State Planning Policy 2.9 Water and the Planning for Water Guidelines – Training session for development industry

In Person

Date: 25/03/2026|Time: 2pm - 5pm|Course Format: In Person|Venue: Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, 140 William St, Perth

This training will deepen your expertise and give you the clarity and confidence to navigate water management requirements with ease. You’ll walk away with a stronger understanding of:

The real purpose behind key policy objectives and desired outcomes—and how they shape better planning and development outcomes.
Your vital role as a development manager in WA’s water management framework, including where you can add the most value.
Essential water cycle concepts, tools and design solutions that every development professional should have in their toolkit.
How to ensure policy measures are translated into high‑quality, compliant planning proposals.
Optimising the outcomes from your interdisciplinary team – understanding what water management means to your planner, engineer, hydrologist and landscape architect, so you can ensure the achievement of your development vision.

Course Summary

UDIA WA in partnership with New Waterways is delivering a free training session designed to strengthen your understanding of what’s changed about the updated SPP 2.9 and Planning for Water Guidelines.

The review of the water policy suite has been successfully completed, and the revised State Planning Policy 2.9 Water (SPP 2.9) and the Planning for Water Guidelines were published on 16 December 2025 and were operational from 18 December 2025. These new instruments replace the following policies and guidelines:

SPP 2.1 Peel-Harvey Coastal Plain Catchment
SPP 2.2 Gnangara Groundwater Protection
SPP 2.3 Jandakot Groundwater Protection
SPP 2.7 Public Drinking Water Source Policy
SPP 2.9 Water Resources
SPP 2.10 Swan-Canning River System
Policy measures that address flooding within SPP 3.4 Natural Hazards and Disasters
Government Sewerage Policy
Government Sewerage Policy Explanatory Guidelines
Better Urban Water Management

This is your opportunity to understand what’s changed about the updated SPP 2.9 and Planning for Water Guidelines. This will include key policy objectives, outcomes and implementation mechanisms, as well as the outcomes of the review including the range of comments received and changes to previous policy and guidelines.

This practical session is crafted exclusively for development industry in Western Australia.

These sessions are delivered as in-person events and meet the general requirements for professional development. If you are unable to attend in person, please register your interest in an online session by emailing us at info@newwaterways.org.au.

Additional information is available on the DPLH website here. https://www.planning.wa.gov.au/state-planning-policy-2.9-water

Presenters

Shelley Shepherd

Program Manager | New WAter Ways

Shelley is the Program Manager of New WAter Ways, the WA capacity building organisation for water sensitive urban design. It is governed by DPLH, DBCA, DWER, WALGA, UDIA and the Water Corporation.

Shelley has over 20 years’ experience in environmental and water planning, gained from working within both State Government and the private sector. Shelley assisted the DPLH in the update of State Planning Policy 2.9 Water, including preparation of the Planning for Water Guidelines.

Shelley is also a Director of Urbaqua, a not-for-profit environmental organisation that works to support and deliver water and environmentally sensitive outcomes in Western Australia. She is a strong advocate for the ability of the land use planning system to deliver innovative development outcomes and liveable communities which respond to environmental and climatic conditions.