Circulars

What’s new or changing

• On 4 June 2021, an amendment to the Crown Land Management Regulation 2018 was made to provide councils with more time to complete Plans of Management (PoMs) for council-managed Crown reserves.
• This allowance has been made through the Crown Land Management Amendment (Plan of Management) Regulation 2021 (CLM Regulation 2021) and will enable greater flexibility for councils developing Plans of Management.
• Given this, the Office of Local Government (OLG) will extend funding agreements to allow allocated grants to be used for this purpose for a further two years, up until 1 July 2023.
• This extension to the Funding Period is permitted under section 4 of that Agreement.

What this will mean for your council

• The CLM Regulation 2021 provides an exemption for councils from the requirement to adopt PoMs by 1 July 2021.
• Councils that received grants under OLG Funding Agreements will be able to utilise the funding for a further two years, up until 1 July 2023 for the purpose of developing new PoMs.
• Your council will receive a letter from OLG confirming this extension.

Key points

• These changes also allow councils to prioritise resources to prepare PoMs for Crown reserves that are high value, high profile, have multiple uses, and where community engagement is expected.
• Where the nature and use of the land is to be changed, council must have a Plan of Management in place under the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) to authorise these changes.
• All council Crown Land managers must continue to manage the dedicated or reserved Crown land as if it were community land under the LG Act and assign the land to one or more categories of community land referred to in section 36 of the LG Act as soon as practicable. Please visit the Council Crown Land Manager webpage for information on this process.
• Councils must continue to manage Crown land in-line with the gazetted reserve purpose(s).
• Clause 70 of the CLM Regulations allows councils to grant or renew certain leases and licences over the land until the first Plan of Management is adopted. Refer to the pre-POM leases and licences fact sheet for more information.
• The Regulation Amendment will not affect Crown land where a council has already adopted Plans of Management.

Where to go for further information

• The Crown Land Management Amendment (Plan of Management) Regulation 2021 is available on the NSW Government’s legislation website at www.legislation.nsw.gov.au
• Enquiries about the management of Crown reserves under the LG Act should be directed to OLG’s Policy Team on 02 4428 4100 or email councilcrownland@olg.nsw.gov.au
• Enquiries about the broader Crown land reforms should be directed to Crown Lands on 1300 886 235 or email to council.clm@crownland.nsw.gov.au.

Luke Walton
Acting Deputy Secretary
Local Government, Planning and Policy