New Statewide Community Participation Plan
The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has prepared a statewide Community Participation Plan. The statewide Community Participation Plan replaces over 100 existing plans used across the state (including Coolamon Community Participation Plan), standardising consultation requirements and seeking to make it clearer and simpler for people to understand when and how they can have a say on planning matters.
Key changes include:
Increased exhibition periods for strategic plans, to ensure stakeholders can fully engage with how their communities will change over time. District, regional and local strategic planning statements are now required to be exhibited for a minimum of 60 days.
To align with NSW planning legislation a range of lower-impact development applications no longer require mandatory public exhibition or neighbourhood notification.
The statewide Community Participation Plan came into effect on 1 September 2026 and is designed to make the planning system faster and fairer. It applies to all planning authorities, including councils, NSW Government agencies.
Find out more about the new plan on the NSW Planning website at Planning NSW.