Tasmania

Tasmania does not have specific coastal protection legislation, or a single coastal management authority.  Responsibility for coastal management falls to a range of state and local government agencies under the general framework provided by the State Coastal Policy 1996.  A State Coastal Advisory Committee was established in 1998 but has not met since 2001.

The State Coastal Policy 1996[2]  was enacted to provide a consistent, state-wide approach to coastal management and applies to all State waters and land within one kilometre inland of high-water mark.  The Policy compromises three overarching principles:

• The need to protect both natural and cultural values of the coast
• The need for sustainable use and development of the coast
• The need for shared responsibility in the management and protection of the coastal zone. 

The Policy also sets out a range of outcomes for each of these principles.  These outcomes state that the coastal zone will be managed to “protect ecological, geomorphological and geological coastal features and aquatic environments of conservation value ” (clause 1.1.2).

The Policy provides guidance for local governments regarding the coastal management issues that should be taken into account in decision-making.  Before endorsing any new or amended planning scheme, the Resource Planning and Development Commission must be satisfied that the scheme is in accordance with the State Coastal Policy.  For older planning schemes, if there is an inconsistency between a provision of the State Coastal Policy and the planning scheme, the State Coastal Policy will prevail.  The Policy provides for a precautionary approach to be taken when assessing applications for use and development in the coastal zone and for coastal developments to be directed to locations which will minimise their environmental impact.  The Policy requires suitable urban and residential areas, areas of special value, important wetlands and coastal transport routes to be identified in planning schemes.  The design and siting of development must also be subject to planning controls “to ensure compatibility with natural landscapes”.

The Policy also provides for areas subject to coastal hazards such as storm surge, erosion and sea-level rise to be identified and managed (clause 1.4.1) and for policies to be developed to respond to the potential effects of climate change on use and development in the coastal zone (clause 1.4.3). 

It is an offence against the State Policies and Projects Act 1993 to fail to comply with a provision of a State Policy, however the policy is a broad document primarily intended to provide a framework for coastal planning rather than to be an enforceable document.  Implementation of the policy is generally achieved through individual planning schemes, enforced by local governments under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993. However, given the broad nature of the statements in the Policy, it has proven difficult to enforce in practice and has been subject to litigation on numerous occasions.  In a recent decision, the Supreme Court held that local governments are bound to give effect to the policy and achieve its outcomes, but recognised that many of the statements in the policy are not prescriptive enough to be directly enforced.[3]

>A review of the State Coastal Policy in 2004 also found that lack of technical resources and operational guidance results in many Councils not adequately implementing the Policy.  To address this concern, the State government has produced a number of technical reports to assist with the identification of natural values and areas at risk from coastal hazards.  In particular,

§  The Coastal and Marine Branch of the Department of Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts has released GIS mapping tools for coastal vegetation, geomorphic values and fauna habitat.  They have also released indicative mapping of coastal areas vulnerable to climate change and sea-level rise.[4]

§  The three regional NRM bodies collaborated to produce a set of Estuarine, Coastal and Marine Indicators to assess natural resource conditions in the coastal zone.[5]

§  The Local Government Association of Tasmania has released a Climate Change Toolkit comprising case studies to help local governments to address climate change issues.

In addition to this assistance, one of the key initiatives identified in Tasmania’s draft Climate Change Strategy is to:

Incorporate climate change issues including coastal vulnerability, the impacts of sea level rise and storm surge risk, in planning schemes, and develop practical planning tools to assist local government in taking predicted climate change impacts into consideration.

It is clear that local governments will remain primarily responsible for assessing and managing coastal uses and development in the future.

Victoria

The current agency that addresses coastal management in Victoria is the Victorian Coastal Council, which is appointed by the State Government in accordance with the Coastal Management Act 1995. Under this Act, the VCC has an array of functions; one of which is the responsibility to undertake statewide strategic coastal planning and another being the responsibility to prepare and publish guidelines for the planning and management of the coast.  In order to address these responsibilities, the VCC developed the Victorian Coastal Strategy 1997, which was subsequently superseded by the Victorian Coastal Strategy 2002 (the Strategy).  This Strategy aimed at implementing Integrated Coastal Zone Management, and providing guidance on catchment to coast integration. 

