NSW Department of Planning and Environment
NSW Department of Planning and Environment
07/31/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/30/2026 18:00
Flood-prone land package
Where can I find the definition of sensitive and hazardous land uses that are included in clause 5.22?
Land uses are defined in the Dictionary of the Standard Instrument - Principal Local Environmental Plan.
Other than sensitive and hazardous land uses between the flood planning areas and probable maximum flood, what other areas of land are covered by this clause?
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.
Will clause 5.22 become a mandatory clause?
Clause 5.22 will remain an optional clause in response to feedback received in the exhibition of the Explanation of Intended Effect.
How can councils opt into optional clause 5.22?
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.
Which councils have already adopted the clause?
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
How can I tell if a development needs to consider evacuation?
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.
Why have flood maps been removed from council Local Environmental Plans?
Flood maps were largely removed from Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) due to the implementation of the 2021 Flood Prone Land Package, which introduced two standard LEP clauses replacing previous clauses that referred to flood maps.
There are some LEPs that still reference flood maps or combine them with other maps, such as drinking water maps. These flood maps will remain in LEPs until they are updated or no longer referenced in the plans.
These changes will make it easier and faster for councils to keep their flood maps up to date.
Where can I find flood maps now?
Councils are still required to make flood maps publicly available, in accordance with Principle 4 of the Flood Risk Management Manual 2023.
To ensure the information is still accessible to landowners, councils can display the maps in a variety of ways, including on council websites or in Development Control Plans.
For additional guidance on flood maps, councils can refer to the planning guideline Considering flooding in land use planning guideline - July 2021.
Flood maps can play a crucial role in determining proposed development under specific rules outlined in the council plans. They are particularly relied upon for assessing clauses 5.21 and, where applicable, 5.22, of the relevant LEP.
NSW Department of Planning and Environment published this content on July 31, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 31, 2026 at 00:00 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]