13 March 2026

The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed NSW Climate Change and Natural Hazards State Environmental Planning Policy (CC&NH SEPP).

ASBEC strongly supports the NSW Government’s initiative to strengthen the role of the planning system in managing climate and natural hazard risks. We note that many of NSW government’s recommendations are in line with Australia’s National Urban Policy principles, i.e. ensuring that planning and development should support our path to net zero and provide opportunities for connection with the environment. This helps NSW cities, communities and systems be more resilient to the impacts of climate change and other risks.

ASBEC particularly supports the proposal to:

• consolidate climate and natural hazard provisions into a single framework
• strengthen consideration of climate risks in planning decisions
• encourage greater consideration of urban heat impact in land use planning decisions
• support catchment- and precinct-scale risk assessment
• streamline approvals that support resilient rebuilding.

Together, these reforms represent an important shift from reactive recovery to proactive resilience.

Read the full submission here