With amendments currently being made to the draft 2007 Victorian Coastal Strategy Victorian coastal management is currently in a state of flux. In April 2007, an invitation for comments on the newly developed 2007 Draft Victorian Coastal Strategy was advertised, with the VCC receiving 174 submissions.  These submissions are in the process of being analysed and incorporated into the development of the final Victorian Coastal Strategy.  In a recent media release the Chair of the VCC, Ms Libby Mears, stated that the redrafted strategy hopes to present “a long-term vision to ensure appropriate planning decisions which protect the aesthetic, cultural and environmental values of the coast”, and seeks to achieve this by “addressing the major challenges posed by climate change and development pressures of the ‘seachange’ phenomenon.”[6] The EDO Victoria formulated a submission that outlined a number of key recommendations the 2007 Draft Strategy.  Among these was a recommendation for an increased emphasis on integrated management of the coast on a state-wide scale.  Additionally, EDO Victoria believed there was a need for a stronger and clearer focus on climate change impacts. Only once the amended strategy is released will it be apparent whether such recommendations will be put into practice.

The Planning and Environment Act 1987 provides that each local government is to have a municipal planning scheme, which affects all landowners including the Crown.  The development of such planning schemes “provide a mechanism for integrating coastal development, management and outcomes by linking across public and private land”[7]  Local governments may make additional coastal management policies under the powers conferred be the Local Government Act 1989, such as;

• Open Space and recreation plans
• Local Agenda 21 and local sustainability plans
• Greenhouse strategies
• Stormwater and domestic waste water management plans
• Asset and infrastructure management plans
• Waste and litter management plans.

These planning schemes were to be implemented to help manage the “change that will inevitably take place across the coast”[8] in relation to population growth and subsequent urbanisation of coastal areas.  However, as illustrated by the Coastal Spaces and Landscape Assessment Study: State Overview Report there has been limited implementation of the schemes. On 27 September 2006, this study was released by the Minister for Planning and provided a comprehensive baseline assessment of visually significant landscapes along the Victorian coast.  The study attempted to provide a guideline “on how management and protection of these important landscapes can be better achieved through planning schemes”[9].  The study discovered that of the 87 settlements within two-kilometres of Victoria’s coastline, only 18% have included strategic settlement plans into local planning schemes.  The EDO Victoria, in it’s submission regarding the draft 2007 Draft Strategy, highlighted a need for time limits to be included regarding the compulsory implementation of coastal settlement frameworks into local government planning schemes to better assist in establishing some consistency throughout the coastal zone.

Queensland

The Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995 is the legislation which protects and manages the coastal zone in Queensland, primarily through Coastal Management Plans. The State and Regional Coastal Management Plans which sit under the Act and contain most of the detail have chapters on conserving nature, which include broad “coastal management outcomes” and principles and policies for protecting coastal resources, values and managing pressures on those resources. In practice these documents have been applied to regulating coastal development rather than coastal management or rehabilitation.

The South East Queensland Regional Coastal Management Plan, maps areas of coastal biodiversity significance and requires local town planning schemes to identify these areas as valuable features and include measures for their conservation and management. Criteria for development assessment are listed, and include directions such as that development does not occur where it will result in the loss, degradation or fragmentation of areas of coastal biodiversity.

The State and Regional Coastal Plans are treated as State Planning Policies for the purposes of the Integrated Planning Act 1997 (IPA), meaning they must be taken into account by an assessment manager (usually the local Council) when assessing development applications. However, this means that Council must only “have regard to” the documents, and in practice they are frequently undermined. To be more effective, State and Regional Coastal Management Plans must be given an elevated status under IPA so that its provisions must be implemented. The State and Regional Plan are also considered a “State Interest” when developing local town planning schemes, meaning that the Planning Minister can require the State Coastal Plan to be reflected in local planning schemes and must also consider the State Plan prior to designating land for community infrastructure. However in practice, the details of the State or Regional Plans are not clearly and thoroughly implemented in local planning schemes as part of the process of doing the state interest check on draft local planning schemes.

Provisions of the State Coastal Management Plan address climate change issues. Section 2.2.4 of the State Plan deals with storm tides, cyclone effects and related inundation and recognises these as ‘coastal hazards’. The State Plan requires that the associated risks of coastal hazards are minimised, including by carefully considering development in coastal risk areas and wherever possible retaining those areas undeveloped. However, until Councils are obliged to comply with the State and Regional Plans (rather than simply “have regard to” them), these provisions will continue to be ineffective.

