SEPPs: The State Policies That Can Override Local Rules

State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) are made by the state government and apply across NSW. Where a SEPP conflicts with a local LEP, the SEPP generally wins — which is why experienced developers often look to state policy first.

The Housing SEPP (2021) is the big one for residential work: it enables secondary dwellings and dual occupancies as complying development in many zones, supports boarding houses and build-to-rent, and contains the seniors housing provisions that unlock density on otherwise constrained sites.

Other workhorse SEPPs include Transport and Infrastructure (development near rail, roads and utilities), Resilience and Hazards (coastal, contaminated and hazardous land), Biodiversity and Conservation, and the Codes SEPP that powers exempt and complying development.

SEPPs change more frequently than LEPs, and each change can open or close pathways overnight. The 2023–2025 housing reforms, for example, substantially altered dual occupancy and terrace permissibility in low-density zones across NSW.

Knowing which SEPP applies to your site — and what it permits beyond the local rules — is often the difference between a feasible project and a dead end. This is a core focus of our feasibility consultations.