Planning proposals must protect employment land and floor space in employment zones.
When a planning proposal affects an Employment zone (Employment, Mixed Use, W4, SP4 or SP5), it must protect employment land by keeping the areas and locations of those zones and not reducing the total potential floor space for employment uses. It must not reduce industrial floor space potential in E4, E5 and W4 zones, and any proposed employment areas must accord with a strategy approved by the Planning Secretary.
Direction 7.1 is a ministerial planning direction that steers how councils and other planning authorities can rezone or amend controls affecting employment land. Its purpose is to keep land set aside for jobs (industrial, business, mixed use and waterfront working land) available for employment and to protect the commercial health of established town and city centres. In plain terms, when a council prepares a planning proposal (a proposal to change a Local Environmental Plan) that touches land in an Employment zone, that proposal must not quietly erode the amount of employment or industrial floor space available.
All relevant planning authorities (typically councils, but also the Department or other bodies) when they prepare a planning proposal affecting land in an existing or proposed Employment zone.
It is triggered whenever a planning proposal will affect land within an existing or proposed Employment zone, including any alteration of an existing Employment zone boundary. Employment zones for this purpose are Employment, Mixed Use, W4 Working Waterfront, SP4 Enterprise and SP5 Metropolitan Centre.
A planning proposal may be inconsistent only if the planning authority satisfies the Planning Secretary (or a nominated officer) that the inconsistent provisions are: justified by a strategy approved by the Planning Secretary that considers the objective and identifies the subject land; or justified by a study prepared in support of the proposal that considers the objective; or in accordance with the relevant Regional Strategy, Regional Plan or District Plan (by the Greater Cities Commission or the Department) that considers the objective; or of minor significance.
Connects to strategies approved by the Planning Secretary, and to Regional Strategies, Regional Plans and District Plans prepared by the Greater Cities Commission or the Department of Planning and Environment. It relies on the concept of an "identified centre" drawn from those regional/district strategies. A note also links current Employment zones back to the former Business and Industrial zones (references before 26 April 2023).
The planning proposal must give effect to the direction's objectives: encouraging employment growth in suitable locations, protecting employment land, and supporting the viability of identified centres.
The proposal must retain the areas and locations of Employment zones.
It must not reduce the total potential floor space area for employment uses and related public services in Employment Zones.
It must not reduce the total potential floor space area for industrial uses in E4, E5 and W4 zones.
Proposed employment areas must be in accordance with a strategy approved by the Planning Secretary.
Kiama has industrial and business land (for example around Bombo/Bombo Quarry and the town centres) that now sits in Employment-type zones. If Kiama Council prepares a planning proposal to rezone such land for housing or other non-employment uses, or to reduce permissible employment or industrial floor space, this direction bites: the Council must show it retains employment land and floor space or justify any reduction through a Secretary-approved strategy, a supporting study, consistency with the Illawarra-Shoalhaven Regional Plan, or that the change is of minor significance. Given housing pressure on the coast, this is a real constraint on converting employment land to residential use.
7.1 Employment Zones Objectives The objectives of this direction are to: (a) encourage employment growth in suitable locations, (b) protect employment land in employment zones, and (c) support the viability of identified centres. Application This direction applies to all relevant planning authorities when preparing a planning proposal that will affect land within an existing or proposed Employment zone (including the alteration of any existing Employment zone boundary). For the purpose of this Direction, Employment zones means the following zones • Employment • Mixed Use • W4 Working Waterfront • SP4 Enterprise • SP5 Metropolitan Centre Direction 7.1 (1) A planning proposal must: (a) give effect to the objectives of this direction, (b) retain the areas and locations of Employment zones, (c) not reduce the total potential floor space area for employment uses and related public services in Employment Zones. (d) not reduce the total potential floor space area for industrial uses in E4, E5 and W4 zones, and (e) ensure that proposed employment areas are in accordance with a strategy that is approved by the Planning Secretary. Consistency A planning proposal may be inconsistent with the terms of this direction only if the relevant planning authority can satisfy the Planning Secretary (or an officer of the Department nominated by the Secretary) that the provisions of the planning proposal that are inconsistent are: (a) justified by a strategy approved by the Planning Secretary, which: i. gives consideration to the objective of this direction, and ii. identifies the land which is the subject of the planning proposal (if the planning proposal relates to a particular site or sites), or (b) justified by a study (prepared in support of the planning proposal) which gives consideration to the objective of this direction, or (c) in accordance with the relevant Regional Strategy, Regional Plan or District Plan prepared by the Greater Cities Commission or the Department of Planning and Environment which gives consideration to the objective of this direction, or (d) of minor significance. Note: Prior to 26 April 2023 an Employment zone should be taken to include a reference to a Business and Industrial zone. Note: In this direction, “identified centre” means a centre that has been identified as a strategic centre, regional city or centre in a regional strategy, regional plan, district plan, or another strategy approved by the Secretary. Date commenced: 20 February 2023
Reproduced from the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (planning.nsw.gov.au), © State of New South Wales, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Text extraction may introduce minor formatting artefacts — rely on the official source for anything decision-critical.
This is an unofficial reproduction provided for convenience. It is not the official version of the legislation. For the official, in-force version, see legislation.nsw.gov.au.