Western Australia

WA does not have special purpose coastal protection legislation assigning responsibility to a particular agency or Minister.  Instead, advice and strategic policy on the planning and management of the WA coast is provided by the Coastal Planning and Coordination Council, a Committee of the Western Australian Planning Commission.

The draft Coastal Zone Management Policy for Western Australia (2001) provides a ‘whole-of-government’ policy framework for coastal planning, management and protection. It sets out, in broad terms, coastal zone management objectives, including environmental, community, economic, infrastructure and regional development objectives.  It also contains government policies for planning and management of the coastal zone.

The Statement of Planning Policy No 2: Environment and Natural Resources Policy sets out the broad environment and resource management policies for sustainability. It includes measures to “[s]afeguard and enhance areas of environmental significance on the coast ... [e]nsure use and development on or adjacent to the coast is compatible with its future sustainable use for conservation, recreation and tourism in appropriate areas [and to] [t]ake into account the potential for impacts from changes in climate and weather on human activities and cultural heritage including coastal and urban communities, natural systems and water resources.” (cl 5.1)

The Statement of Planning Policy No. 2.6: State Coastal Planning Policy applies to the coast state-wide and is intended to complement SPP 2 and draft Coastal Zone Management Policy by addressing the more operational aspects of coastal planning.  The policy provides high order guidance for decision-making on coastal planning matters and seeks to inform and guide the WAPC in undertaking its planning responsibilities. It also aims to guide local governments, and other agencies, about those aspects of State planning policy concerning the protection of the coast that should be taken into account in planning decision-making. SPP 2.6 is to be implemented through the preparation of regional and local strategies, plans and statutory planning schemes. It sets out requirements for local governments developing a coastal planning strategy by outlining what should be taken into account in the preparation of the strategy and the types of requirements and guidelines that must be included in the strategy itself. The policy encourages partnership with the broader community in this process. More specifically, SPP 2.6 provides guidance for determining a set-back, which is generally to be 100m from the horizontal setback datum (cl 2.3).

The Coastal Planning and Management Manual (2003) provides more detailed guidance on coastal planning and management for community groups and local government.  It provides further detail on the types of coastal strategies and plans that can be developed and sets out coastal planning and management principles (e.g. sustainable management, identifying limits of acceptable change, maintenance of ecosystem integrity, consultation, minimal intervention etc).

In addition, WA has Development Control Policies. Outside the Perth Metropolitan Region, coastal planning in Western Australia has been largely guided by the WAPC’s Development Control Policy 6.1 Country Coastal Planning Policy.  DCP 6.1 operates in a subordinate capacity to the SPPs. It provides general development principles, including requirements to the separation from the coast by a foreshore reserve, public access to the foreshore, and that development should not reduce the visual amenity of the foreshore (cl 3.1).  It sets out principles adopted by the WAPC for the allocation of coastal land, for example, “to give priority to coastal dependent developments over non-coastal dependent developments” (cl 3.2.1). It also provides guidelines for set-backs (generally 100m) and the preservation of the ecology, visual amenity, and soil and water quality of the coastline. Other WAPC Development Control Policies relevant to the coast are:

·         1.8 Canal Estates and other Artificial Waterway Developments,

·         2.3 Public Open Space in Residential Areas and

·         4.2 Planning for Hazards and Safety.

In addition, many coastal management plans and strategies for specific areas and regions have been prepared by the WAPC, or by local governments, and a Regional strategy for the Perth metropolitan coastline is currently under preparation.

Northern Territory

The overarching policy direction for coastal zone management in the NT is provided by the Northern Territory Coastal Management Policy.  The policy is designed to guide management, planning and conservation in the NT coastal zone.  Initially developed in 1985, this policy is currently under review.

The Darwin Harbour Regional Plan of Management (DHRPM) area covers Port Darwin, Shoal Bay and their catchments. The following five goals were identified by the DHRPM in order to achieve sound management of the Darwin Harbour region:

- To maintain a healthy environment;

- To support the sustainable recreational use and enjoyment of the environment;

- To encourage ecologically sustainable development;

- To protect cultural and heritage values; and

- To foster community ownership and participation in management.

