That the NSW Government seek to amend provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 relating to historical developments to:
- increase the threshold required for developers to have undertaken action in commencing physical works in order to prevent their development consent from lapsing after 5 years
- consider a mechanism with appropriate thresholds for consent authorities to assess whether a historical development consent should be reassessed, and
- consider giving power to consent authorities to revoke or modify historical development consents, where it can be demonstrated that the development will have significant social, environmental or cultural impact not previously identified or that has been changed from the time of approval.

That the NSW Government review deemed refusal appeals under section 8.17 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and consider the impacts that deemed refusal appeals have on local councils, particularly in relation to the costs incurred in defending these appeals and the strain that this has on council resources.

That the NSW Government in partnership with local Aboriginal land councils and other Aboriginal land holders, in land claims processes to identify and activate land suitable for development and progress any necessary rezonings to enable that development and where parties agree, consider land swaps where lands are not suitable for development due to biodiversity and climate change constraints.

That the NSW Government consider implementing a system for when the Minister for Planning may request the Independent Planning Commission to conduct a public hearing for any development.

That the NSW Government consider ways to improve the independence of the assessment of planning proposals and development applications, without increasing the time taken to assess such proposals.

That the NSW Government give effect to the right of First Nations people to self-determination and the principle of free, prior, informed and ongoing consent in the New South Wales planning system, including in relation to:
- development applications and planning proposals
- culturally appropriate consultation and
- protection of cultural heritage and connection to Country.

That the NSW Government review the need for legislation amending the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 or a state environmental planning policy to consider climate change within the planning system alongside the need to deliver development outcomes, including housing diversity, supply of industrial land and critical infrastructure.

That the NSW Government enhance land use planning processes to take into account climate change risks, including the development of clear guidelines about where homes and infrastructure should and should not be located.

That the NSW Government consider implementing:
- all of the recommendations of the statutory review of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016
- planning instruments that provide for the retention and creation of deep soil, native tree cover and habitat in urban areas
- guidelines for a clear and transparent process for when the Minister for Planning will refer a development to the Federal Minister for the Environment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).

That the NSW Government:
- implement statutory planning controls to mitigate the urban heat island effect, either through legislation, changes to the Sustainable Buildings SEPP, and/or any other relevant instruments
- advocate for changes to the National Construction Code, through the Australian Building Codes Board, to help ensure that infrastructure is resilient to climate change impacts.

That the NSW Government consider amending the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 to make the powers to consent authorities to modify or revoke development consents in the public interest, and that if a consent authority exercises the power to revoke a development consent, that no compensation is to be paid by the consent authority to the aggrieved person.

That the NSW Government look into strengthening Development Control Plans so that provisions within Development Control Plans bear greater weight when considered in the Land and Environment Court and so that they can be enforced.

That the NSW Reconstruction Authority consider issuing guidelines which clarify the scope of its powers to make planning decisions under the NSW Reconstruction Authority Act 2022 and how the Authority will consider existing planning controls, environmental standards, and Aboriginal cultural heritage protections under the state's existing planning framework.

The committee recommends that the Australian Government facilitate a coordinated approach to land use planning, building codes, mitigation and disaster resilience that includes the National Emergency Management Agency and other levels of government.

Caravan parks and manufactured home estates: That, to ensure that permanent residents of caravan parks and mobile housing estates are protected from flood, Government: • prohibit permanent residency in caravan parks and mobile housing estates situated below the risk-based flood planning level. Caravan parks for holiday makers could still be on the floodplain with the provision that, if a flood is imminent, they need to be evacuated • address the issues raised in the 2015 Discussion Paper (Improving the regulation of manufactured homes, caravan parks, manufactured home estates and camping grounds).

Relocating communities most at risk with good homes and amenities: That, to empower vulnerable people and communities to relocate, Government through the NSWRA:
• identify and prioritise those communities most at risk from future disasters, and for whom relocation may be appropriate or necessary
• leverage the work done through Government’s homes, cities, manufacturing and skills policies, to collaborate and work with these communities in examining, designing, building and installing affordable, attractive and insurable housing options (e.g. locally fabricated high quality modular homes, or utilising local builders to retrofit and/or relocate existing homes to safer ground) and to enable small housing developments with capacity to grow organically over time
• utilise best-practice policy for rapid urbanism and community-building to establish new settlements. This should include:
— an enquiry-by-design or charrette process led by the Government Architect to ensure that new settlements reflect the aspirations and vernacular of the local community, whilst meeting the technical needs of establishing settlements and delivering infrastructure at low cost. This should also include considering how to repurpose floodplains for community use and benefit, i.e. recreation, sports and energy production as part of the process of returning land below the flood planning level to Government ownership. It should also consider the role of locally manufactured, well-designed and regulated modular housing solutions
— promoting a sense of community by ensuring appropriate amenity (e.g. schools, shops, and services) is available to relocating people and communities at the time of moving to their new settlements
— working with the financial and philanthropic sectors to investigate a special purpose fund to provide continuing support for these communities as they transit through re-establishment.

