Community Engagement

The Community Engagement Strategy 2025-29 provides a framework for Council to engage effectively, ensuring feedback from our community is considered in the decision-making process. The statewide Community Participation Plan details the timing and methods of community engagement in statutory planning and development issues.


Community Engagement Strategy

The Community Engagement Strategy 2025-29 is central to Council’s community engagement framework, which aims to give the community a clear understanding of:

  • Council’s commitment to engaging with the community
  • how we will seek and respond to community input
  • the types of engagement that suit the various activities
  • how community input is used in decision-making
  • how community involvement shapes our actions.

Read it here:Community Engagement Strategy(PDF, 9MB)

Statewide Community Participation Plan

Council’s Community Engagement Strategy 2025-29 previously included a council developed Community Participation Plan (CPP) which detailed the timing and methods of community engagement in statutory planning and development issues, including development applications and planning proposals. In September 2026 the NSW Government introduced a statewide Community Participation Plan that all councils must adhere too. The Community Participation Plan is a requirement of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

The statewide CPP is intended to standardise consultation requirements across NSW and speed up assessment timeframes for a range of developments. Some developments which previously would have been publicly exhibited will no longer require public notification including some subdivisions creating up to five new lots, one- and two-storey dwelling houses, two-storey dual occupancies, multi-dwelling housing of up to five dwellings and secondary dwellings.

Read it here: Community Participation Plan