A report about the status of the DHRPM was released in September 2007 by the Darling Harbour Advisory Committee.  This report noted that “while the expectations remain high that the Plan will be implemented, the committee has been discouraged by a lack of funding and lack of commitment by the government to support the Plan as endorsed by Cabinet in early 2004”[10].  This indicates that the implementation of some of the objectives of the DHRPM in 2005-06 has been hampered by a number of factors.  There were additional difficulties implementing the Plan as the “role and responsibility of DHAC as well as the status of the Plan continue to be unrecognized in legislation”[11]. A report by the committee is due to be released regarding the progress of the implementation of those objectives contained in the DHRPM.

The Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan for the Northern Territory was released in March 2005, and was based on the following three governing principles:

• “It should promote and support ecologically sustainable development;
• It should apply the precautionary principle in the absence of sound data on which to base planning decisions; and
• It should promote and support adaptive management.”[12]

The establishment of the three core governing principles demonstrates understanding of the importance of those factors integral to natural resource management.  The Natural Resource Management Board (NT) Inc. is the regional body appointed the responsibility of developing and implementing the Plan. The Plan has been criticised as it “lacks detailed information about the role of stakeholders in the implementation and monitoring process.”[13]

The Northern Territory Marine Protected Areas Advisory Committee was established to provide stakeholder feedback to the Department of Natural Resources Environment & the Arts on the development of a draft Northern Territory Marine Protected Areas Strategy.  This Strategy aims to “set out the legislative, scientific, planning and consultation framework” for how new Marine Protected areas will be identified.  This strategy is an indication that management of the Northern Territory is beginning to incorporate an integrated approach into coastal zone management.  This Strategy is currently being developed.

Other broad conservation plans such as the Draft Northern Territory Parks and Conservation Masterplan[14]  may be relevant for the coast, but due to recent comments from government, there is some suggestion that this plan will not be implemented due to insufficient resources.

The NT Environmental Impact Assessment Guide – Greenhouse Gas Emissions February 2007 aims to “assist proponents in providing the information needed by the Environmental Protection Agency Program to assess the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from proposed projects during assessment under the Northern Territory Environmental Assessment Act 1994. It identifies that proponents of projects should give particular consideration to the following five risks associated with the impacts of climate change;

• “increasing average temperature and evaporation rates;
• variation in rainfall and the incidence of floods;
• sea level rise;                                 
• increased frequency and intensity of cyclones and storm surge levels; and
• altered distribution of pests and disease.”[15]

South Australia

The Coast Protection Act 1972 was created for the specific purpose of establishing a regulatory statutory body – the Coast Protection Board (CPB) – and outlining its powers, requirements and responsibilities. Under section 6 of the Act, the CPB is the statutory authority responsible for the management of the states coastline and administration of the Act. The CPB is particularly interested in establishing whether land and any development on it is likely to affect, or be affected by coastal processes including storm surge flooding and short or long-term changes in the position of the coastline. The CPB assesses the impact of development and rezoning on costal qualities such as conservation of vegetation/reserves/beaches.  The CPB will assess the extent of impacts, particularly effects on natural costal processes.

In 1992, the CPB established South Australia as the first State in Australia to adopt planning policies and standards to minimise the risk to coastal development by climate change–induced sea level rise. The Coastline: Coastal erosion, flooding and sea level rise standards and protection policy (1992), which has been included in the council-wide provisions of development plans, states that:

• Development should not be approved where building sites are lower than a height determined by adding 0.3 m (for 50 years of sea level rise) to the 1-in-100 year storm surge level and making an adjustment (where appropriate) for land level changes to 2050.
• For commercial or habitable buildings, floor levels should be no less than 0.25 m above this minimum site level.
• Development should not be approved unless it is capable, by reasonably practical means, of being protected or raised to withstand a further 0.7 m of sea level rise. (This condition allows for a further sea level rise of 0.7 m from 2050 to 2100 for a total sea level rise of 1 m to 2100).

This policy has been since incorporated into development plans and planning strategies by state and local government.

