29 Jan 2025

The NSW Government released its Industrial Lands Action Plan last week. This is an important first step to deliver the long-awaited industrial lands policy update to respond to the critical under-supply of serviced employment-zoned land in NSW.

The Plan aims to inform a more coordinated approach to planning and investment. It provides the framework to re-focus on the important role that industrial land and industrial development plays in the NSW economy and property sector.

Public engagement on the policy is intended to occur in early 2025.

The NSW Government has identified four key actions:

  1. Deliver a Statewide Policy for Industrial Lands: This will be based on the categorisation of areas and precincts as state significant, regionally significant, locally significant, and other industrial lands.
  2. Investigate Planning and Policy Interventions: These will support the intensification of state and regionally significant industrial lands.
  3. Finalise and Release a Statewide Approach for an Industrial Lands Supply Pipeline: This aims to ensure a sustainable pipeline of development-ready industrial land.
  4. Create an Employment Land Development Program: This program will manage supply and coordinate infrastructure investment.

Public engagement on the policy is intended to occur in early 2025.


Key Impacts and Opportunities for Your Business

The policy highlights the critical need for well-located, serviced, and competitive industrial lands to address current challenges such as escalating land values, almost zero vacancy rates, and increased operational costs for businesses. By securing and actively managing significant industrial lands, the policy aims to create jobs close to homes, support the construction industry in delivering housing, and drive business investment.

For industrial landowners, this policy presents a unique opportunity to leverage state and regionally significant industrial lands for future growth. The categorisation of industrial lands will provide greater certainty and flexibility, enabling more strategic planning and investment decisions. Additionally, the focus on creating a sustainable supply pipeline and coordinating infrastructure investment will help mitigate cost-of-living pressures and support long-term economic development.

Read more about the policy here.

How Can Urbis Support You?

Urbis has extensive experience in the NSW industrial, logistics and data centre sectors, providing us with a strong understanding of issues which are impacting the delivery of projects in a cost-effective and timely manner.

We have identified solutions and priority actions to advocate for change and improve outcomes for industrial projects within NSW. The release of the Industrial Lands Action Plan provides a welcome opportunity to engage with Government to share these ideas and make meaningful change with significant benefits for the NSW economy.

If you, or your organisation would like to discuss how these initiatives could be incorporated into your strategic plans or investment considerations, contact one of our Industrial experts to discuss the implications on your portfolio.