Inland unregulated water sharing plan prescribed wetlands

Water sharing plan (WSP) prescribed wetlands maps form part of the water sharing plans for unregulated river water sources in inland NSW. They identify wetlands where specific rules apply to:

• new or amended water supply work approvals 
• water trades. 

The rules aim to ensure that water demand on the identified wetlands does not increase beyond current levels.

Wetlands included on WSP prescribed wetland maps are limited to:

• internationally significant Ramsar-listed sites
• selected wetlands listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands of Australia
• wetlands already protected under previous water sharing plan
• selected areas within floodplain management plan management zones D/D1 or SP.

For more information about how wetlands were identified and the rules that apply, see the Wetlands policy position statement 2026 for inland water sharing plans.

Consultation starting October 2026

The NSW Government announced its final approach to water sharing plan prescribed wetland maps on 9 April 2025. Consultation is now commencing to inform landholders and water users about changes required in inland unregulated water sharing plans.

Consultation will be rolled out progressively, beginning in the Lachlan Valley on 6 October 2026.

The consultation approach differs depending on when a water sharing plan was remade.

Plans remade in 2025/2026

This includes:

• Namoi and Peel
• Gwydir
• Murrumbidgee
• Macquarie/ Wambuul Bogan
• Barwon-Darling
• Lachlan

For most plan areas, consultation focuses on wetlands identified through floodplain management plan zone D/D1 or special protection (SP) zones.

In the Lachlan plan area, consultation on additional prescribed wetlands is being undertaken alongside Stage 2 consultation for the draft Lachlan Valley Floodplain Management Plan. This allows landholders to consider proposed floodplain management zones and prescribed wetland mapping at the same time.

Following consultation, prescribed wetland maps may be updated to include suitable wetlands identified within these floodplain management zones.

Summary of proposed changes to the Water Sharing Plan for the Lachlan Unregulated River Water Sources 2026

The Minister for Water is planning to amend the Water Sharing Plan for the Lachlan Unregulated River Water Sources 2026, in accordance with the Water Management Act 2000 (the WM Act). This amendment only relates to the WSP Prescribed Wetlands Map.

It is proposed to amend the WSP Prescribed Wetlands Map to include additional wetlands which reflect a subset of the proposed management zone SP areas in the draft Floodplain Management Plan for the Lachlan Valley Floodplain 2027. This subset has been developed by ensuring the proposed areas have previously held water for at least 3-4 months and are not located on a named river or creek.

For more information on how the new wetlands have been identified, please refer to the Wetlands policy position statement 2026.

To view the proposed additional wetland areas, please see the interactive spatial map. (For consultation purposes, the map also includes the draft Lachlan Valley Floodplain Management Plan layers.)

Download the Lachlan summary of proposed changes fact sheet

This includes:

• Intersecting Streams
• Border Rivers
• Castlereagh
• Murray
• Lower Murray Darling Unregulated
• North Western Unregulated and Fractured Rock.

Consultation on these plans will include:

• removing wetlands that do not meet one of the inclusion categories outlined above
• introducing off-river pool rules in plan areas where they do not already apply.

Supporting documents

September 2026

Plans remade in 2025/26

The interactive maps for the Gwydir, Namoi-Peel, Macquarie/Wambuul-Bogan, Murrumbidgee and Barwon-Darling unregulated water sharing plans areas show the data sources used to identify wetlands as a WSP prescribed wetland. 

When you click on a wetland, the criterion field identifies why it has been mapped, including:

• Ramsar 
• DIWA 
• existing WSP prescribed wetland 
• floodplain management plan zone D/D1 or SP.

Beginning in the Lachlan, we are now progressively consulting with affected landholders on wetlands identified by the criterion ‘floodplain management plan zone D/D1 or SP’.

View the Lachlan interactive spatial map. (For consultation purposes, the map also includes the draft Lachlan Valley Floodplain Management Plan layers).

Plans remade in 2024

Interactive spatial maps will be published here to view the updated WSP prescribed wetlands maps for the following areas:

• Intersecting Streams
• Border Rivers
• Castlereagh
• Murray
• Lower Murray Darling Unregulated
• North Western Unregulated and Fractured Rock.

About the interactive spatial maps

These interactive maps have been prepared by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to support public consultation on the draft updated water sharing plan prescribed wetlands maps.

They allow landholders and stakeholders to locate and view draft mapping in their local area.
The mapping is based on the best available information and may change following consultation. The department does not warrant and is not liable for the use of this material as per the licensed sharing conditions CC-BY 4.0.

Amendments to the water sharing plan prescribed wetlands maps will not take effect until they are approved by the Minister for Water, with the concurrence of the Minister for the Environment.

The introduction of wetlands maps and associated water sharing plan (WSP) rules was first consulted on during the public exhibition of draft replacement inland unregulated water sharing plans in 2024.

Since then, the method used to identify wetlands for inclusion on wetland maps has been refined based on feedback, further analysis and policy development.

The information and consultation materials below are provided for historical reference only.

What changed?

The final approach to wetland maps, announced in April 2025, differs from the approach used in WSP remade in 2024.

Key changes include:

• WSP prescribed wetlands maps now use wetlands identified from 4 key sources only.
• Rules for water extraction, works and water trades in off-river pools (a type of wetland) have been expanded to apply in inland WSP areas where they did not previously apply.
• Wetland terminology has changed. The term ‘significant wetlands’, used in plans remade in 2024, has been replaced with ‘WSP prescribed wetlands’. This change will be incorporated into the 2024 plans through an amendment in 2026.

Supporting documents

Reports summarising community feedback on the draft water sharing plans and the revised wetlands approach released in March 2025 are available on the individual water sharing plan pages.

Fact sheets, FAQs, webinar materials and consultation resources about prescribed wetlands and proposed water sharing plan rules are available below.