The Local Environmental Plan (LEP) Making Guideline is the NSW Government's foundational planning document – the definitive resource for anyone involved in shaping how land is used across New South Wales.
Published by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure in July 2026, it sets out the end-to-end process for preparing, assessing, and finalising planning proposals: from the earliest scoping conversations through to the moment a new LEP comes into force.
This isn't a niche technical manual. It's the document that councils, developers, consultants, and communities reach for when navigating one of the most consequential decisions in the planning system.
Every stage. Every page:
A single, fully designed publication (click here to access) covering the complete LEP making lifecycle: five procedural modules (with requests and reviews stages), a Scoping Report Template, Planning Proposal Framework, Consultation Guidance, Standard Study Requirements, Forms and templates.
Some documents get read once. This one gets opened every time. Now it belongs to the people who use it – exactly as it should.
Key design features:
Process made visible
Each module opens with a visual process flowchart mapping actions, responsibilities, and decision points across the LEP making lifecycle. These diagrams translate what could otherwise be dense statutory language into something a council officer, proponent, or consultant can follow at a glance.
Dual-audience design
The document serves both operational and reference purposes – practitioners who know the system well and new entrants who don't. Typography, hierarchy, and callout boxes were deployed deliberately to layer information, surfacing the essentials without burying the detail.
Brand alignment
Designed within the NSW Government's visual identity system, the publication reflects DPHI's commitment to accessible, professional government communications
– consistent in tone, clear in structure, and credible in presentation.
Our approach:
Working closely with planners, legal teams, and policy writers within DPHI, every design decision served one goal: a document that government, industry, and communities can actually use – every time a planning proposal lands on a desk somewhere in NSW.