More recently, the Living Coast Strategy for South Australia (2004) was devised to formally set out the State Government's environmental policy directions for the sustainable management of these environments. This was in recognition of the significant pressure Australia's coastal, estuarine and marine environments are under following the ‘Review of the Management of Adelaide Metropolitan Beaches’ (Government of South Australia 1997), and the Framework for a National Cooperative Approach to Integrated Coastal Zone Management (2003) developed by the National Resource Management Ministerial Council. The SA Strategy follows from and builds on the State Government's previous policy document, Our Seas and Coasts: A Marine and Estuarine Strategy for South Australia 1997. The strategy encompasses a wide range of environmental initiatives and programs and sets out the policy directions that the State Government will be taking over the following five years to help protect and manage South Australia's coastal areas, estuaries and marine ecosystems. In addition, there is the proposal that there be, in conjunction with local government and the Commonwealth, the development of a clear policy for Government to manage sea-level change.

Due to concerns about sand erosion, tidal drift, seawalls and the need for beach nourishment, the Department for Environment and Heritage, on behalf of the Coast Protection Board initiated a review of the management of Adelaide's metropolitan beaches in 2000, and based on the recommendations of this report developed an innovative strategy for managing Adelaide's beaches called Adelaide's Living Beaches: A Strategy for 2005–2025. The Government of South Australia endorsed the strategy in November 2005. Policy makers recognise that climate change is likely to gradually alter the forces that act on the coastline, and so they must allow for additional supplies of sand to maintain beach width and provide for strengthened dune buffers.  It is anticipated that the main effects of climate change along the coast of South Australia will be ; color:black'>sea level rise and changes to weather and hence wave conditions. The vast majority of the explanation and policy on the effects of climate change on the coast of SA in this document is simply a re-iteration of the Coastal Protection Board’s policy developed in 1992 (Coastline: Coastal erosion, flooding and sea level rise standards and protection policy 1992).

The Marine Planning Framework for South Australia (2006) incorporates elements of ‘South Australia’s Strategic Plan’ (Government of SA 2004) regarding sustainable development, and Living Coast Strategy for South Australia. The framework will require a statutory basis from which to operate, which will be provided through a proposed revision of the Coast Protection Act 1972, and will interact with the Development Act 1993 and the Natural Resources Management Act 2004. The Planning Framework does not contain any specific climate change provisions.

While many of the other policies in this area are purely directional and often aspirational, the Marine Planning Framework (2006) represents a practical embodiment of these and other policy directions that have been incorporated into development legislation.  The overarching goals, objectives and strategies from the marine planning zones will, as appropriate, be incorporated into the Planning Strategy for South Australia under the Development Act 1993. In particular, the Better Development Plans project currently being undertaken by Planning SA will strengthen the linkages between the Planning Strategy for South Australia, Marine Plans and Development Plans. This will assist in ensuring that the strategies and objectives of Marine Plans are incorporated into the relevant Development Plans. The Government anticipate that existing responsibilities and jurisdictions of management agencies will remain, but the resource management policies, strategies, and plans will be progressively amended to manage development and use consistent with the objectives applied to relevant zones.

The Estuaries Policy and Action Plan (2005) provides a bridge between DEH coastal policy, and the realm of the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, which deal with the riparian part of the catchment–coast–ocean continuum. The broad vision of this policy document is that of the provision of ‘healthy estuaries for the benefit of present and future generations’. There are 5 key outcomes identified as requisite to achieving this vision:

1)       Better management of estuaries for economic, social and environmental sustainability

2)       Better development planning tools are established to aid decision making for social and environmental sustainability

3)       The conservation values of estuaries are protected

4)       Greater community understanding and involvement

5)       Comprehensive research and monitoring of estuaries.

With respect to estuarine environments, DEH has (or is in the process of) developing ‘Estuaries Information Packages’ (EIP) for each of the 5 NRM regions of the state to support NRM bodies, State and local government and other agencies undertaking planning and management in estuarine areas.  These EIP’s provide an overview of the environmental, social and economic values of the estuaries in each region.

More broadly, the South Australia’s Strategic Plan (2004) as reviewed and updated in January 2007, the ‘Strategic Plan’ represents a dynamic framework for the forward development of the State of South Australia, and acts as an umbrella policy, informing and instructing the creation and development of policy in all areas of governance. The key targets broadly instructing the evolution of South Australian policy on coastal development, climate change and the environment are: Lose no Species, Marine Biodiversity, Ecological Footprint, River Murray – flows, and River Murray – salinity.

