FAQs

A Coastal Management Program (CMP) is a long-term strategy for managing the coastal zone. A CMP provides a framework and strategy that will be used to manage our coastline and estuaries. The CMPs will consider:  

Through five stages of development, each CMP will work to determine risks and vulnerabilities associated with coastal hazards, identifying opportunities and options to mitigate these risks through management actions. The CMP will outline how and when each management action will be implemented, the associated costs, and potential funding mechanisms. Stages 1-4 develop and build the business plan in close consultation with the community and state government agency stakeholders. Stage 5 focusses on the implementation of the management actions over a 10-year timeframe.

Stage 1 - The first step is to identify the scope of a CMP through a Scoping Study (Stage 1). The Scoping Study incorporates local priority management issues, reviews existing management plans, identifies information gaps, and identifies how consultation and engagement should take place during preparation of the remaining stage of a CMP. 

Stage 2 – Stage 2 includes gathering technical data, community and stakeholder consultation and addressing the gaps identified through the existing first-pass risk assessment (completed during the Stage 1 Scoping Study). The information collected will assess, characterise and summarise local coastal/estuary processes and hazards to determine the risks and vulnerabilities being faced within the study area which will inform decision-making within Stage 3. 

Stage 3 – Stage 3 includes the confirmation of the strategic direction, identifying and evaluating potential management actions, and further community and stakeholder consultation regarding identifying coastal management actions and determining their viability. Stage 3 will include the development of a draft business plan that will include strategic direction, potential management actions, feasibility evaluation, identify and evaluation of management options, maps and scheduling. 

Stage 4 – This stage involves preparing a draft CMP that will be open for public exhibition over a minimum period of 28 days. Following public exhibition, a final coastal management program is to be prepared that incorporates any necessary amendments as a result of submissions by the general community or public authorities. The CMP will need to meet all statutory and mandatory requirements which will then be submitted to the Minister for Local Government for certification. 

Stage 5 – Stage 5 begins once the CMP has been certified by the Minister for Local Government, allowing Council to begin working collaboratively with our stakeholders, contractors and Government agencies to implement, monitor and evaluate the management actions within the finalised CMP. 

Stage one of the five stage process is to identify the scope of a CMP which results in a Scoping Study.  

In Shoalhaven, Council has prepared a single Citywide Scoping Study for the open coastline and estuaries managed by Council.  

The Citywide Scoping Study:  

Council engaged a team of coastal specialists to prepare the Citywide Scoping Study along with community engagement specialists that undertook community workshops and drop-in sessions.

The Coastal Management Act 2016 (CM Act) defines four coastal management areas that make up the coastal zone; coastal wetlands and littoral rainforests area, coastal vulnerability area, coastal environment area and coastal use area.  

The State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021 (RH SEPP), currently maps three of these areas, using the best available information. The RH SEPP does not yet include maps of the coastal vulnerability area.   

The coastal vulnerability area is the area affected by coastal hazards defined by the CM Act, which include beach erosion, shoreline recession, coastal lake or watercourse entrance instability, coastal inundation, tidal inundation and coastal cliff or slope instability.  

The existing information on coastal hazards within Council’s Shoalhaven Local Environmental Plan 2014 (LEP) and Shoalhaven Development Control Plan 2014 (DCP), continues to apply when considering development applications in the coastal zone.  

The Scoping Study identified improvements to be made to the existing gaps in information that will be addressed within Stages 2 and 3 based on the best available scientific information. As part of the Scoping Study process and Stage 2, information prepared by the State Government including the Sea Level Rise – Science and Synthesis for NSW, The NSW Estuary Tidal Inundation Exposure Assessment and Coastal Erosion in NSW – Statewide Exposure Assessment will be used to assist Council to identify where existing information needs to be reviewed or where additional studies may be required

Indigenous consultation is an important part of the CMP development. There are Indigenous representatives on each of our Council’s three Coastal Management Advisory Committees who are kept updated and involved throughout the progress of each CMP.  

Additionally, the Coastal Management Unit is continually informing, consulting and liaising with our local Jerrinja Tribal representatives and meeting with the Nowra, Jerrinja and Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Councils to improve our relationships and transfer of knowledge and understandings.

To stay up to date with the progress of the CMP and receive updates, you can subscribe to the project page for the individual CMP or general updates by entering your email address under the ‘Stay Informed’ heading. 

For any questions about the CMP process or if you have any feedback, you can contact Council’s Coastal Management Unit by emailing coastal.management@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au  or calling 1300 293 111.