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NSW Resources

Agricultural impact statements

The Strategic Regional Land Use Policy commenced on 11 September 2012 and set out a range of initiatives to better balance growth in the mining and coal seam gas industries with the need to protect important agricultural land and water resources. Further information can be found by visiting the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure's website.

As part of the Strategic Regional Land Use Policy, the government announced that some types of exploration activities that may impact on agricultural resources or industries would require an Agricultural impact statement (AIS). The purpose of an AIS is to ensure a focused assessment of the potential impacts of exploration activities on agricultural resources or industries. An AIS supports the environmental assessment of applications to undertake exploration activities by the NSW Resources Regulator.

In consultation with stakeholders and industry, a revised Guideline for Agricultural Impact Statements at the Exploration Stage (PDF, 1 MB) was released by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development in December 2024. The guideline has been reviewed and amended, taking into account more than seven years of experience with the previous version. This revised guideline supersedes the previous version and should be used by proponents for new exploration activity approvals lodged after the date of publication. (Note: Exploration AISs will be accepted using the previous guideline for a period of up to six months after publication of this guideline).

An AIS is required when the land on which the exploration activities are proposed is considered to have significant agricultural value, and the nature of the exploration activities has the potential to have an impact on agricultural land or agricultural activities (see Figure 1 of the revised guidelines). This includes if the proposed exploration activities are located within any of the following Local Environment Plan Zones:  

  • RU1 Primary Production  
  • RU2 Rural Landscape  
  • RU4 Primary Production Small Lots  
  • C3 Environmental Management 

and within 250m of:  

  • Strategic Agricultural Land (SAL), or 
  • Land and Soil Capability (LSC) Classes 1, 2, 3 or 4;  

AND will result in more than one hectare of surface disturbance of this land. 

In certain circumstances, where it is unlikely there will be any impacts on agricultural resources or industries, an AIS will not be required.