New South Wales

A recent review conducted by the NSW Environmental Defender’s Office (EDO) discovered that only 7 pieces of Commonwealth and NSW legislation mention climate change.[16]  Key legislation of relevance to coastal management in NSW includes: the Coastal Protection Act 1979, as amended in 2002; the Environmental Planning  and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act 1979); and the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act 1993).

The Coastal Protection Act 1979 is the principal piece of legislation that applies to the NSW coastal zone. It aims to provide for the protection of the coastal environment of the State “for the benefit of both present and future generations”.[17] This Act contains provisions relating to the use and supervision of the coastal zone, the carrying out of development within the coastal zone and the preparation of the Coastal Zone Management Plans.[18]  The coastal zone was extended in 2005 and now also applies to the greater metropolitan regions of Sydney, Newcastle, the Illawarra and the Central Coast.

The Act prohibits a public authority from authorising or carrying out development in the coastal zone, without the consent of the Minister, if the Minister is of the opinion that the development:

• is inconsistent with principles of ecologically sustainable development
• adversely affects the behaviour of the sea or an arm of the sea or any bay, inlet, lagoon, lake, body of water, river, stream or watercourse; or
• adversely affects any beach or dune the bed, bank, shoreline, foreshore or flood plain of the sea or an arm of the sea or any bay, inlet, lagoon margin, lake, body of water, river, stream or watercourse. [19]

The preparation of a Coastal Zone Management Plan is currently discretionary, unless the Minister directs a council to prepare a plan.  However, it is prudent for a council to prepare such a plan even in the absence of a ministerial direction as it enables a strategic approach to be taken in responding to climate change impacts within the coastal zone. 

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act 1979) has the potential to greatly influence the interaction between infrastructure and the environment when considering development in the coastal zone[20].  Section 117 of the EP&A Act 1979, provides that a Local Environmental Plan (LEP) be developed.  An LEP is one environmental planning instrument (EPI) used to control the use of land adjoining the beach[21].  The development of such LEP’s should include provisions that give effect to and are consistent with the NSW Coastal Policy 1997.  This policy will be discussed in more detail below, however in reference to the development of EPI’s, it provides the principles which should be addressed in new and existing LEP’s (and Development Control Plans (DCP’s)) to ensure:

• Only developments which do not compromise the natural and cultural values of the area will be permitted on beaches and frontal dunes; and
• In allowing works to protect, restore and rehabilitate beaches and frontal dunes, to preferably favour “soft” engineering[22] approaches as developed through a Coastline Management Plan.[23]

This Act appears to demonstrate that some efforts have been made to better manage the coastal zone, however in practice, many inappropriate developments are still approved in sensitive coastal zones. A consequence of the listing of developments in the coastal zone as Part 3A projects (under the EP&A Act 1979) is that developments that are likely to have the greatest impact on the coastal environment in NSW will be decided by the Planning Minister who determines the scope of any environmental assessment. This would be appropriate, provided that there is a clear process in place to ensure that environmental impacts are adequately considered, that the public is involved in the process and that concurrence is obtained from Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water. This is not currently the case. Under section 75U of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, the concurrence of the Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water is not required for a Part 3A project (ie, the Minister charged with administering the Coastal Protection Act 1979).

On 1 November 2002 the Minister for Planning, pursuant to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A 1979), implemented State Environmental Planning Policy Number 71 – Coastal Protection (SEPP 71).  This policy was introduced to regulate all development in NSW (other than the coastal land in the greater Sydney area) within the “coastal zone”.  The coastal zone is defined by reference to coastal zone maps, however it generally extends to:

• three nautical miles seaward of the mainland and offshore islands,

• one kilometre inland of the 'open coast' high water mark,
• one kilometre around all bays, estuaries, coastal lakes, lagoons and islands, and
• in relation to tidal rivers, one kilometre around the tidal waters of the river to the limit of mangroves, or the tidal limit (whichever is closer to the sea).

