Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek CMP

Council is pleased to announce that the Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek CMP has now been certified by the NSW Minister for Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Heritage.

Since the public exhibition of the CMP (held from 17 February to 17 March 2025) the project team has worked to update the final CMP based on feedback received from the community and State Government Agency stakeholders. The updated CMP was presented to both the CMP Advisory Committee’s and Council to gain endorsement and adoption of the final CMP. Council formally supported the adoption of the CMP on the 10 June 2025.

The CMP was certified by the Minister in October 2025. Following certification, the CMP now enters Stage 5 where Council will implement, monitor, evaluate and report on management actions identified in the final CMP.

Council would like to thank everyone who has supported the development of the CMP by providing feedback during consultation periods and attending information sessions. For all those who provided feedback on the draft CMP during the public exhibition period, you can see how your comments have been considered in finalising the CMP by reviewing the Response to Submissions document.

The final CMP document is available for viewing in the document library.

Council would like to acknowledge that the completion of this CMP was made possible through grant funding provided from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) through the Coast and Estuary Grants Program.

To stay up to date on the implementation of the CMP, subscribe for project updates on this Get Involved Page. If you have questions, please contact the Coastal Management Unit at coastal.management@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au or call Council on 1300 293 111.

Council has now finalised the Response to Submissions (RTS) document for the Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek Coastal Management Program (CMP). Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey or provided feedback during public exhibition. You can see how the project team has considered and responded to your submission here, and whether updates to the CMP document were made.

The final CMP was presented to the Central Coastal Management Program Advisory Committee on 31 March 2025. The Committee endorsed that the Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek CMP is provided to Council for adoption and then submitted to the relevant NSW Minister for certification. Council will work on delivering these next steps over the coming months. Once certified, the final CMP document will be uploaded to the Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek CMP Get Involved page.

To stay up to date on the Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek CMP, subscribe by clicking the Stay Informed icon on the top right of the Get Involved project page.

If you have questions, please contact the Coastal Management Unit at coastal.management@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au(External link) or call Council on 1300 293 111.

Thank you to all the community members who provided feedback on the draft Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek Coastal Management Program (CMP).

During the document exhibition period over 700 people visited the site with 538 people viewing the documents and 34 people downloading the information on the Stage 4 CMP.

Next Steps:

• All community feedback received will be carefully considered and captured in a Response to Submissions report.
• Following this, the CMP will be finalised and presented to Council for consideration, and then to the relevant NSW Miniter for certification.
• Following certification, the CMP will be gazetted and enter Stage 5 where Council will implement, monitor, evaluate and report on management actions identified in the final CMP.

To stay up to date on the CMP, subscribe for project updates on this Get Involved Page.

If you have questions, please contact the Coastal Management Unit at coastal.management@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au or call Council on 1300 293 111.

Have Your Say - Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek CMP Stage 4

The Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek Coastal Management Program (CMP) is now on public exhibition for community consultation until 17 March 2025.

The CMP covers a study area that includes the coastal zone within the Sussex Inlet and St Georges Basin estuary, Swan Lake and Berrara Creek. The draft document encompasses a detailed program that lists the management actions for implementation over the next 10 years, including a schedule of when actions will be planned for implementation, their associated costs, how they will be funded, and who will be responsible for their implementation.

The CMP is now within Stage 4 of the 5-stage process which has been prepared in accordance with the NSW Coastal Management Act 2016. Stage 4 involves public exhibition of the draft CMP document, incorporating details from the technical studies and stakeholder feedback received from previous consultations completed throughout Stages 1 to 3 of the CMP process. The Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek CMP Stage 4 can be found here.

The Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek CMP brochure can be found here.

The draft CMP document and brochure can also be accessed through the document library on the right-hand side of this Get Involved webpage.

Please provide your feedback by completing the Online Survey on this page by 11:59 pm, 17 March 2025.

Alternatively, should you have any questions on the draft CMP, or would like to provide feedback via email, please contact the Coastal Management Unit - coastal.management@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au or call Council on 1300 293 111.

