——— Forwarded message ———
From: Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC)*
* FOKE is a member group of NCC
From: Kashmir @ Nature Conservation Council <kashmir@nature.org.au>
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2025 at 5:04 pm
Subject: Act Now: Update on the Planning Bill and what next

TEMPLATE EMAIL HERE

Dear Supporter, Last week we won some really important amendments before the NSW Planning System Reforms Bill 2025 was passed through the lower house. However there is still a long way to go before this Bill is sound and it’s heading to the Upper House tomorrow (Tuesday). Thank you to all those who took the time to write to your MP objecting to the overhaul of environment and planning laws last week. Now, we need you to email Upper House representatives so we can either, 1. send this Bill to an inquiry so the public can have their say, or; 2. secure more amendments to stop the worst from going ahead.

We are asking that further amendments be made to this Bill, including:

• That classes of development cannot be declared a targeted assessment development unless it is likely to have minimal environmental impact and limited social effect;
  
  
• Offsite impacts and emissions, including scope three emissions, are still considered under the Act;
  
  
• All likely impacts are still considered for Part 4 Developments, rather than just ‘significant’ impacts; and
  
  
• The requirement to consult with the head of the Environment Department before making a planning instrument that would adversely affect critical habitat or threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or their habitats, remains in the Act.
  

That’s why we need you to write to the Upper House today.

Take Action: Email the Upper House

Thanks for all you do for nature,

Kashmir Miller
Government Relations Manager 
Nature Conservation Council NSW 

P.S.
Here is a summary of amendments that the cross-bench and Coalition were able to secure in the Lower House. The pressure and concern that MPs heard across the state has led to some positive changes to the Bill:

• Alex Greenwich was able to amend the changes to the objects of the Act to include “(a) to promote the social and economic welfare of the community and a better environment by the proper management, development and conservation of the State’s natural and other resources” and insert “including the protection of the health and safety of the occupants of buildings” after “build environments”. 
  
  
• Jacqui Scruby also amended the objects to omit “to provide for” to insert “to protect the environment, including”
  
  
• Opposition (James Griffin) moved amendments that increased requirements around transparency, including that the Planning Secretary must report on the operations of the Development Coordination Authority in the annual report, for community participation plans to be published on the NSW legislation website, and a Joint Select Committee of Parliament to be established in relation to this Act to review the amendments made to the Act. James said these amendments are intended to provide accountability and oversight. He also successfully moved to an amendment to enshrine community consultation around TADs in the legislation.
  
  
• The government made amendments around bush fire prone land, including that before granting development consent on bushfire prone land the consent authority must consider the relevant Bush Fire Protection Planning guide – except for subdivisions of land that could lawfully be used for residential purposes.The government also moved that a development that is a designated development/would be considered a designated development cannot be declared Targeted Assessment Development.
  
  
• Michael Regan got section 10.3 of the Act put back in, which relates to consent requirements around bushfire prone land, review requirements of the Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service and requirements for councils to map bushfire prone land every 5 years. 
  
  
  

Fast-tracking destruction: Stop the NSW Government’s plan to weaken planning laws

The NSW Government has introduced a bill to Parliament that, if passed, will make it easier for all kinds of development to pass with minimal environmental assessment.

The NSW Planning System Reforms Bill 2025 is moving through the upper house this week. Time is of the essence to either send this Bill to an Inquiry or secure amendments.

This is the most significant reduction in development controls in 50 years, and it’s being done with zero public consultation. If passed, these reforms will be a giant step backward for environmental protections in NSW and significantly undermine the progress we are aiming to achieve. 

The legislation passed the lower house last week with some amendments but there are still significant concerns with the Bill. If passed this Bill will:

• Removes special consultation procedures concerning threatened species 
  
  
• Introduce of Targeted Assessment Developments as a new fast-tracked assessment pathway — with very limited guardrails on what type of development could be fast-tracked with minimal assessment.
  
  
• Strip away decision making power from experts and consolidated in a ‘single door’ ripe for corruption.  
  
  
• Directly contradict recent court decisions to include off-site impacts in the decision making process, including emissions resulting from fossil fuel projects. This would mean, for example, the NSW Court of Appeal’s recent decision on the Mount Pleasant coal mine expansion that climate change impacts must be considered would not apply.   
  
  

Email the Upper House

The NSW Government is trying to rush through the biggest overhaul to our planning laws since they were introduced. It will go through the Upper House this week. Please email the Upper House asking them to send this Bill to an inquiry so the public can have their say.

We recommend you edit the text to make a unique submission – this will have more impact.

Draft letter: Fix the Planning Bill

Dear Members of the Legislative Council,

I am writing to you out of serious concern for the proposed changes to NSW environmental protections in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning System Reforms) Bill 2025.

Despite the amendments that passed in the Legislative Assembly last week, the Bill in its current state still:

• Strip away decision making power from experts and consolidated in a ‘single door’ ripe for corruption.
  
  
• Directly contradict recent court decisions to include off-site impacts in the decision making process, including emissions resulting from fossil fuel projects. This would mean, for example, the NSW Court of Appeal’s recent decision on the Mount Pleasant coal mine expansion that climate change impacts must be considered would not apply.
  
  
• Removes special consultation procedures concerning threatened species
  
  
• The changes in this Bill would not just affect housing developments, but every development in NSW.
  
  

If it passes, we could see climate, nature and community thrown aside in the planning process in favour of big developers and big business.

These are the most significant changes to the planning system since 1979 and cannot be rushed through. I call on you to send this bill to inquiry and delay voting on the bill until the community has a chance to have their input.

I also ask that this Bill be further amended to ensure that,

• Classes of development cannot be declared a targeted assessment development unless it is likely to have minimal environmental impact and limited social effect;
  
  
• Offsite impacts and emissions, including scope three emissions, are still considered under the Act;
  
  
• All likely impacts are still considered for Part 4 Developments, rather than just ‘significant’ impacts; and
  
  
• The requirement to consult with the head of the Environment Department before making an EPI that would adversely affect critical habitat or threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or their habitats, remains in the Act.

Yours sincerely,

………………………….

New South Wales, ……….. (postcode), Australia

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands and waters of Australia. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present, and aspire to learn from their Traditional Knowledges to help nature thrive. 


CONTACT NATURE CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF NSW

ncc@nature.org.au

Phone: (02) 9516 1488

Authorised by Jacqui Mumford, Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales
180 George St, Level 1, Salesforce Tower, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia