The National Policy Statement – Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL) came into force on October 17, 2022, with immediate implications for ongoing consent and planning processes.
The LUC mapping system relies on assessments that evaluate a parcel of land’s characteristics determining its capacity for sustained long-term production. However, the default LUC mapping may be outdated in certain areas and may not take into account property-specific factors. This could result in your land being categorised as ‘highly productive’ without a site-specific assessment or the subsequent regional mapping phase. While some might view the NPS-HPL as overly restrictive for land that hasn’t undergone a site-specific evaluation or regional mapping, it also carries the risk of being insufficiently protective for land that doesn’t align with the default criteria.
We are able to provide in-depth assessments that can be used as support documentation in the consenting and planning process.