The New South Wales Department of Planning and Infrastructure, a department of the New South Wales Government

Government of New South Wales

The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...

, is responsibile for the long-term planning for the regions of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and driving well-located housing and employment land. The Department is also responsible for assessing significant development proposals and ensuring the planning system is efficient and effective.

The Department is led by its Director-General, Sam Haddad, who reports to the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure and Minister Assisting the Premier on Infrastructure NSW

Infrastructure NSW

Infrastructure NSW was created by incoming New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell in 2011. The aim of the agency is to manage the delivery of state infrastructure projects. In May, O'Farrell appointed former Liberal Premier Nick Greiner as Chairman, and in June, Paul Broad was appointed as the...

, the Honourable Brad Hazzard

Brad Hazzard

Bradley "Brad" Ronald Hazzard MP , an Australian politician, is the New South Wales Minister for Planning and Infrastructure and Minister Assisting the Premier on Infrastructure NSW in the O'Farrell-Stoner Liberal/National coalitition government...

 MP.

The Department's powers are drawn from the New South Wales Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.

Overview

In May 2009, the Department established three divisions focussing on key activities in planning – land release, urban renewal

Urban renewal

Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...

 and major project assessment. A fourth division focuses on corporate governance and policy development.
The following executive team has been selected to operate from May 18, 2009:

Deputy Directors-General

• Plan Making & Urban Renewal – Tom Gellibrand (previously Deputy General Manager Strategy at the Growth Centres Commission)
• Development Assessments – Richard Pearson (previously Department of Planning Rural and Regional Planning Executive Director)
• Strategies and Land Release – Ian Reynolds (previously General Manager Operations at the Growth Centres Commission)

Executive Directors

• Corporate Governance & Policy – Donna Rygate (previously Deputy Director-General Strategy, Communications and Governance at the Department of Community Services)
• Strategy & Infrastructure Planning – Andrew Jackson (previously Principal Advisor, Urban Planning at NSW Treasury)
• Land Release – Robert Black (previously Deputy General Manager Land Release at the Growth Centres Commission)
• Planning Operations – Neil McGaffin (previously Department of Planning Southern Region Regional Director)
• Urban Renewal & Major Sites – Giovanni Cirillo (previously Director City Planning and Regulatory Services at the City of Sydney Council)
• Major DA Assessment – Chris Wilson (previously Department of Planning Major Projects Assessments Executive Director)
• Assessments Systems, General Counsel – Marcus Ray (previously Department of Planning Legal Services Director)

Priorities

The Department's priorities are:

• Promoting and facilitating sustainable growth
• Supporting affordable and appropriately-serviced housing and employment land
• Assessing major projects and infrastructure in a timely and efficient way, while ensuring appropriate planning outcomes
• Planning to help mitigate climate change
• Improving service delivery to New South Wales communities and stakeholders
• Implementing reforms to create a more efficient, transparent and accountable planning system and importantly, the communication of these reforms.

The department employs over 500 staff.

Ancillary functions

In addition to its core planning responsibilities, the Department administers a number of State Government programs and properties including:

• BASIX
  BASIX
  BASIX or Building Sustainability Index is a scheme introduced by the government of New South Wales, Australia in 2004 to regulate the energy efficiency of residential buildings. It offers an online assessment tool for rating the expected performance of any residential development in terms of water...
  
  - an energy and water savings scheme for new housing stock;

• the Callan Park (Special Provisions) Act 2005 - determining conditions for future development at Callan Park in inner Sydney;

• the Western Sydney Parklands - a major regional park stretching from northwest to southwest Sydney; and

• Smoke alarms
  Smoke detector
  A smoke detector is a device that detects smoke, typically as an indicator of fire. Commercial, industrial, and mass residential devices issue a signal to a fire alarm system, while household detectors, known as smoke alarms, generally issue a local audible and/or visual alarm from the detector...
  
  - State laws mandating the installation of smoke alarms in all NSW homes.

History

The Department was established in October 2005 when the former New South Wales Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources was disamalgamated. Between 2005 and 2011, the department was known as the New South Wales Department of Planning. Following the 2011 state election

New South Wales state election, 2011

Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...

, the current name was adopted for the department and the functions of the Department's heritage branch moved to the Office of Environment and Heritage.

External links

• NSW Department of Planning Website
• City of Cities – A Plan for Sydney's Future
• Urban planning in Australia
  Urban planning in Australia
  Urban planning in Australia has a significant role to play in ensuring the future sustainability of Australian cities. Australia is one of the most highly urbanised societies in the world...