Key Facts:
- Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed proposed NSW Government industrial land planning reforms, which aim to strengthen protections, streamline approvals, and improve planning certainty for industrial land across regional NSW, the Central Coast and Lower Hunter.
- CCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael Kilgariff emphasised that industrial land is essential for facilities such as concrete batching plants, which must operate close to construction sites to maintain efficient and affordable material supply.
- The organisation warned that relocating industrial operations further from the communities they serve increases transport costs, reduces productivity, and makes construction more expensive, stressing that planning decisions must account for the long-term needs of essential industries.
- CCAA highlighted the particular importance of protecting extractive resources and quarry operations, noting that quarries cannot simply relocate when access is lost, and that lengthy approvals and land use conflicts can significantly affect material availability and costs.
- CCAA called for the reforms to be part of a broader planning framework, including a dedicated Heavy Construction Materials Plan, and confirmed it will engage with the NSW Government as the reforms progress.
Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed the NSW Government’s proposed industrial land planning reforms, highlighting the importance of protecting strategically significant industrial land and the construction materials supply chains supporting housing and infrastructure delivery.
The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has released proposals to strengthen industrial land protections, streamline approvals and improve planning certainty, alongside draft industrial land categorisation for regional NSW, the Central Coast and Lower Hunter.
CCAA has previously advocated for stronger protection of industrial land, quarry resources and critical infrastructure in its submission to the NSW Government’s strategic planning framework.
CCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael Kilgariff said the reforms represented a positive step towards more coordinated industrial land planning.
“Industrial land is essential to our cities and regional communities, supporting critical facilities such as concrete batching plants that supply materials for housing and infrastructure,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“These facilities need to operate close to construction sites, and protecting them from incompatible development is essential to maintaining efficient, affordable material supply.
“We welcome the Government’s focus on reducing land use conflicts and providing greater certainty for businesses investing in the State’s future.”
The proposed reforms include measures to manage sensitive development near significant industrial land, improve consistency across planning controls and expand streamlined development assessment pathways.
Mr Kilgariff said protecting established industrial operations was particularly important for the cement, concrete and aggregates industry.
“Our industry depends on strategically located facilities, quarry resources and efficient freight networks to supply construction projects across NSW,” he said.
“When industrial operations are pushed further from the communities they serve, transport costs increase, productivity suffers and construction becomes more expensive.
“Planning decisions must recognise the long-term needs of essential industries and ensure new development does not compromise existing operations.”
CCAA also highlighted the importance of protecting extractive resources and providing certainty for quarry expansions, replacement resources and new developments.
“Quarries are constrained by the location of suitable resources and cannot simply relocate when access is lost,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“Lengthy approvals, land use conflicts and restrictions on heavy vehicle movements can significantly affect material availability and costs.”
Mr Kilgariff said the reforms should form part of a broader approach to planning for NSW’s construction materials needs.
“CCAA has consistently advocated for stronger protection of strategic quarry resources, efficient approval pathways and a dedicated Heavy Construction Materials Plan,” he said.
“Getting the planning framework right will strengthen supply chains, provide investment certainty and help contain housing and infrastructure costs.”
CCAA will review the proposals in detail and engage with the NSW Government as the reforms progress.
About us:
About CCAA CCAA is the voice of Australia’s heavy construction materials industry, an industry that contributes $20.7 billion to GDP and supports 112,970 jobs nationwide. CCAA members produce most of Australia’s cement, concrete and aggregates, which are essential to the nation’s building and construction sectors.