Simplify the planning system disaster provisions: That, to simplify and improve the state planning processes especially when anticipating and recovering from a disaster, Government:
• ensure there is a clear line of sight directing councils and planning authorities to include disaster response and resilient settlement outcomes in long term strategic plans (Regional and District Plans as well as Local Strategic Planning Statements). This may require more prominence to be given to Planning for a more resilient NSW: A strategic guide to planning for natural hazards (Department of Planning, Industry and the Environment) as well as a clear link to the risk-based approach to hazard identification and the disaster adaptation plans
• ensure the NSWRA provides the necessary tools and advice to enable planning authorities to incorporate cumulative impacts of potential natural disasters into strategic plans. These tools should ensure the disaster adaptation plans can be given real effect in strategic plans for settlement and local planning controls
• ensure that Ministerial Directions on hazard and natural disasters (directions 4.1 and 4.6 inclusive) are updated to reflect the new risk-based approach to flood planning levels and deliver the disaster adaptation plans to the zoning process
• create specific flood planning provisions as a new chapter in the SEPP (Resilience and Hazards). These provisions would draw the existing flood planning clauses (5.21 and 5.22 in the standard instrument) up into the SEPP
• put the natural disaster clause (5.9 in the standard instrument) into a new chapter in the SEPP Resilience and Hazards, along with objectives to assist councils to use the clause to build back to more resilient standards
• update planning guidance so that wherever possible community facilities, such as might be used for evacuation centres, are located above the probable maximum flood and essential services are located above the flood planning level
• ensure that the strategic land use frameworks and related controls permit new developments only in line with the evacuation capacity both individually and cumulatively
• ensure that the strategic land use frameworks enable higher density flood resilient precincts to locate more development at or above the PMF and use a higher flood planning level to avoid catastrophic costs from extreme flooding, as well as deliver cost-effective controls for individual structures.

Landholders can access information on previous disasters: That, to ensure there is a single source of ground truth to prepare for and respond to emergencies, and to provide people with a better understanding of their individual property and community risk exposure, an online visualisation tool be developed to display, for all land parcels (land titles) in NSW, the extent of known disasters that have affected each piece of land in NSW in the past. This information should be made available through the Planning Portal and, particularly in light of climate change, the data involved should be revised and updated at least every two years and after each major natural disaster.

That the NSW Government consider investing in supporting relocations, land swaps and providing fair and adequate compensation for landowners who wish to relocate from severely flood-impacted areas. 

That the NSW Government work with local government, industry and sustainable planning experts, including the Government Architect, on policy initiatives in the New South Wales planning system that will help deliver more resilient and sustainable homes, buildings and places. 

That the NSW Government review the provision of temporary and long term housing options provided to those affected by the February-March 2022 floods, with a view to: • ensuring a range of options are identified and embedded within emergency and recovery plans, so that solutions can be implemented as soon as possible after a natural disaster • ensuring that housing options meet individual and community needs • removing planning impediments that prevent those from accessing more safe and secure housing in times of crisis. 

That Government commit to shifting to a strategic approach to planning for bush fire, and develop a new NSW Bush Fire Policy similar to the NSW Flood Prone Land Policy in order to accommodate changing climate conditions and the increasing likelihood of catastrophic bush fire conditions; to build greater resilience into both existing and future communities; and to decrease costs associated with recovery and rebuilding.

That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service consider the feasibility, on a case by case basis, of closing public roads through national parks on days with catastrophic fire danger rating, to mitigate the risk of bush fire ignition in national parks.

That the NSW Government improve the protection of media and telecommunications towers around New South Wales by:
-increasing the asset protection zone around the towers on Mt Cenn Cruaich and other comparable sites to a radius of at least 100 metres
-conducting an audit of all New South Wales media and telecommunications sites to examine their fire safety in respect of land clearance, fire trails and fuel loads
-implementing a strategy to ensure that licensees of these sites fulfil all their hazard reduction obligations.

That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service remove from its boundary fencing policy and standard contract the condition that requires adjoining land owners to maintain a fence that has been damaged by trees falling from national park land.

That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service:
-ensure that where a park is adjacent to a rural land holding, its side of the boundary fence is cleared to the same legislative requirement as the land holding, that is, six metres
-examine the fairness of the policy whereby, in the event of a fire originating on national park land, the Service provides the fencing materials to construct or replace boundary fences, while the neighbour erects the fences.

That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service adopt an interim fencing agreement in the immediate aftermath of a fire. This will enable emergency and interim works to commence, but features such as length, fencing components and site of the fence line are not binding. A final fencing agreement would be negotiated no earlier than six months following a major national park fire.

Ensure future road infrastructure planning considers flood evacuation requirements throughout the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain.

Establish a dedicated group or body within an existing agency to provide a more integrated, coordinated and regional approach to land use, infrastructure and evacuation planning and flood modelling in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.

Improve regional transport infrastructure to address current and projected flood evacuation capacity constraints and timelines.

Ensure appropriate consideration of flood risk in regional and subregional planning

Provide improved land use planning tools for managing flood prone land.

Develop a NSW Planning Policy and Guideline to improve land use planning practices on flood prone land.

That the NSW Rural Fire Service hold discussions with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure and Local Government NSW on ways to improve compliance with development consents under section 76A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

To link up fallow paddocks and natural fire breaks by ploughing or burning breaks through private or public property, roads, &c.