Section 44 of the Local Government Act 1993 provides that “pending the adoption of a plan of management for community land, the nature and use of the land must not be changed”. This means that any proposed or planned works (for example, updated lighting, new signage, park upgrades, improvements in amenities or accessibility etc.) or new leases or licences (unless covered under Clause 70 of the Crown Land Management Regulations 2018) cannot happen before a Plan of Management is adopted.

Councils must notify the department, as the landowner, of the draft Plan of Management (PoM) prior to public exhibition of the plan, under s39 of the Local Government Act 1993. Councils are also required to seek the department's written consent to adopt the draft PoM (under clause 70B of the CLM Regulation). The department's consent can be sought at the same time as notifying the landowner of the draft plan.

When the Minister has reviewed a draft PoM, Crown Lands will send a letter confirming that the council can proceed to publicly exhibit the draft PoM and provide consent to adopt the PoM. In some cases, Crown Lands may only provide approval to proceed to public exhibition, and council is required to submit the final version of the PoM to Crown Lands (email: council.clm@crownland.nsw.gov.au) to seek Minister's consent to adopt the PoM.

In all cases, if council amends the PoM following public exhibition, it must again be submitted to Crown Lands for approval by the Minister. Refer to the Guideline for developing Plans of Management for Community Land (June 2023) which includes information on appropriate forms and templates.

Councils can use the PoM template 1 – generic to prepare one generic Plan of Management (PoM) for a group of reserves which are geographically separate but have similar functions and community land categories.

Councils can use the generic PoM template to manage reserves that do not have complex management issues in a coordinated and consistent way, such as by community land category (e.g., park or general community use), location (e.g., a group of reserves located in a coastal area), or reserves that have similar functions (e.g., sportsgrounds). Alternatively, councils can structure a generic PoM by one category of land using PoM template 2 – generic – structured by category i.e., parks, sportsgrounds, natural areas, and general community use.

Some types of community land cannot be included in a generic PoM - refer to section 3.1.1 in the Guideline for developing Plans of Management for Community Land (June 2023).

Councils can use PoM template 3 – site-specific where a Crown reserve has multiple categories, a variety of uses, special considerations and/or identified as requiring a more detailed management regime. Crown reserves categorised as Area of Cultural Significance require a site-specific Plan of Management. Refer to section 3.1.1 in the Guideline for developing Plans of Management for Community Land (June 2023) for more information.

Councils must assign a category or categories to a reserve that the council considers are most closely related to the reserve purposes of the land. The following should be considered when assigning categories under the Local Government Act 1993:

• Reserve purpose: apply categories that ensure the land is used for the purpose for which it was originally set aside by its dedication or reservation.
• Current/existing use of the reserve: the initial categorisation cannot be based on proposed or future use. Any change to the categorisation to support a future use should be altered via a Plan of Management.
• Characteristics of the land: councils should consider the characteristics of the land when assigning a category.
• Material harm: councils should consider whether the management of the reserve under the assigned category is likely to materially harm the use of the land for its existing reserve purposes.

Councils may apply a single category or multiple categories to the reserve.

The following considerations are relevant to whether the management of the land, by reference to the assigned category, is likely to materially harm its use for an existing purpose:

• the proportion of the area of the land that may be affected by the additional purpose,
• if the activities to be conducted for the additional purpose will be intermittent, the frequency and duration of the impacts of those activities,
• the degree of permanence of likely harm and whether that harm is irreversible,
• the current condition of the land,
• the geographical, environmental and social context of the land,
• any other considerations that may be prescribed by the regulations.

Refer to the material harm fact sheet for further information.

The category of General Community Use is defined for land that is used to promote, encourage and provide for the use of the land, and to provide facilities on the land, to meet the current and future needs of the local community and of the wider public. Councils can assign part of a reserve or an entire reserve as General Community Use when the land does not fit into any other category. Examples appropriate to categorise as General Community Use category include Surf Life Saving Clubs and caravan/holiday parks or other purposes that require a lease or licence. Refer to section 36I of the Local Government Act 1993 for more information.

Unless a proposed lease or licence complies with the provisions of clause 70(2) of the CLM Regulation, Council CLMs will need to have an adopted Plan of Management in place which authorises the granting of leases and licences, before entering into a lease or a licence over a Crown reserve.

Coastal councils should include reference to their Coastal Management Program in the Strategic Objectives and Management Framework sections of the Plan of Management (PoM). Councils should also include any authorised coastal management development work in the Permissible Uses/Future Uses section of the PoM and any other relevant activities, including leases and licences, for coastal reserves. Refer to section 22 of the Coastal Management Act 2016 (CM Act).

If the council does not have a Coastal Management Plan, the management of these reserves must be consistent with the objects of the CM Act. This involves managing the coastal environment in a manner consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development for the social, cultural and economic well-being of the people of NSW (Part 1, Section 3 of the CM Act).

Crown reserves used for caravan parks can be effectively managed as ‘community land’ by council Crown land managers and best fit into the category of General Community Use (s36I of the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act)).

Further categories should be assigned under the LG Act where the reserve includes other areas and uses such as beaches, rock pools, car parks, playgrounds etc. If the caravan park has existing residential tenancies or privately owned caravans, council should identify in their Plan of Management (PoM) the number of those occupations, the terms of those occupations and how council manages them.

A caravan park on a Crown reserve requires a site-specific PoM. However, if there are multiple caravan parks on Crown land managed by council, these can be combined in one PoM.

No, a PoM is not required for operational land. If councils seek to manage a Crown reserve as operational land under the Local Government Act 1993, they will need Minister’s consent to classify land as operational. This consent under the Crown Land Management Act 2016 provides authorisation for the council to manage the Crown land as operational land from that point forward.

Councils manage more than 2,000 Crown reserves in NSW as a devolved manager. Crown reserves devolve to council when they are not under control or vested in any other body or person or under any lease. These public reserves are managed under s48 of the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act).

Councils are not the Crown land manager for devolved land and must manage it differently to reserves that they manage under the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (CLM Act). They are not required to prepare a Plan of Management for Crown reserves devolved to them.

Councils need to manage devolved reserves consistent with the reserve purpose and can undertake minor improvements, restoration work, maintenance, or works for public safety. They are unable to grant any tenures over this land.

Appointment as a Crown land manager will enable councils to develop or deal in the land and manage it as public land under the LG Act, and within the provisions of the CLM Act. Councils can request to be appointed as Crown land manager by emailing their Regional Crown Lands office. For more information, refer to the managing devolved Crown reserves fact sheet.

Crown reserves used for caravan parks can be effectively managed as ‘community land’ by council Crown land managers and best fits into the category of General Community Use (s36I of the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act)).

Where the reserve includes other areas and uses such as beaches, rock pools, car parks and playgrounds etc, these can be appropriately categorised under any of the categories under the LG Act. If the caravan park has existing residential tenancies or privately owned caravans, council should identify in their plan of management the number of those occupations, the terms of those occupations and how council manages them.

A caravan park on a Crown reserve requires a site-specific plan of management. However, if there are multiple caravan parks on Crown land managed by council, these can be combined in one plan of management.

The Coastal Crown Land Guidelines integrate coastal Crown land management with Coastal Management Programs and Plans of Management. The guidelines will assist councils and other Crown Land managers in strategically managing coastal Crown land. Read the Frequently Asked Questions for more information.