Frequently asked questions

The monitor includes the following employment and supporting zones used for industrial purposes in NSW:

• E3 (Productivity Support)
• E4 (General Industrial)
• E5 (Heavy Industrial)
• MU1 (Mixed Use)
• SP4 (Enterprise)
• W4 (Working Waterfront).

It also includes other industrial or major employment related zonings such as Western Sydney Aerotropolis, REZ (Regional Enterprise Zone) for Special Activation Precincts and some SP1 (Special Activities) zones.

The monitor also includes any legacy employment zones that have not yet been translated to new employment zones as part of the self-repealing SEPPs that came into effect in April 2023. Pre-reform zonings include IN1, IN2, IN3, IN4 and B5, B6, B7. Further information on the changes are available at Employment zones reform.

The ELDM is an annual audit undertaken by the Department to monitor the development and availability of employment lands in NSW. It includes data on the zoning, servicing and development status of employment land in Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Hunter and Illawarra-Shoalhaven Regions and 12 Cities in Regional NSW. For the rest of NSW, the ELDM provides information on the total area zoned employment land only.

The ELDM is a point-in-time snapshot of land use status as at January 2024. Detailed data are available for download by LGA and precinct.

The Employment Lands Development Monitor provides information, by region, on the:

• total employment land stock – the current stock of employment lands
• developed employment lands – zoned employment lands where development (construction or works) has commenced, or where there is a permanent structure in place at the time of data collection
• undeveloped employment lands - zoned employment lands not occupied by a permanent structure (e.g. vacant or occupied by another temporary land use)
• undeveloped and serviced employment lands – zoned Undeveloped Employment Lands where a sewerage or potable water service may be available for connection, based on Sydney Water, Hunter Water, Shoalhaven Water and Central Coast Council data
• take-up of employment lands – number of hectares of zoned employment lands which have changed from ‘undeveloped’ (vacant) to ‘developed’ (occupied)
• potential future employment lands – land which has been identified in endorsed NSW Government or council documents (e.g. Greater Sydney Region Plan) as future or potential employment lands.

We monitor all employment land use across NSW. Results are available for 5 key geographic areas:

• Greater Sydney – covering 33 local government areas: Bayside, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Burwood, Camden, Campbelltown, Canada Bay, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Inner West, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Liverpool, Mosman, North Sydney, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Penrith, Randwick, Ryde, Strathfield, Sutherland, Sydney, The Hills, Willoughby, Waverley, Wollondilly, Woollahra
• Central Coast – covering the Central Coast local government area
• Hunter – covering 10 LGAs: Cessnock, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Mid Coast, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton, the Upper Hunter
• Illawarra–Shoalhaven – covering the 4 local government areas: Kiama, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Wollongong.
• Regional cities – covering the 12 regional local government areas that contain a regional city:
  • Albury
  • Armidale
  • Bathurst
  • Coffs Harbour
  • Dubbo
  • Griffith
  • Lismore
  • Orange
  • Port Macquarie–Hastings
  • Tamworth
  • Tweed
  • Wagga Wagga

The monitor also includes summary data on zoned land in all of Regional NSW (outside the Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Hunter and Illawarra-Shoalhaven regions).

Employment land status is as at January 2024.

Data on annual take-up monitors development over the 2023 calendar year.

The Employment Lands Development Monitor uses a number of data sources. Major inputs are from the NSW Planning Portal, council development application trackers, Sydney Water and other utility providers, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cordell Connect and NearMap.

The Monitor is prepared annually by the Planning Evidence Centre within the Department of Planning, Housing, and Infrastructure (DPHI). The monitor has been published since 2010 for the Greater Sydney and Central Coast regions and has been expanded over time to include other regions.

The Employment Lands Development Monitor includes a summary report and detailed downloadable data files, including:

• spatial data sets in geographic information system (GIS) format
• non-spatial data in Microsoft Excel format.

Employment lands provide essential space for:

• the delivery of utilities and urban services, including depots, repair trades and service centres
• the research, design and manufacturing of goods and their warehousing, distribution and sale.

The monitor is used by NSW Government agencies, local councils, businesses, researchers and service providers to plan, deliver and service employment lands.