Upper Namoi Valley floodplain

The plan commenced on 7 June 2019 and is due for extension or replacement on 30 June 2030.

The department road tested the major concepts of the plan with key stakeholders during a targeted (informal) consultation process over the period Thursday, 26 February 2015 to Thursday, 21 May 2015. Stakeholders from a range of industry groups—including landholders, Aboriginal communities, environmental interests, consultants and government—were invited to attend workshops in Gunnedah and Narrabri. These workshops introduced attendees to the main elements of the draft plan, including the boundary, management zones, and the rules for granting or amending flood work approvals.

The feedback received from targeted consultation was considered by an Interagency Regional Panel prior to the preparation of the plan for public exhibition.

Community input into the preparation of the plan was invited during public exhibition over the period Monday, 19 September to Friday, 28 October 2016. Late submissions to public exhibition were accepted until Friday, 6 January 2017. The department invited input via a media release, the Have Your Say portal, newspaper advertisements and notification letters to key stakeholders and landholders whose properties within Management Zones AD, AID and D within the plan area. The department also hosted individual appointments with interested stakeholders to provide greater detail about how the rules and assessment criteria would be applied in each management zone. Appointments were hosted in Quirindi, Gunnedah, Boggabri, Spring Ridge and Tambar Springs in September and October 2016 and in January 2017.

All submissions received during the exhibition period were considered by an Interagency Regional Panel prior to the preparation of the plan for commencement.

• Draft rural floodplain management plans: Technical manual (PDF, 2950 KB)
  A general description of the method employed for development the preparation of floodplain management plans under the Water Management Act 2000.
• Draft rural floodplain management plans: Background document (PDF, 6394.89 KB) and Appendices (PDF, 8290.93 KB)
  A detailed description of how the method presented in the Technical manual has been applied across the Upper Namoi valley floodplain and should be read in conjunction with the Technical manual.
• Floodplain management under the Water Management Act 2000: A guide to the changes (PDF, 143.12 KB)
  A guide to the transition of floodplain management planning from the Water Act 1912 to the Water Management Act 2000 in NSW.
• An overview of floodplain management plans under the Water Management Act 2000 (PDF, 145.17 KB)
  A general, plain English explanation of the key provisions of floodplain management plans.

Floodplain management plans in the northern Basin were prepared under the NSW Healthy Floodplains Project which is funded by the Australian Government’s Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure Program as part of the implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in NSW.