitable and consistent approach to strategic planning for industrial lands across the state. The draft Sydney Plan demonstrates how the policy will be applied through strategic planning.
The draft Statewide Policy for Industrial Lands is on exhibition and open for feedback until 5 pm, 27 February 2026. Visit the NSW Planning Portal or email [email protected] for more information.
Employment Land Development Program
The Department has established the Employment Land Development Program to help improve the supply of industrial lands across NSW.
The program aims to:
- support a pipeline of zoned industrial land across NSW
- provide certainty for industry
- support access to jobs closer to home, particularly in Western Sydney and regional NSW
- advise the Government on infrastructure and servicing investment to unlock zoned industrial land to secure the pipeline.
The Employment Land Development Program builds on and supports the existing Employment Lands Development Monitor.
Frequently asked questions
Employment land contains a mix of businesses involved in manufacturing; transport and warehousing; service and repair trades and industries; integrated enterprises with a mix of administration, production, warehousing, research and development; and local services and utilities.
Industrial land generally does not include areas that are used primarily for commercial or retail uses.
For the purposes of the Industrial Lands Action Plan all employment lands are referred to as ‘industrial’ lands.
NSW is experiencing a supply shortage of development ready industrial land. The Department seeks to apply a consistent and coordinated approach to actively plan, manage and monitor industrial lands across NSW. The Industrial Lands Action Plan is the roadmap outlining the initiatives we will progress over the next year. This plan provides transparency and certainty to agencies, councils and industry about the steps the Department will undertake to address the many issues facing industrial lands supply over many years.
Industrial lands are essential to support the delivery of additional housing across the state. A sufficient supply of industrial lands within our cities and regions ensures that the manufacturing of goods and materials are accessible. An efficient and well-functioning freight and logistics sector places downward pressure on the cost of materials and their distribution that are required to build housing. Industrial lands also provide jobs supporting population growth.
The Industrial Lands Action Plan outlines the key initiatives that the Department will be progressing in relation to industrial lands, including:
- Delivering a statewide categorisation policy for industrial lands to replace the existing retain, review and plan and manage policies.
- Making planning and policy amendments to increase flexibility on land zoned for industrial purposes.
- Finalising and releasing a statewide pipeline for supply of industrial lands.
- Implementing an Employment Land Development Program to coordinate infrastructure investment for the supply of industrial land over the next two decades.
Land that is zoned for industrial or similar purposes in planning instruments, is being considered in the categorisation of industrial lands. This includes lands zoned by SEPPs, such as the Transport and Infrastructure SEPP, as well as the new Standard Instrument employment zones. These are zones that contain a mix of businesses involved in manufacturing; transport and warehousing; service and repair trades and industries; integrated enterprises with a mix of administration, production, warehousing, research and development; and urban services and utilities.
Land zoned RU1 Primary production is not being considered as part of the Industrial Lands Action Plan as it is not land zoned primarily for industrial purposes.
The new statewide policy, when fully implemented, will replace current policies such as Retain and Manage with the categorisation of industrial lands. All industrial lands will be reviewed as part of that process.
As it will take time to deliver the policy, current policies as per the Greater Sydney Region Plan and other regional strategic plans will continue to apply until industrial lands in each region are reviewed and categorised.
However, the former Greater Cities Commission’s Information Note SP2023-1 Greater Sydney Industrial Lands Retain and Manage will no longer apply. Ministerial Direction Focus area 7: Industry and Employment will apply to any planning proposals seeking land use change for industrial lands.
The statewide Policy will be implemented through region plans as they are finalised.
The Department will be undertaking targeted engagement with agencies, councils and industry to inform the delivery of the initiatives outlined in the action plan.
The Industrial Lands Action Plan has been prepared to provide transparency and certainty on the initiatives that will be progressed over the next 12 months. We will consult with councils to inform the delivery of the initiatives outlined in the plan.
The Department has established the Employment Land Development Program as an ongoing program to improve the supply of development ready employment land across the state. With an immediate focus on the freight and logistics sector, the program seeks to:
- Provide certainty by identifying priority ‘development ready’ employment lands over the next 10–15 years.
- Align and coordinate infrastructure investment to match market demand and supply needs.
- Improve monitoring and reporting of employment lands across NSW, linked with the supply pipeline approach and the Employment Land Development Monitor.
The program will respond to emerging trends and challenges across different industry sectors to maintain the pipeline.
The Employment Land Development Program is identifying zoned and undeveloped sites across the whole of NSW to address a shortfall in development ready industrial land. The lack of supply is contributing to low vacancy rates and pressure on industrial land values, having a flow-on impact to operating costs and the price of goods and services. Potential priority employment areas are identified through a multi-criteria analysis which considers existing and future infrastructure provision and weighs these suitability factors against the site's potential to support industry needs. Our initial focus is the freight and logistics sector and we will be using data from the Employment Land Development Monitor to track emerging trends and shift sector focus as needed.
Areas already zoned for an industrial purpose that can contribute most to the supply of industrial lands across NSW may be identified as potential priority employment areas. Our initial focus is on the freight and logistics sector. A multi-criteria analysis which considers the suitability of an area to accommodate new freight and logistics development is being used by the Employment Land Development Program team to create a shortlist of sites to be considered as priority employment areas. We expect to consult with the relevant councils, industry and government agencies in Q2 2025 to review these sites and refine the list.
For more information on the action plan, email [email protected]