Best Practice Land Use Planning

The last ten decades has seen a slow, but steady decline in the amount of land used for agriculture in Australia and a shift towards more intensified production. The loss of agricultural land in Australia is a key concern as the world aims to feed a growing population on both a domestic and international level. As a key driver of economic growth, especially in rural and regional communities the recent 'Roadmap' released by the National Farmers' Federation aims to make agriculture the next $100 billion industry in Australia. It is therefore vital that land use planning mechanisms in Australia recognise the value of the sector.

Best practice land use planning is essential to balancing a growing population and their food and fibre needs, with housing and infrastructure requirements. In summary, this report:

examines current land use planning laws in Australia reviews past research on land use planning and highlights recommendations that have previously been made presents a series of case studies from various agricultural industries and the challenges they face and how they are being addressed looks at international jurisdictions and how other countries are dealing with land use planning issues, and presents a series of evidence-based, best practice recommendations for land use planning regulation and recommendations for future research and development activities that look at best practice land use planning in Australia.

A series of interviews with key stakeholders involved in land use planning contributed to the development of recommendations for best practice land use planning regulation and future research and development. These recommendations are hypotheses based on the information available and require more in-depth research including an economic analysis before being implemented.