PIA NSW 2026 Conference Theme

Transition in Action: Planners Leading NSW’s Shared Future 

Transition in Action: Planners Leading NSW’s Shared Future 

NSW is navigating a decade of profound transition - across housing, infrastructure, energy, climate resilience, economic identity, governance and technology - while expectations of the planning system continue to rise. Pressures once framed as “future challenges” are now immediate realities across metropolitan, regional and rural NSW. 

This conference celebrates planning as a profession that turns uncertainty into opportunity. From delivering well‑located housing and optimising infrastructure investment, to guiding major projects and supporting community‑led change, planners are central to shaping NSW’s shared future. 

The Hunter - a region defined by continual reinvention - provides a powerful setting to explore how transitions can be constructive, coordinated and community‑centred. With growing towns, major infrastructure corridors, energy transformation and long‑term opportunities such as high‑speed rail, the region exemplifies the need for integrated land use, infrastructure and economic planning. 

Across NSW, planners are increasingly becoming the profession of hope, acting as conveners, interpreters, implementers and problem‑solvers - working alongside government agencies, infrastructure providers, industry, communities and First Nations to transform contested futures into shared ones. 

The 2026 PIA NSW Conference invites strategic and statutory planners, development assessment practitioners, infrastructure and service providers, industry, government agencies, community organisations and aligned professions to engage with these challenges. 

Transition, Self Determination and Local Agency  

How local government, communities, First Nations groups and regional institutions exercise genuine influence in shaping transition - across strategic planning, infrastructure delivery and development assessment. 

This decade of transition is reshaping not only policy outcomes and expectations, but the planning system itself. As reforms roll out across NSW, planners must navigate new pathways, responsibilities and accountability demands, while strengthening trust, legitimacy and shared decision‑making. 

Local agency is exercised not only through strategic planning, but through infrastructure prioritisation, statutory decision‑making and development assessment. Technology, data and emerging tools — including AI‑supported engagement, analysis and assessment — are transforming how evidence, local knowledge and community voices contribute to planning decisions. 

Key focus areas:

• Legislative and regulatory readiness for the decade of transition 
• Lessons from the first wave of reforms (e.g. REZs, housing reforms, new assessment pathways) 
• Practical tools for influence — from strategic design to development consent conditions 
• Genuine shared decision‑making with communities and First Nations 
• Balancing political, technical, infrastructure and community expectations 
• Strengthening local narratives and place identity during change 
• Future skills and tools for empowered local agency, including data, digital mapping and AI‑assisted decision processes 

Things to think about:

• Are our planning and environmental laws fit for the transition? 
• What further reforms are required to support the transition across strategic planning and development assessment? 
• What tools can drive local government’s paradigm shift from “done to” toward “done with” and “done by”? 
• How could shared governance models across communities, First Nations, councils, infrastructure providers and industry function in practice? 
• How can technology and AI support inclusive community influence and transparent decision‑making? 

Image: Destination NSW

Image: Destination NSW

The Transitioning Economy and Land Futures

How economic transition, infrastructure investment, land use change and workforce shifts are reshaping regions and communities - and how planners, infrastructure providers and industry can work together to deliver resilient, equitable futures. 

Transition is most visible where land use, infrastructure investment, economic change and community wellbeing intersect. Planners are managing development pressures arising from rezoning proposals, major infrastructure projects, energy systems, workforce shifts and cumulative social and economic impacts. 

Decisions about land supply, infrastructure capacity, employment land and housing location are increasingly interconnected. Emerging technologies - including digital modelling, real‑time data and AI‑supported scenario testing - are reshaping how planners and their partners analyse risk, opportunity and long‑term land and economic futures. 

Focus Areas: 

• Social, workforce and community‑led transition 
• Infrastructure‑enabled growth: transport, utilities, open space and community facilities 
• Workforce, skills and land supply alignment 
• Economic diversification beyond renewables 
• Renewal pathways tailored to small towns and vulnerable communities 
• Changing pressures on industrial, employment and productive landscapes 
• Development assessment challenges associated with major projects and cumulative change 
• Practical frameworks for monitoring, adaptation and learning 
• Tech‑enabled transition: data, modelling and AI tools helping planners assess, predict and adapt 

Things to think about:

• How can the transition be linked to workforce needs, skills development and education? 
• What are the key impacts of transition on small towns, vulnerable communities and local businesses? 
• How can new sectors be integrated into long‑term economic and land use renewal? 
• How can infrastructure planning and investment support equitable regional outcomes? 
• How do we plan for cumulative change across land use, infrastructure and communities? 
• How could adaptive frameworks for learning and course‑correction function in practice? 
• What skills, partnerships and planning technologies are needed to guide land and economic futures through rapid transformation? 

Land Use Under Pressure: Competing Needs, Limited Space 

How planners make decisions when housing, infrastructure, agriculture, biodiversity, tourism, hazards and climate resilience compete for increasingly scarce land.

Development pressures are increasingly intersecting with environmental constraints, climate risk, infrastructure capacity, agricultural needs and economic activities. Trade‑offs are unavoidable and must be managed in ways that are defensible, transparent and trusted. 

Strategic planning and development assessment both play critical roles. New digital tools — including hazard mapping, infrastructure capacity analysis, climate modelling and AI‑assisted assessment - are reshaping how options are explored, impacts forecast and decisions communicated. 

Focus Areas: 

• Delivering housing supply without losing regional character or amenity 
• Infrastructure capacity as a constraint on growth and land use 
• Balancing tourism, events and community needs 
• Protecting productive landscapes and biodiversity 
• Climate‑resilient and hazard‑aware settlement planning 
• Water security and land capability constraints 
• Development assessment in constrained and contested landscapes 
• Using technology and AI to understand trade‑offs, forecast impacts and support transparent decision‑making 

Things to think about: 

• How can we deliver housing while protecting and enhancing amenity and infrastructure capacity? 
• What lessons can be drawn from landscapes with high tourism demand or environmental constraint? 
• How can inter‑regional competition for land, water and infrastructure be managed? 
• What are best practices in hazard‑informed planning and assessment? 
• How can system‑wide approaches better integrate biodiversity, agriculture, housing and growth? 
• How can data and AI be used to support fairer, clearer land use conflict resolution? 

Image: Destination NSW