Amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment (EP&A) Act that have commenced
Our Planning and Environment team has summarised the recent amendments to the EP&A Act that have commenced, along with their implications for developers in NSW.
The objects in section 1.3 of the EP&A Act have been amended to introduce new objectives to prioritise housing supply, improve land use productivity, address the challenges of climate change and promote proportionate, risk-based development assessment.
Section 1.3 now reads as follows (our emphasis):
- 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
- to promote the supply, delivery and maintenance of housing, including affordable housing
- to promote productivity through the development and management of the State and its resources
- to protect the environment, including the conservation of threatened species of native animals and plants and ecological communities and their habitats
- to promote resilience to climate change and natural disasters through adaptation, mitigation, preparedness and prevention
- to promote the sustainable management of built and cultural heritage, including Aboriginal cultural heritage
- to promote good design, amenity and the proper construction and maintenance of built environments, including the protection of the health and safety of the occupants of buildings
- to provide opportunities for participation in environmental planning and assessment
- to facilitate ecologically sustainable development by integrating relevant economic, environmental and social considerations in decision-making about environmental planning and assessment
- to promote a proportionate and risk-based approach to environmental planning and assessment
- to promote the orderly and economic use and development of land.
Key takeaways
These amendments are important to developers as they introduce, for the first time since 1979, explicit objects in the EP&A Act relating to housing supply and delivery, and a proportionate and risk-based approach to planning decisions.
The reforms also update and modernise the Act’s objects to better reflect contemporary planning priorities – emphasising land use that supports housing supply, climate resilience, economic productivity, the environment, heritage and conservation, and high-quality design and construction.
Other amendments to the EP&A Act not yet commenced
The Planning System Reforms Act will also make the following amendments to the EP&A Act, which have been passed by Parliament however not yet commenced:
A new detailed definition of development standard will be inserted into section 1.4(1) of the EP&A Act.
For further information about the amendments made to the EP&A Act by the Planning System Reforms Act, please contact Patrick Holland and Ben Swain from our Planning and Environment team.
Published
2 February 2026This update does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It is intended only to provide a summary and general overview on matters of interest and it is not intended to be comprehensive. You should seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content.