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Flooding

2022 NSW Flood Inquiry

The NSW Government commissioned an independent inquiry into the preparation for, causes of, response to and recovery from the 2022 flood events across NSW. The report and recommendations from this inquiry have now been delivered.

The department is working with other government agencies and key stakeholders, like councils, on the implementation of the government's response to the report as part of its commitment to ensuring there is greater resilience in communities across NSW.

Further updates on the government’s response to the report will be provided in due course.

Keeping our communities safe

Significant flood events like the catastrophic floods in 2022 or those in Brisbane in 2011 show the importance of managing flood risk in land use planning.

The department is committed to taking a risk-based approach to flood-prone land and is focussed on delivering a safe and sustainable future. Our efforts will ensure the planning system is adaptive, responds to climate change and supports resilient communities. This approach to flood-prone land will help to reduce the extent of property damage and potential loss of life from severe to extreme flooding throughout NSW.

We will work with other agencies such as NSW Reconstruction Authority, the NSW State Emergency Service, who are the lead combat agency for flood, storm and tsunami events, Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation and Infrastructure NSW, who lead the implementation of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Risk Management Strategy, on a comprehensive approach. We also work closely with our colleagues in other NSW departments, such as Environment and Heritage who manage and monitor our wetlands, rivers, floodplains, coasts and estuaries.