Consultation and feedback

The department is responsible for undertaking Preliminary Regional Issues Assessments (PRIA), which will summarise the key issues, opportunities and constraints associated with releasing areas for resource exploration.

The PRIA does not pre-empt the assessment of any potential future resource projects and does not guarantee that any future approvals will be granted by the NSW Government.

Latest consultation

Hawkins Rumker

The Advisory Body for Strategic Release has asked the department to prepare a PRIA for two adjacent areas located near Rylstone in the Mid-Western Regional local government area. 

These areas are:

• Hawkins – an area of 149km² located approximately 26km east of Mudgee and directly north of Rylstone.
• Rumker – an area of 178km² located approximately 37km south-east of Mudgee and directly north east of Rylstone.

To view the location of the two areas, view our potential release areas map.

The NSW Government has decided not to release these areas for exploration of coal under the Strategic Release Framework.

The department has consulted with the community and other stakeholders to inform the Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment.

The final Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment (PDF, 12.0 MB) was completed in December 2021.

Previous consultation

Far Western NSW

The NSW Government’s Advisory Body for Strategic Release has asked for a Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment of four areas in Western NSW:

• Bancannia Trough located 75km east of Broken Hill.
• Pondie Range Trough located 5km north-west of Wilcannia.
• Neckarboo Trough located 80km north of Ivanhoe and 150 km south-west of Cobar.
• Yathong-Ivanhoe Trough located 50km south of Cobar to Ivanhoe.

To view the location of the four areas, view our potential release areas map.

The NSW Government has decided not to release these areas for exploration of conventional and tight gas resources.

Further information about this decision is provided in the NSW Government’s Future of Gas Statement.

This document, along with the Department's Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment, is available on the NSW Government's website.

More information

For more information you can:

• read the Strategic Release Framework for Coal and Petroleum Exploration on the NSW Resources and Geoscience website.
• find out more about Mining and energy in NSW for landholders and the community on the Department of Regional NSW website.
• contact us via pria@planning.nsw.gov.au.