The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) is a department of the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governme ...

, responsible for effective and sustainable planning to support the growth in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It makes plans based on evidence for the state’s cities and regions, working with the community, business and local government to create places for people in NSW to live, work and spend their leisure time, while ensuring good access to transport and other services like shops and restaurants. The Department is also responsible for the evidence-based assessment of state significant development applications. The department was renamed from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) on 21 December 2021. The DPIE was formed on 1 July 2019 following the 2019 state election, and replaced an earlier Department of Planning and Environment and Department of Industry. The department was also responsible for the development of industry until these functions were transferred to the new

Department of Regional NSW The New South Wales Department of Regional NSW is a department of the New South Wales Government responsible for the state's regional issues, building resilient regional economies and communities, strengthening primary industries, managing the ...

in April 2020.

History

Previous departments

The main planning department/authority in New South Wales had various names throughout its history. Starting with the

State Planning Authority The Sydney Region Outline Plan (SROP) was a land use and infrastructure scheme for metropolitan New South Wales released by the State Planning Authority in March 1968. The SROP superseded the 1948 County of Cumberland planning scheme. Whereas t ...

, which replaced the Cumberland County Council and the Northumberland County Council in December 1963, previous planning departments were: *State Planning Authority (1963-1974) *New South Wales Planning and Environment Commission (1974-1980) *Department of Environment and Planning (1980-1988) *Department of Planning (1988-1995) *Department of Urban Affairs and Planning (1995-2001) *Department of Planning (2001-April 2003) *Department of Urban and Transport Planning (April-July 2003) *Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (July 2003-2005) *Department of Planning (2005-2011) *Department of Planning and Infrastructure (2011-2014) *Department of Planning and Environment (2014-2019) The planning department adopted the "Department of Planning and Environment" name in April 2014 after

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...

became

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...

. In 2015-16 the Department approved major projects worth 20

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

. Between 2014 and 2019, the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) also existed within the Department of Planning and Environment. Previous environment authority/office/departments in New South Wales were: * Environment Protection Authority (1992-2003) *Department of Environment and Conservation (2003-2007) *Department of Environment and Climate Change (2007-2009) *Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (2009-2011) * Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) (2011-2019) **under the Department of Premier and Cabinet (2011-2014) **under the Department of Planning and Environment (2014-2019)

Formation

The establishment of a new planning department was announced in April 2019 following the 2019 state election. The new department would be formed from the merger of the Department of Planning and Environment and Department of Industry, the latter formed in July 2015. The new department was originally planned to be named the Department of Planning and Industry. The Office of Local Government and the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) would also be abolished and merged into the new department. The heritage functions of the OEH were an exception and would be assumed by the Heritage Branch within Department of Premier and Cabinet, later known as Heritage NSW. The abolition of the OEH and the lack of the word "Environment" in the name of the new department generated criticism from OEH staff, environmental groups and the opposition. In May 2019, the "Environment" word was added to the proposed name. All proposed changes took effect on 1 July 2019 and the new department was established. The new Department was initially spread across a number of sites, mostly in the

Sydney CBD The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often refer ...

. In January and February 2020, the Department relocated and consolidated most of its staff in a newly-built tower at 4 Parramatta Square. Shortly after moving into the building, the Department was criticised by unions and some staff for spending $1,246,000 fitting out its new offices with indoor plants. The expenditure was not supported by the planning minister,

Rob Stokes Robert Gordon Stokes (born 17 January 1975) is an Australian politician. Stokes is the New South Wales Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Cities, and the Minister for Active Transport in the Perrottet ministry since 21 December 20 ...

. In April 2020, the Regions, Industry, Agriculture and Resources division of DPIE was spun out as the

, a separate government department. On 21 December 2021, the reduced DPIE was renamed back the Department of Planning and Environment. Heritage NSW was transferred back from the Department of Premier and Cabinet to the Department of Planning and Environment on 1 April 2022. Legislation to create the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust passed on 29 March 2022, which would comprise

Centennial Parklands Centennial Parklands is the name given to a group of three urban parklands located in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Comprising approximately , the lands encompass Centennial Park, Moore Park and Queen's Park ...

