The coast is one of our greatest assets in New South Wales, and home to nearly 85 per cent of the state’s population. It is a diverse landscape with considerable natural, cultural, and economic value. The NSW Government has established a new framework to manage the coastal environment in a sustainable way for the wellbeing of the people of New South Wales. This framework includes the Coastal Management Act 2016, the State Environmental Planning Policy (Coastal Management) 2018, and support and funding to local councils for their coastal management programs. A performance audit on this topic could assess how effectively the department has overseen and implemented key elements of this reform package, and how effectively coastal councils have delivered coastal management programs.