Under the policy, development applications that will diminish access to coastal foreshores, result in effluent that negatively affects water quality, or involve discharge of stormwater into the sea, a beach, coastal lake, creek or rock platform, must be rejected by the appropriate consent authority. SEPP 71 requires councils to address some of the environmental impacts associated with climate change, when deciding whether to grant consent to a development application.  Councils are required to take into account “the likely impact of coastal processes and coastal hazards on development and any likely impacts of development on coastal processes and hazards”[24]. This policy appears to demonstrate that there has been progress made in implementing considerations regarding climate change when considering the viability of development applications in coastal zones. However, the introduction of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Major Projects) 2005 (Major Projects SEPP), which incorporated several provisions from SEPP 71, has greatly undermined the environmental assessment process in coastal area. The NSW Coastal Policy 1997 should be a mandatory consideration for the Planning Minister, and concurrence of the Environment Minister under the EP&A Act should also be required. Otherwise the overarching policy, which is meant to represent government policy relating to the management of NSW's coast, is meaningless, as it does not apply to activities that are likely to have the most significant impact on the coastal zone[25].

In addition, the Local Government Act 1993 provides that responsibility for the management of lands and waters in a given local government area, falls usually to local councils.  Section 377 of the LG Act 1993 provides for very broad powers to delegate such responsibility to committees, formed under the Act, in regard to “any matter related to development or use of all or part of their LGA”[26].  It is thought that such delegation has “established a process for evaluating hazards, amenities, resource use or conservation of areas periodically subjected to storm events” and has “established the lead role for councils in managing beaches which may or may not be formally in their care and control.”[27]

In addition to legislation, a number of policies have been developed for the NSW coast. The principal policy guiding local councils in the coastal zone is the NSW Coastal Policy 1997. One of the aims of the policy is to promote ‘the ecologically sustainable development of the New South Wales coastline’. The Policy aims to facilitate the development of the coastal zone in a way which protects and conserves its values. This includes recognising and accommodating natural processes and protecting beach amenity and public access. 

“The 1997 Coastal Policy is essentially focused on recognising the need to reconcile the rapid population growth currently being experienced in coastal areas with the need to conserve what remains of valuable ecosystems.”[28]

The NSW Coastal Policy 1997 contains provisions to implement appropriate planning mechanisms that incorporate sea level change scenarios set by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in order “to protect and conserve the coast for future generations”[29]. The Policy sets out various goals, actions and objectives. The key strategic action outlined in the policy is the development and implementation of Coastal and Estuary Management Plans in accordance with the existing Coastline and draft Estuary Management Manuals. 

In June 1988 the NSW Government adopted the Coastline Hazard Policy.  The primary objective of the Coastline Hazard Policy was to reduce the impact of coastal hazards on individual owners and occupiers, and to reduce private and public losses resulting from natural coastal forces. The Policy sets out that certain actions should be taken to address coastal hazards. First, the impact of coastal forces on existing developed areas shall be reduced by works and measures and by the purchase of property on a voluntary basis, where appropriate.  Second, the potential for coastal damage in respect of any proposed coastline development shall be addressed through the application of effective planning and development controls by local councils.  Lastly, a merits approach to all development and building decisions should be adopted which takes account of social, economic and ecological as well as oceanic process considerations.

The NSW Coastline Management Manual 1990 was prepared as part of the implementation of the Coastline Hazard Policy. The Manual was created to facilitate a sound understanding of coastal processes/hazards in NSW and their underlying causes. It assesses and identifies all available management options against environmental, social and economic criteria. It also provides detailed guidelines for councils to follow to address coastal erosion issues. The Manual also outlines a series of steps to prepare and then implement Coastline Management Plans, as well as other adaptive actions councils can take to address coastal hazards. As part of the Coastal Protection Package announced in 2001, Cabinet requested that a new Coastal Zone Management Manual be prepared to combine and revise the existing Coastline and Estuary Management Manuals. This new manual is not expected until 2008-2009. The 2005 NSW Floodplain Development Manual also addresses climate change management issues.

The NSW Government supports the coastal management planning process through the Coastal Management Program.  It aims to enhance the amenity of the NSW coastline and to protect infrastructure from coastal hazards in an ecologically sustainable manner. Under the Program, which is administered by the Department of Environment and Climate Change, the Government provides funding to local councils on a 50:50 basis for the preparation of Coastal Zone Management Plans. The Program also provides funds toward the implementation of management plans including mitigation works to address coastal hazard problems or coastal amenity enhancement. Furthermore, specialist technical advice is provided to local government addressing coastal processes/hazards and coastal management. This includes representation on Coastal Management Committees, and the provision of technical/specialist advice as required.