(including Moore Park and Queens Park),

Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...

, Parramatta Park,

Callan Park Callan Park, with the heritage listed name Callan Park Conservation Area & Buildings, is a heritage listed site in Lilyfield, a suburb in the Inner West Council in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Calla ...

and Fernhill Estate, and their individual park trusts. The trust, along with the

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-s ...

Reserve Trust, Place Management NSW and the Royal Botanic Gardens and

Domain Domain may refer to: Mathematics *Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined **Domain of definition of a partial function **Natural domain of a partial function **Domain of holomorphy of a function * Do ...

Trust, were transferred from DPE to

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

on 1 April 2022.

Structure

The Department is the lead agency in the Planning and Environment cluster, led by

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

, presently Kiersten Fishburn since October 2021. Between June 2021 and December 2021, the department was made up of six core delivery groups: * Water (including Hunter Water Corporation,

Sydney Water Sydney Water, formally, Sydney Water Corporation, is a New South Wales Government owned statutory corporation that provides potable drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Greater Metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and the B ...

and Water NSW) * Housing & Property * Environment, Energy & Science (which replaced the Office of the Environment & Heritage) * Planning & Assessment * Place, Design & Urban Spaces * Planning Delivery Unit & Local Government There was also previously another core delivery group, Regions, Industry, Agriculture & Resources until it was transferred to the new

in April 2020.

Ministers

The following ministers are responsible for the administration of the department and its agencies: * Minister for Planning and the

Minister for Homes The New South Wales Minister for Homes is a minister in the New South Wales Government with responsibility for the administration and development of social housing and housing policy in New South Wales, Australia. It was first established in ...

, presently The Hon.

Anthony Roberts Anthony John Roberts (born 19 April 1970) is an Australian politician. He is the New South Wales Minister for Planning and the Minister for Homes in the Perrottet ministry since December 2021. Roberts is a member of the New South Wales Legis ...

* Minister for Energy, presently The Hon.

Matt Kean Matthew John Kean (born 16 September 1981) is an Australian politician, who has served as the Treasurer of New South Wales in the second Perrottet ministry of New South Wales since October 2021. He has also served as the Minister for Energy s ...

* Minister for Lands and Water, presently The Hon. Kevin Anderson * Minister for Environment and Heritage, presently The Hon. James Griffin * Minister for Local Government, presently The Hon.

Wendy Tuckerman Wendy Margaret Tuckerman (; born 5 October 1964) is an Australian politician. She has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2019, representing Goulburn for the Liberal Party. She was formerly an unsuccessful candidate f ...

Ultimately the ministers are responsible to the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...

. The Department administers the ''

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 was passed in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is an " Act to institute a system of environmental planning and assessment for the State of New South Wales". The act incorporated a t ...

'' and the '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016''.

Agencies

The following agencies are included in the Planning and Environment cluster, administered by the Department: * Aboriginal Housing Office * Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW * Crown Lands * Energy NSW * Environment, Energy and Science * Environment Protection Authority * Environmental Trust * Government Architect NSW * Great Public Spaces * Green and Resilient Places * Land & Housing Corporation * National Parks & Wildlife Service * Natural Resources Access Regulator * Office of Local Government * Planning * Planning Portal * Property and Development NSW * Snowy Advisory Committee * Sydney Olympic Park Authority * The Rocks * Valuer General * Water Infrastructure

Priorities

The previous Department of Planning and Environment's corporate plan was outlined in ''Planning for Growing NSW: 2015-2017'' that aimed to plan for growth by inspiring strong communities and by protecting the environment. In keeping with this, the Department’s priorities were: * Enabling the creation of strong, vibrant communities * Make the planning system simpler, cheaper and faster * Supporting affordable and appropriately-serviced housing and employment land * Assessing major projects and infrastructure in a timely and efficient way, while ensuring appropriate planning outcomes

References

External links

Department of Planning and Environment websiteDPE Planning websiteDPE Environment websiteCity of Cities – A Plan for Sydney's Future
{{New South Wales Government Departments Planning and Environment Urban planning in Australia 2019 establishments in Australia Economy of New South Wales Local government in New South Wales

Environment of New South Wales