Did you provide feedback during Stages 1-3 of the CMP? See how feedback has been considered by the project team through the development of the draft CMP in the Consultation Summary Document.

Council is pleased to share the Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek Coastal Management Program (CMP) Stage 3 – Identify and Evaluate Options Report.

The purpose of Stage 3 of the CMP development process was to identify and evaluate potential management actions to respond to the risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities determined through Stage 2 of the CMP. As part of Stage 3, a long list of potential management actions were developed and then assessed, ranked, and prioritised by the Project Team using a robust, decision-making framework in line with the NSW Coastal Management Framework. Stage 3 concluded with the identification of a short list of management actions to proceed to Stage 4. The Stage 3 Summary Report also outlines the community and stakeholder engagement completed as part of Stage 3.

The Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake & Berrara Creek CMP Stage 3 – Identify and Evaluate Options Stage 3 CMP Report is published in the 'Document Library' on this web page.

Did you provide feedback during Stage 3 of the CMP? See how your comments have been considered by the project team on the Stage 3 - Closing the Loop Report published in the 'Document Library' on this web page.

If you have questions about the Stage 3 Report, or the CMP development process, please contact the Coastal Management Unit at coastal.management@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au or call Council on 1300 293 111.

Council would like to thank the CMP subscribers and the community for providing input and contributing to the preparation of the Sussex Inlet, St George Basin, Swan Lake and Berrara Creek CMP throughout 2023 and 2024.

Since the consultation held in mid-2023, the Project Team has been busy reviewing and evaluating the management actions proposed for Stage 3 using a robust, decision-making framework in line with the NSW Coastal Management Framework. Council has been discussing the proposed options with State Government Agencies and internal stakeholders to determine the feasibility and viability of the relevant actions for inclusion in the CMP, with consideration given to the amazing community ideas received throughout the CMP process. This process is nearing completion and Council is looking forward to sharing how the feedback received during the Stage 3 consultation has been considered in this process, as well as the Stage 3 Report for the CMP.

Following Stage 3, the project will move to Stage 4 which involves public exhibition of the draft CMP document. Council anticipates the public exhibition to occur in the second half of 2024.

If you have questions about the CMP development process, please contact the Coastal Management Unit at coastal.management@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au or by calling Council on 1300 293 111.

Council is pleased to share the final Stage 2 Reports for the Sussex Inlet, St Georges Basin, Swan Lake and Berrara Creek Coastal Management Programs (CMPs).

The purpose of Stage 2 of the CMP development process is to determine risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities for the CMP study area. Stage 2 is a technical stage that requires gathering the background information, developing a conceptual model, defining the coastal hazards within the area, and modelling and mapping the region to create a risk assessment based on the hazard mapping models. Stage 2 requires the studies identified in the Shoalhaven CMP Scoping Study to be undertaken.

The following Stage 2 reports are published in the 'Document Library' on this web page:

• Stage 2 Synthesis Report
• Tidal and Coastal Inundation Study Report (main document) and Appendices
• Foreshore Erosion Assessment
• Water Quality and Estuary Health Study:
  • St Georges Basin and Sussex Inlet
  • Berrara Creek
  • Swan Lake
• Stage 2 Detailed Risk Assessment
• Swan Lake and Berrara Creek Entrance Management Review

If you have questions about these reports or the CMP development process, you can contact Council via e-mail to the Coastal Management Unit – coastal.management@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au or by calling Council on 1300 293 111.

Council would like to thank the CMP subscribers and the community for providing inputs and contributing to the preparation of our CMPs throughout 2022.

The Project Team is still busy reviewing and finalising the Stage 2 studies for the Sussex Inlet, St George Basin, Swan Lake and Berrara Creek CMP, and Council is optimistic to have them all completed by early 2023. Council held a successful workshop with state agencies to consult and discuss potential management actions for Stage 3 of the CMP, which are now refined by the Project Team. Once this process is completed, an online platform will be used to present and consult the proposed management actions from February 2023 with the community.

The CMP Project Team is wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Council looks forward to continue working with the community on the Sussex Inlet, St George Basin, Swan Lake and Berrara Creek CMP in 2023.