1. Implementing the SIA guideline in New South Wales
IAIA conference
29 April – 2 May 2019, Brisbane
Session title: Institutionalising SIA practice within government decision-making
Dr Richard Parsons,
NSW Department of Planning and Environment

2. The NSW SIA guideline: Evolutionary or revolutionary?
Released in Sept 2017
Widely welcomed as ‘leading practice’
But is it revolutionary or evolutionary?
Either way, what forces are influencing its implementation in practice?

3. Forces supporting the guideline (‘revolution’?)
NSW Department of Planning and Environment:
Departmental leadership
A collaborative approach to developing and implementing the guideline
The quality of the guideline itself
NSW communities:
pressure and shifting expectations
Industry:
desire for more clarity and certainty

4. Forces inhibiting the guideline (‘evolution’?)
Inhibiting force
Internal (government) perceptions
External (industry) perceptions
Resistance to change
“We’ve always been doing SIA.”
‘red tape’
Discomfort with ‘non-technical’ sciences
Technocratic view of IA as a quantitative, objective exercise
Time pressures
Improving SIA conflicts with desire to reduce assessment times
More work will delay approvals
Lack of professional capacity
Assumption that biophysical scientists and town planners can do SIA

5. Shifting the balance Suggested response Inhibiting force
Resistance to change
Refer to landmark Rocky Hill judgement – significance of: community cohesion & character, sense of place, mental health & wellbeing, fears & aspirations, distributive equity.
Provide practical resources.
Develop a collaborative culture around SIA.
Discomfort with ‘non-technical’ sciences
Time pressures
Be honest and realistic.
Highlight benefits of doing SIA well.
Lack of professional capacity
Insist on high standards.
Support SIA practitioners to improve practice.

6. Dr Richard Parsons