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Spatial Planning
October 14, 2026
Bethany Cheshire

A Statewide Community Participation Plan for New South Wales

If you’re a councillor, council worker or planning professional in New South Wales, then the new statewide CPP has important implications for you. We’ve broken down what the new CPP changes and what it doesn’t, so you can understand what it means in practice. 

What does the new Statewide Community Participation Plan mean for New South Wales?

On 1 September 2026, some significant changes for planning in New South Wales came into effect. The new statewide Community Participation Plan (CPP) replaced over 100 separate pieces of council-level regulation around planning with one uniform plan. 

Community Participation Plans have been a key part of planning law in New South Wales for decades, and are a requirement under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. However, the way they are enacted has until now differed substantially between regions, with different planning authorities using different timelines for the same types of planning applications. They also commonly differed in when and how consultations were used.

The aim of the statewide CPP is to standardise the system across the state, removing the postcode lottery for planning decisions while ensuring engagement is used when and where it will be most effective. This legislation applies to everyone across NSW, including communities, councils, NSW Government agencies and determining authorities involved in planning matters. 

What is now set out in regional legislation?

One of the most important elements introduced in the statewide CPP are the standardised minimum public exhibition timeframes and community participation requirements. For example, draft regional/district plans and Local Strategic Planning Statements must now be made publicly available for at least 60 days. In most areas, this gives residents a longer period to consider and comment on proposals that shape the long-term development of their areas.

For smaller planning applications, the new approach is designed to be more “proportionate”. Certain lower-impact development types that comply with existing regulation will no longer require public exhibition at all. 

There may be some concerns from residents that public exhibition requirements have been removed in these cases, but there is still a requirement for these developments to undergo assessment by the consent authority. Assessment officers will still be required to address any potential impacts to the local community. Whether this level of scrutiny is suitable will be periodically reviewed –  alongside the statewide CPP as a whole – under section 2.243 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Some smaller developments will also retain their exhibition period. Residential flat buildings and shop-top housing remain subject to a minimum 14-day exhibition period. Planning authorities can also extend the minimum exhibition period where circumstances warrant it. This was one of the changes made to the CPP following consultation.

A more comprehensive list of timelines and requirements for different types of planning and development is available on the NSW Planning Portal.

What can councils now decide for their area? 

The key thing that councils and other planning authorities can still specify for their area is how they engage with their communities. While fairness and equality in decision-making were prioritised in the creation of a standardised system across the state, it is still clear that every community is different and therefore the way those communities are best engaged will differ. Councils are often best placed to understand the needs of a given community, particularly those that are traditionally harder to reach and disadvantaged in the planning process.

While an engagement strategy should not specify timeframes for public exhibition (as these are now set by the CPP), they should outline how the community will be engaged and the tools that the planning authority will use to do so. 

What should an engagement strategy include?

The aims of a community participation strategy are set out in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and all councils and planning authorities should aim to meet all of these principles when creating their personalised strategy:

  • Open and inclusive: Keep the community informed, support equitable participation, use culturally appropriate and safe engagement practices, and tailor engagement to the project context and community needs.
  • Proportionate: Focus engagement where community input can most influence planning and decision-making, clearly identifying what is already decided and what remains open to change.
  • Easy to access: Provide early, clear information and use accessible formats, channels, times and locations that reach affected communities. 
  • Timely: Start engagement early, allow reasonable time for submissions, provide regular updates, and maintain ongoing communication through local networks.
  • Meaningful: Clearly explain how community input will influence decisions, identify what can be changed, respond to submissions, and genuinely consider community views.

Transitional arrangements

Generally speaking, applications that were submitted but not yet determined before 1 September 2026 will continue under the pre-existing community participation requirements in order to reduce unnecessary delays. Savings provisions are also in place for any draft strategic planning statement that was exhibited before the new CPP came into effect.

Existing community participation plans do not apply. It is expected that any documents pertaining to CPP’s be updated to reflect the new statewide CPP in their next review cycle.

In summary:

The statewide CPP creates predictable timelines for public exhibitions across the state, but it doesn’t remove the duty of councils and planning authorities to ensure that their communities are engaged with the process. 

It is still just as important that citizens are given the opportunity to understand and respond to the planning decisions that will meaningfully affect their lives. There is also an added emphasis on engaging early, when it is most likely to have a real impact on decision-making. 

Decision-makers should develop comprehensive participation plans that allow everyone to get involved in the planning process, and update their guidance to reflect the new CPP as soon as possible.

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