The New South Wales government has unveiled a proposed shake-up of its strategic planning approach, with a draft discussion paper suggesting the Hunter and Central Coast be treated as a single, combined region.
A New Approach to Regional Boundaries
The draft document, titled A New Approach to Strategic Planning, outlines a revised framework to guide where homes and jobs will be located and how infrastructure is delivered across the state. A significant change is the proposed consolidation of the Lower Hunter-Newcastle and Central Coast areas, which were considered separate regions under the former Liberal government's 'Six Cities' model.
That previous framework was abandoned after the Labor party came to power in 2023. Under the new proposal, the Lower Hunter and Central Coast would be grouped together in one regional plan. The plan also combines three 'Sydney Cities' into a single strategy. Meanwhile, the Upper Hunter is proposed to be grouped with all other regional areas of NSW outside of the major coastal metropolitan zones.
Seeking Better Coordination and Consistency
A spokesperson for the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure stated the revised boundaries aim to "better reflect community functions, improve government coordination, and deliver more consistent and effective planning."
"The proposed Lower Hunter and Central Coast region boundary reflects consistent policy applications across the six relevant local government areas while also removing the duplication that existed between the two previous regional plans," the spokesperson explained.
The discussion paper is currently on public exhibition, with the department welcoming feedback from stakeholders. All submissions will be considered before a final framework is settled. According to the paper's timeline, the Lower Hunter and Central Coast Plan is scheduled for completion in the 2026-27 financial year, following the draft Sydney Plan and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Plan.
Property Council Calls for Clear Metro-Scale Strategy
The Property Council of Australia has responded to the proposal, emphasising the national economic importance of the corridor spanning Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, the Hunter Valley, and the Central Coast. Nuatali Nelmes, the Property Council's Hunter and Central Coast regional director, highlighted that the region forms Australia's largest regional economy, with a gross regional product exceeding that of the ACT, Northern Territory, or Tasmania.
"This region is critical to NSW's housing and economic future. By providing certainty and prioritising enabling infrastructure, we can unlock thousands of homes and hundreds of hectares of employment land," Ms Nelmes said.
She noted that while two of the former 'Six Cities' have been combined, the timeline for the new regional plan remains unclear. The corridor is the nation's seventh-largest urban area and a major gateway for northern NSW. Advancing a metro-scale plan is crucial to align infrastructure, housing, and economic priorities effectively.
The Property Council is advocating for the Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan 2036—created by the former government—to be updated, funded, and expanded in scope to serve as a genuine metropolitan strategy for the entire combined Hunter-Central Coast corridor.
Ms Nelmes stressed that the proposed boundary changes must be supported by clear delivery milestones. "The department is right to call out problems with fragmented regions, misaligned data and overlapping plans. Our communities, councils and investors live that complexity every day," she stated.
She called for a binding timetable for draft and final plans, coupled with a transparent process detailing how these plans will guide critical decisions on rezonings, infrastructure sequencing, and industrial land supply.
