Coastal Management Act 2016

The Minister is to publish a coastal management manual for the purposes of this Act.

The manual is to impose mandatory requirements and provide guidance in connection with the preparation, development, adoption, implementation, amendment, and review of, and the contents of, coastal management programs.

In particular (but without limiting subsection (2)), the manual is to include the following—

information to assist local councils addressing the requirements for the preparation of coastal management programs set out in this Part, including addressing the requirement that, in preparing coastal management programs, councils must consider and promote the objects of this Act,

a risk management process that local councils are to follow when preparing their coastal management programs, including a process of identifying and assessing risks to environmental, social and economic values and benefits and evaluating and selecting management actions to address those risks,

technical information and guidance on matters such as hazard mapping, ecological health, cost benefit analysis and implementation and funding tools to support local councils in undertaking that process,

requirements relating to the consultation that must be undertaken in connection with the preparation, development or review of coastal management programs,

information on the preparation of coastal zone emergency action subplans,

information on the role of the Minister, public authorities and the NSW Coastal Council in relation to the preparation, development and review of coastal management programs,

guidance regarding the local council’s integration of its coastal management program with its integrated planning and reporting framework obligations under the Local Government Act 1993.

The Minister may review and amend the manual from time to time.

The Minister is to ensure that the manual (and any amendment of the manual) is published in the Gazette.

A copy of the manual must be available for public inspection without charge—

on a NSW Government website used by the Department, and

at the offices of the Department during ordinary office hours.

In this section, integrated planning and reporting framework obligations means obligations relating to the preparation, development and review of, and the contents of, community strategic plans, resourcing strategies, delivery programs, operational plans, community engagement strategies, annual reports and environment reports of local councils under Chapter 13 of the Local Government Act 1993.