Prescribed wetlands adjustments
The NSW Government has finalised its approach for identification of areas where specific rules apply for new or amended water supply work approvals and trade. The rules ensure that no further water supply demand is placed on these identified wetlands beyond current levels.
After considering feedback received during public exhibition and a subsequent period of comment on a revised approach the prescribed wetland areas identified in the draft water sharing plans will now be limited to internationally significant Ramsar listed sites, areas registered in the Directory of Important Wetlands of Australia, and any wetlands already receiving protection in the current water sharing plans, as these are sites that are already formally recognised.
We thank residents, landholders and stakeholder groups who shared their local knowledge and expertise over the past 5 months during community consultations for the Gwydir, Namoi-Peel, Macquarie/Wambuul-Bogan, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Barwon-Darling draft unregulated water sharing plans. These draft water sharing plans will now include this finalised approach.
The NSW Government has listened to community feedback and revised the draft wetland maps and rules in these 6 draft unregulated water sharing plans listed above. The department will contact people that have raised concerns about specific wetlands proposed as WSP prescribed wetlands Nov 2024 – March 2025 before 1 July 2025 to clarify how those wetlands are classified and the rules that are proposed in the draft plan that may apply.
The finalised approach to wetland maps and rules
The rules proposed for inland water sharing plans aim to improve protection for significant wetlands and apply to new or amended water supply works and trades in certain wetlands. This is to ensure that no further water supply demand is placed on those wetlands beyond current levels.
Draft water sharing plans will be recommended to the Minister for Water to consider for approval, following concurrence from the Minister for the Environment. Approved plans will come into effect by 1 July 2025. These plans will have areas of wetlands shown on the water sharing plan “prescribed wetlands” maps that are already formally recognised sites:
- internationally significant Ramsar listed sites,
- areas registered in the Directory of Important Wetlands of Australia, and
- any wetlands already receiving protection in the current water sharing plans.
Over the next 12 months, we will continue to consult with landholders and the community on wetlands that were identified in the March 2025 revised maps as being from a Floodplain Management Plan Zone D or SP. The Gwydir, Namoi-Peel, Macquarie/Wambuul-Bogan, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Barwon-Darling unregulated water sharing plans will then be amended before June 2026 to add any wetlands identified in these Floodplain Management Plan Zones, that after a closer look, are appropriate to have the wetland water supply work approval and trade rules applied.
Revisiting prescribed wetland maps in other unregulated water sharing plans
We will be revisiting the wetland maps in the 6 unregulated plans that came into effect in July 2024 with more community consultation scheduled for the second half of 2025.
These are the Intersecting Streams, Border Rivers, Castlereagh, Murray, Lower Murray Darling, and North Western unregulated water sharing plans.
Interactive maps show data source for “WSP Prescribed Wetlands”
For the Gwydir, Namoi-Peel, Macquarie/Wambuul-Bogan, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Barwon-Darling unregulated water sharing plans areas we have updated the interactive maps that were out for comment in March 2025. These updated maps now show an additional layer of detail that distinguishes the data sources that were used to identify wetlands as a “WSP prescribed wetland”. These layers are now visible under the term ‘criterion’ when clicking on a WSP prescribed wetland, so you can see if an area marked on the map is Ramsar, DIWA, existing WSP or Floodplain Management Zone D or SP. Wetlands identified by the criterion “Floodplain Management Plan Zone D” or “Floodplain Management Plan Zone SP” will not appear on the wetland maps included in the final draft plan being recommended to the Minister for approval. These areas will be subject to detailed review and consultation before mid-2026.. It’s important to note the maps will not be finalised until water sharing plans are approved by the Minister for Water with the concurrence of the Minister for Environment.
The datasets used in these interactive maps have been prepared by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to support public release of the revised draft WSP Prescribed Wetlands map which forms part of the draft 2025 Water Sharing Plans. The purpose of these web applications is to allow local landholders and other stakeholders to locate and view the revised proposed WSP Prescribed Wetlands in the plan area following a period of public exhibition between November 2024 and February 2025. The dataset is based on best available information and is subject to change following consultation. The department does not warrant and is not liable for the use of this material as per the licensed sharing conditions CC-BY 4.0
The water sharing plan prescribed wetlands map will not be finalised until water sharing plans are approved by the Minister for Water with the concurrence of the Minister for Environment.
Previous consultation - November 2024 to March 2025
In November 2024, the Gwydir, Namoi-Peel, Macquarie/Wambuul-Bogan, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Barwon-Darling draft unregulated water sharing plans went on public exhibition.
Following important community feedback, the department updated the areas included on the draft prescribed wetlands maps in each of the draft plans and opened up further comment on these revised maps until 23 March 2025.
A webinar was held on 12 March 2025 to give an update on the revised draft prescribed wetland maps for the 6 draft unregulated plans.
Supporting documents
March 2025
- Revised protections for inland NSW wetlands fact sheet - March 2025 PDF, 1112.82 KB
- Revised protections for inland NSW wetlands FAQs - March 2025 PDF, 118.41 KB
- Webinar recording wetlands webinar 12 March 2025
- Revised wetlands webinar presentation - March 2025 PDF, 2658.5 KB