Planning controls

The State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 includes Chapter 13 Strategic Conservation Planning (‘Strategic Conservation Planning 2022’), which sets out the planning controls to achieve the development and biodiversity outcomes of the CPCP.

The objectives are to:

• ensure development in the nominated areas is consistent with the biodiversity certification under Part 8 of the Biodiversity and Conservation Act (BC Act), and strategic assessment under Part 10 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) – pending Commonwealth CPCP approval.
• facilitate appropriate development on biodiversity certified areas.
• protect areas with high biodiversity value, regionally significant biodiversity that can support ecological function and areas with important connectivity or ecological restoration potential.
• avoid or minimise impacts from future development on biodiversity values in areas with high biodiversity value.
• support the acquisition of priority areas with high biodiversity value as conservation lands in perpetuity.

The ministerial direction 3.6 (PDF, 520 KB) aims to protect land with high biodiversity value from the impacts of development. It requires a planning proposal to demonstrate that it protects or enhances biodiversity. This includes native vegetation, threatened ecological communities, koala habitat and corridors and matters of national environmental significance within the avoided lands or strategic conservation areas.

It also prevents rezoning of avoided land or the strategic conservation area to urban development zones.

The amendment to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 includes notification and reporting requirements for Part 4 development and Part 5 activities under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) on avoided land. 

This amendment:

• supports the CPCP’s infrastructure policy, where certain essential infrastructure activities can access the strategic assessment approval under Part 10 of the EPBC Act – pending Commonwealth CPCP approval

• supports the CPCP’s commitment to annual reporting to the regulators of adverse impacts to matters of national environmental significance.

Part 2 of the Guidelines for Infrastructure Development are not currently in effect. Proponents will not be able to access the strategic assessment approval under Part 10 of the EPBC Act for ‘essential infrastructure’ on avoided land until the Commonwealth approval is in place. Proponents may need to seek their own approvals under the EPBC Act.

The Guidelines for Infrastructure Development aim to ensure infrastructure development and activities are consistent with the CPCP’s commitments and actions, and maintain outcomes consistent with the Strategic Conservation Planning 2022. They identify when and how essential infrastructure is covered by the CPCP’s strategic assessment approval under Part 10 of the EPBC Act – pending Commonwealth CPCP approval. 

The guidelines also set out the requirements to avoid, minimise and mitigate impacts on biodiversity from infrastructure activities carried out under Part 5 of the EP&A Act on land identified as avoided land, strategic conservation area and certified – urban capable land. 

Consistency statement

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Avoided Land) Regulation 2022 requires a development application for essential infrastructure to be accompanied by a statement demonstrating consistency with the Guidelines for Infrastructure Development.

A Consistency Statement template is available for proponents to use. 

The Mitigation Measures Guidelines apply to Part 4 development carried out on certified-urban capable land within the Greater Macarthur Growth Area and Greater Penrith to Eastern Creek Investigation Area. They also apply to development on certified-major transport corridors under the CPCP.

The guidelines set out the mitigation requirements that the identified development must address to ensure consistency with the CPCP’s biodiversity approvals. Mitigation measures relate to koalas and threatened ecological communities and species.