Need for intervention and proposed changes
The need for government intervention
LLS delivers essential services to farmers, land managers, and the wider community across a number of focus areas, as set out in the LLS State Strategic Plan 2020-2030. Key focus areas include landscape management, biosecurity, emergency management, and primary production.
A high-level summary of key services and products provided by LLS is shown in the table below.
| Strategic focus | Key services and products |
|---|---|
| Landscape management | Travelling stock reserves: manage and provide access approvals to traveling stock reserves for productive, environmental and cultural outcomes. Native vegetation and private native forestry: provide advice and approvals for native vegetation and private native forestry management. Soils and water: support the management of the natural resources of soils and water for health landscapes and sustainable productivity. Partnerships and inceptions: work with the community to deliver projects and advice for conservation and restoration of our natural resources. |
| Biosecurity | Plant and animal biosecurity: work to prevent the spread of plant and animal pests and diseases. Maintain market access: work to enhance the health of animals, plants and their products. Animal welfare: provide advice and information to enhance animal welfare. Plant and animal pest incursions: work to undertake surveillance and control pests. |
| Emergency management | Emergencies: help land managers in preventing, preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies. Natural disasters: help manage animals during times of natural disaster. Biosecurity responses: respond to invasive species incursions and animal and plant diseases/pests to assist in returning to business as usual. |
| Primary production | Productive, profitable and sustainable agriculture: work with primary industries to ensure landholders have access to innovation and are able to respond to adaptation of climate and markets. Healthy growth: connect primary producers with incentive programs to help growth businesses while contributing to healthy environments. Support: support primary producers to thrive by accessing best practice information and technology. |
The LLS Regulation serves as a key tool to provide the legal and administrative framework to enable LLS to deliver services and support to key stakeholders. Without a replacement regulation, the scheduled repeal of the LLS Regulation on 1 September 2026 would create a significant regulatory vacuum, undermining the operational capacity of LLS and jeopardising the continuity of critical programs that support farmers, land managers, and the wider community, protect the environment, and safeguard agricultural productivity.
Proposed Local Land Services Regulation 2026
The proposed Regulation has been informed by a review of the LLS Regulation by LLS, and has been drafted by the PCO. LLS’s review found that the majority of regulatory provisions would be required for continued management of rural land services, biosecurity, natural resources and agriculture in NSW. However a number of opportunities were identified to streamline and modernise the LLS Regulation, while retaining overall policy intent.
As such, the proposed Regulation has been prepared as a remake of the LLS Regulation, with minor changes only.
Overall, most of the amendments to the LLS Regulation 2014 are immaterial. The changes made are considered necessary to improve the overall clarity, consistency and ease of application of the LLS Regulation, and include the following.
- Language being simplified and some clauses restructured or consolidated to make them clearer and more accessible for users.
- Updates made to align terminology and processes with current legislation and administrative structures.
- New requirements, such as the online publication of maps and use of more directive language in selected clauses enhance transparency while reinforcing accountability.
- Removal of some clauses or penalties that are not currently used or are covered by other legislation (such as the LLS Act or the Crown Land Management Act 2016).
There are 4 proposed amendments to the LLS Regulation that are considered material based on the NSW Government Guide to Better Regulation.
- Formal designation of Cobar Shire Council as the controlling authority for specified stock watering places through an additional clause added in relation to Stock Watering Places (Part 8, clause 99 in the proposed Regulation).
- Modernising of penalty infringement notice amounts for penalty offences under the LLS Act and Regulation to comply with guidance from the Department of Communities and Justice and to provide LLS with a penalty notice framework that is contemporary and fit-for-purpose.
- Removal of clause 139 of the LLS Regulation to issue penalty notices relating to offences regarding native vegetation clearing to ensure consistency with the regulation-making powers under the LLS Act.
- Removal of the unused stock identification scheme.
The proposed Regulation forms Option 3 in this RIS (to remake the LLS Regulation with changes).
The impacts of the proposed changes are considered further in the sections below.
Options to be assessed
The following 3 options have been identified as the only options considered feasible in this RIS.
- Option 1: allow the LLS Regulation to lapse.
If no actions are taken by the NSW Government, the LLS Regulation will lapse on 1 September 2026 and no new regulation will be made in its place as per the staged repeal process.
- Option 2: LLS Regulation is remade without changes.
The LLS Regulation is remade with only changes required to ensure the LLS Regulation can legally be made and to comply with current legislative drafting conventions. Option 2 is the baseline for assessing Options 1 and 3.
- Option 3: remake the LLS regulation with proposed amendments.
The details of the proposed Regulation (Option 3) are provided in summary above, and in full in Option 3.
Assessment of impacts
In this assessment, the benefits and costs and overall impact of each option has been considered. The costs and benefits of each option are assessed according to:
- The extent to which each option supports the objective and purpose of the LLS Act.
- The cost effectiveness of each option in terms of costs, benefits and impacts on the community, industry, environment and government.
- The extent to which the option contributes to the efficiency of the regulatory system.
The overall impact of each option has been assessed according to the following scale.
| Significant negative impact | Would most likely result in a large decline compared to current state. |
| Negative impact | Would most likely result in some (limited or moderate) decline compared to current state. |
| Neutral | Would have a negligible impact compared to current state. |
| Improvement | Would most likely result in some (limited or moderate) improvement compared to current state. |
| Large improvement | Would most likely result in a large improvement compared to current state. |
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