Agritourism

Farmers will now find it easier to use their land for agritourism to complement their existing agricultural businesses. This includes farm experiences, cellar doors, cafés, retreats, roadside stalls, fruit picking, hosting small weddings and other activities.

Simpler planning rules will:

• help landowners add value to their existing agricultural operations and encourage the next generation to farm the land
• help make farms more resilient to the economic impacts of natural disasters and other unexpected events
• support sustainable tourism, giving people more reasons to visit regional and rural NSW.

Agritourism businesses already lawfully operating will not be affected by the reforms.

The proposed changes were exhibited in early 2021. Since then, we have worked with councils and businesses to refine the reforms.

The changes took effect on 1 December 2022.

We are working with councils to determine the appropriate zones for the new agritourism land uses in their local areas.

This video features the unique stories of three farms and the tourism activities they intend to set up thanks to changes to agritourism planning rules.