NSW Government Bulletin: Opportunity For Climate Resilience Under Proposed NSW Planning Reforms

NSW's planning system is set to undergo another significant reform under the recent Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning System Reforms) Bill 2025 (the Reform Bill), which proposes numerous amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) to re-establish "a planning system that will assess land use to produce outcomes, not give priority to process". One such amendment is the proposed establishment of the Development Coordination Authority (DCA) to improve interagency coordination.

Addressing interagency coordination was called for by the recommendations of the 2021 NSW Productivity Commission white paper on rebooting the economy and the report of the 2024 NSW Productivity and Equality Commission housing review . Coordination of approvals has long been identified as an issue that arises at the intersection between the EPA Act and other NSW environmental laws in regulating development.

Similarly, organisations such as the Mulloon Institute, which delivers landscape rehydration to rebuild climate-resilient environments, have identified the delay and cost incurred in pursuing separate approvals from multiple government agencies as a barrier to resilience budling projects.

In that context, the Reform Bill also proposes to insert an important new statutory objective – to promote resilience to climate change and natural disasters through adaptation, mitigation, preparedness and prevention (Climate and Disaster Objective). This will create greater consistency between NSW planning laws and the framework established by the NSW Reconstruction Authority Act 2022 in delivering disaster preparedness through better planning.

The establishment of the DCA presents opportunities for a coordinated government response that will aid not only in creating efficiency in the delivery of housing approvals – which is the 'hot button' topic of the day – but more broadly, in achieving the Climate and Disaster Objective which the government has sought to enshrine in legislation.

Proposed role of the DCA

Currently, where a development application seeks consent for 'integrated development' (that is, development requiring one or more of the approvals listed in section 4.46 of the EPA Act), the consent authority must obtain 'general terms of approval' from each relevant government agency.

The Reform Bill proposes that the DCA be tasked with providing these general terms of approval. To facilitate this, the draft legislation empowers the DCA to use the services of staff or facilities of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure or other public authorities, and to engage experts and other persons it may require to exercise its functions.

However, the Reform Bill expressly provides that the decision to grant an approval rests with the DCA, not the relevant approval bodies.

This proposed amendment raises a number of questions, particularly for government agencies that are currently approval bodies for integrated development, as to how the functions of the new DCA will work in practice. For example, it is not fully clear how the exercise of functions by the DCA will sit with the statutory responsibilities and functions of approval bodies under their empowering acts.

Most significantly, the DCA's ability to deliver on the Climate and Disaster Objective will depend on how it determines whether general terms of approval be granted, and how conflicts between approval bodies will be resolved.

Takeaways

The proposed establishment of the DCA presents both uncertainty and opportunity. It offers the potential for a unified government approach to delivering housing targets and the proposed Climate and Disaster Objective by ensuring timely decisions on nature positive development applications and by taking a principled approach to reconciling competing considerations among approval bodies on issues relevant to climate and disaster resilience.

If the Reform Bill is passed by parliament, the DCA will play a significant role in the future of planning law and environmental regulation in NSW. It will balance both the need for administrative efficiency and delivery of housing, but also the broader and increasingly important concerns of climate change and disaster resilience which remain overarching concerns for the state.

If you have any questions regarding the proposed legislation or need legal assistance with your planning applications, please contact us below.

This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.