The flood-prone land package provides advice to councils on considering flooding in land-use planning and commenced on 14 July 2021.
The updated guidance supports:
- better management of flood risk beyond the 1% annual exceedance probability
- greater resilience built into communities in floodplains and reduces potential property damage and loss of life in recognition of increasing extreme flood events throughout NSW.
The package included:
- a revised 9.1 local planning direction on flooding (PDF, 460 KB)
- a planning circular on flooding: PS 21-006 – Considering flooding in land use planning: guidance and statutory requirements (PDF, 139 KB)
- a planning guideline: Considering flooding in land use planning guideline - July 2021
- the Standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plans) Amendment (Flood Planning) Order 2021 which included the following clauses:
- Clause 5.21 Flood Planning – which has been included in all standard Local Environmental Plans. This clause aims to minimise the flood risk to life and property associated with the use of land within the flood planning area.
- Clause 5.22 Special flood considerations – which has been included in the Local Environmental Plans of 33 councils. This clause helps to strengthen planning laws to protect and manage:
- new sensitive and hazardous development between the flood planning area and the maximum probable flood, and
- development that is not sensitive or hazardous on land that the consent authority considers that, in a flood, may pose a particular risk to life and where people may need to evacuate.
- the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Flood Planning) Regulation 2021
- the State Environmental Planning Policy Amendment (Flood Planning) 2021.
Special flood considerations clause
The department strengthened planning rules to better protect and manage new development in areas that could be at risk during floods through an optional special flood considerations clause (clause 5.22 of the Standard Instrument—Principal Local Environmental Plan).
The special flood considerations clause applies to:
- sensitive and hazardous development, such as caravan parks, hospitals and seniors housing, between the flood planning area and the probable maximum flood level
- development that is not sensitive or hazardous on land that the consent authority considers that, in a flood, may pose a particular risk to life and where people may need to evacuate, or where there are other safety concerns.
An explanation of intended effect (EIE) was exhibited from 17 January until 28 February 2023 and sought feedback on implementation options for clause 5.22. A submission report summarises feedback from the exhibition and how that feedback has been used to implement the clause.
Feedback received identified the preferred option of having the clause included in the LEPs of the 33 councils that agreed to include the clause in their LEPs.
Frequently asked questions on LEP Clause 5.22
Land uses are defined in the Dictionary of the Standard Instrument - Principal Local Environmental Plan.
Any land that as the result of a flood, the consent authority deems will cause a risk to life or evacuation issues.
An example of this may be high flood islands where the land itself is not inundated in floods but people could be isolated for an extended length of time which could pose a risk to life, additional safety considerations or an evacuation issue.
Clause 5.22 will remain an optional clause in response to feedback received in the exhibition of the Explanation of Intended Effect.
Councils can implement clause 5.22 in their local environmental plan via their own planning proposal process. The Department has completed the State led optional clause adoption process.
The following 33 councils have adopted the clause:
Bega Valley Shire
Byron Shire
Central Coast
Cessnock City
City of Canada Bay
Clarence Valley
Coffs Harbour City
Coonamble Shire
Eurobodalla Shire
Fairfield City
Goulburn Mulwaree
Inner West
Kempsey Shire
Liverpool City
Murray River
Musswellbrook Shire
Narromine Shire
Newcastle City
Northern Beaches
Orange City
Port Macquarie-Hastings
Randwick City
Richmond Valley
Shellharbour City
Shoalhaven City
Snowy Monaro Regional
Sutherland Shire
Tweed Shire
Upper Hunter Shire
Upper Lachlan Shire
Wagga Wagga City
Willoughby City
Wollongong City
Evacuation considerations can be determined by applying a risk-based approach as outlined in the Flood Risk Management Manual 2023 and its accompanying Flood Risk Management Toolkit, including EM01 Support for emergency management.
For further information, email [email protected]