Draft Lachlan Valley Floodplain Management Plan: Stage 2 public exhibition

Introduction


The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is seeking your feedback on the draft Lachlan Valley Floodplain Management Plan.


The publication Draft Lachlan Valley Floodplain Management Plan – Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition provides information that can assist with completing this submission form. 


We recommend reading the report prior to completing this form.


To provide feedback on the management zones shown in Figure 3 in the report and on the interactive spatial map, we recommend you:

  1. take a screenshot of the relevant area/s displayed on the interactive spatial map
  2. use a drawing tool to illustrate or refer to the area shown in written feedback
  3. save the screenshot of the map as an image file and attach it to your submission.

Enquiries and assistance:  floodplain.planning@dpie.nsw.gov.au


Please submit this form by: 11:59 pm (AEST) on Monday, 16 November 2026.

Privacy and confidentiality

Your privacy is important to us. Our stakeholder management system is compliant with NSW Government’s information security requirements. The data is stored in NSW, only for as long as needed and in accordance with the State Records Act. Users manage data under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and in accordance with our Privacy Management Plan. We will not disclose your personal information to anybody else unless you have given your consent or we are required to do so by law. More information on how the department complies with privacy requirements can be found on our website.

Important information about this form


You cannot save a draft of this form and access it later—you will need to create and submit the form in one session.


If you are unable to complete the form in one session, you can print the PDF version to note your responses before returning to complete the online form.


The fields marked with an asterisk * are mandatory and must be completed to submit the form.


After you have submitted your form, a copy of the submission will be sent to your email address.


If you have any questions about the submission form, please email: floodplain.planning@dpie.nsw.gov.au


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The following section relates to the feedback we are seeking on the floodplain management plan.

Proposed management zones

The proposed management zones represent the hydraulic, ecological or Aboriginal cultural (or combination of) attributes of the land. Different rules and assessment criteria apply to each management zone. These reflect the nature of the area and consider the impact that a flood work may have on the movement of floodwater, and risk to life and property.

For more information, please refer to Figure 3 and section 3 in the Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition. For a higher resolution version of the proposed management zones, see the interactive spatial map.


Proposed rules and assessment criteria for management zone A and SP

Flood works in management zone A and SP will be restricted to specific types that are essential for the protection of life and property, or improvement of the floodplain. Each type of flood work permitted will be subject to size or height restrictions to minimise the impact on the passage of floodwater. 

For more information, please refer to section 4.1.1 and Table 1 in the Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition

All flood works in management zone A and SP will be assessed using the standard assessment criteria. Enhancement flood works will also be assessed using the hydraulic assessment criteria.

For more information, please refer to section 4.1.1, Table 3 and Table 4 in the Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition.

Additional types of flood works are permitted within management zone A and SP if they were constructed prior to the commencement of the draft floodplain management plan, subject to complying with the standard assessment criteria.

For more information, please refer to section 4.1.1.2 in the Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition.

Proposed rules and assessment criteria for management zone B

Any type of flood work will be permitted in management zone B, subject to assessment using the standard assessment criteria. Larger flood works in management zone B will require advertisement and assessment using the hydraulic assessment criteria.

There is no difference in the rules and assessment criteria for flood works constructed prior to or after the draft floodplain management plan commences.

For more information, please refer to section 4.1.2, 4.2, Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4 in the Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition.

A unique rule has been included for existing flood works in Management Zone B. Unapproved flood works that were constructed prior to 7 July 2000 will be required to meet the standard assessment criteria only. Existing flood works that may have a significant impact on high value infrastructure will also require assessment using the hydraulic assessment criteria.

This rule will only apply for the first 5 years following commencement of the FMP. 

For more information, please refer to section 4.1.2.1 in the Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition.

Proposed rules and assessment criteria for management zone C and CU

Any type of flood work will be permitted in Management Zone C and CU, subject to assessment using the standard assessment criteria. Flood works that may have a significant impact on high value infrastructure will require assessment using the hydraulic assessment criteria.

There is no difference in the rules and assessment criteria for flood works constructed prior to or after the draft floodplain management plan commences.

For more information, please refer to section 4.1.2, 4.1.2.2, 4.2, Table 3 and Table 4 in the Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition.

Proposed mandatory conditions

The draft floodplain management plan proposes two mandatory conditions that will apply to flood work approvals:
  1. WaterNSW must be notified of an intention to remove a flood work and again when the flood work has been removed. After a flood work is removed, the area it was located must be returned to the height of the natural surface of the ground.
  2. Erosion must be prevented during the construction and use of a flood work.
For more information, please refer to section 5.3 in the Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition.


Proposed amendment provisions

The draft floodplain management plan sets out the circumstances when the plan may be amended in the future. Of note, it proposes to amend the plan before 1 July 2030 to include rules and assessment criteria that consider the effects of climate change.

For more information, please refer to section 5.4 in the Report to assist Stage 2 public exhibition.


Additional information





General

The following questions help us understand how effective our communication and engagement activities are in reaching our diverse community and stakeholders. This enables us to communicate more clearly and improve opportunities for everybody to have their say. 






To finish this survey and have your responses recorded, please press the submit button below.

NSW DCCEEW - Water Group