Darkinjung Development Delivery Plan

Darkinjung is one of 120 Local Aboriginal Land Councils in NSW. It is the largest non-government landholder on the Central Coast.

2022 Darkinjung Development Delivery Plan

The Minister for Planning approved the Darkinjung Development Delivery Plan (PDF, 12.2 MB) on 16 December 2022 under the provisions of Chapter 3 (Aboriginal land) of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Planning Systems) 2021.

The Darkinjung Development Delivery Plan applies to 31 sites (consisting of 94 lots) in the Central Coast local government area. It considers the high-level opportunities and constraints for future development of the 31 sites.

The delivery plan responds to the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, which established Aboriginal land councils. These councils manage land to provide an economic base for Aboriginal communities as compensation for historic dispossession and to help overcome structural inequality.

The delivery plan will help Aboriginal people develop their land to support their community and protect Aboriginal cultural heritage. It will also provide new homes and jobs for the wider community.

Planning approvals

The Darkinjung Development Delivery Plan does not approve development on the sites. The approval of the delivery plan was the first step toward considering planning proposals or development applications. We will consult the community further about these.

The delivery plan allows the Hunter and Central Coast Strategic Planning Panel to independently review planning proposals.

We will continue to work with the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council and consult with Central Coast Council on planning for the sites in the delivery plan.

About development delivery plans

A development delivery plan sets out the development objectives for land that a local Aboriginal land council owns. Such plans are made under Chapter 3 (Aboriginal Land) of State Environmental Planning Policy (Planning Systems) 2021 and approved by the Minister for Planning.

A development delivery plan provides a link between the requirements of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 to help in making planning and development decisions.

Planning authorities must consider the development delivery plan in key planning assessment processes, including planning proposals and development applications. The plan gives detailed guidance for sites identified through a land audit. It also gives a strategic assessment of the opportunities and constraints of the land holdings of the local Aboriginal land council.

Consultation and earlier interim plan

In 2019, we released a set of pioneering changes, Aboriginal Land Planning Framework that better align planning laws with the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983. The changes will enable Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council to better achieve its aspirations for its land.

To support the changes, we prepared the Darkinjung Delivery Framework: Consultation Paper. The paper explained changes to planning laws for Aboriginal land in NSW and how they could be used to achieve planning and development goals. We then gathered feedback from the community.

Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council collaborated with us to prepare the interim Darkinjung Development Delivery Plan. It identified how to best manage different sites owned by Darkinjung to meet the needs of the Aboriginal community on the Central Coast. The 2022 delivery plan has replaced the interim one from 2019.

• Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)
• Central Coast Regional Plan 2041
• Aboriginal Land Planning Framework