Review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016

On 17 March 2026, the NSW Government introduced the Crown Land Management Amendment (Statutory Review) Bill 2026 (the Bill) to the NSW Parliament to amend the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (CLM Act).

The Bill proposes reforms to the CLM Act that will deliver a modern, sustainable and inclusive framework for managing Crown land – one that can adapt to changing circumstances and community expectations. 

The proposed reforms to the Act have 3 goals:

• maximising public value from Crown land, focusing on ensuring that Crown land continues to serve the community's current and future needs, providing positive outcomes and benefits
• building stronger, more capable Crown land managers by recognising the diverse nature of Crown land managers and equipping them with the guidance, support and autonomy necessary to perform their roles effectively
• embracing modern ways of working that will help us move away from outdated legislative provisions and embrace contemporary standards, technology and governance practices.

You can view the Bill and keep updated on its status by visiting the Crown Land Management Amendment (Statutory Review) Bill 2026 webpage on the NSW Parliament website.

The Bill was informed by the findings and recommendations of the statutory review of the Act (see Statutory review process below for more information). The final report of the review was tabled in Parliament on 19 March 2026.

You can view the Statutory review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 – Final report on the NSW Parliament website.

The Crown Land Management Act 2016 (CLM Act), which commenced on 1 July 2018, provides for the administration and management of Crown land in NSW. The Minister for Lands and Property, and his delegates within the Crown Lands division of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (the Department) has primary responsibility for Crown land.

Under the Act, the responsible Minister (the Minister for Lands and Property) must undertake a review of the Act as soon as possible after 5 years from its commencement.

The Crown Lands division of the Department was appointed by the Minister to undertake the review to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives.

The review helped us understand how well the Act is working and identify reforms that could strengthen and improve management of the Crown estate.

The review involved:

• undertaking a comprehensive review of the current Act
• preparing and releasing a discussion paper for public consultation
• analysing submissions received
• completing a final report on the outcome of the review
• Government consideration of the final report
• tabling the final report of the review findings in the NSW Parliament. You can view the Statutory review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 – Final report on the NSW Parliament website.

Over 100 responses were received during the consultation and these fed into the findings and recommendations of the review. Follow up discussions with key stakeholder groups and government agencies were also held, as needed, to gain a more in-depth understanding of issues raised in submissions or to discuss ideas and opportunities in further detail.

The outcomes of the review confirmed that the policy objectives and the terms of the Act remain valid and appropriate. However, the review determined that there is still room to improve the Act so that the Crown land management system and the Crown estate is equipped to meet future challenges and take advantage of emerging opportunities.

Thank you to everyone who responded to the public consultation on the Statutory Review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 Discussion Paper (PDF, 878 KB).

We valued all submissions and considered all feedback in the preparation of the review report.

If you have any questions about the review, submit an enquiry through the Customer Enquiries form.