RU3 Forestry and RU6 Transition zoning in NSW

Rural zones in the NSW Standard Instrument LEP. Checked 26 September 2026.

RU3 Forestry and RU6 Transition are the two rural zones with the narrowest purpose, and neither carries enough distinct content to need a page of its own. RU3 is for land managed for forestry: its objectives are to enable development for forestry purposes and other compatible development, and the only use mandated without consent is uses authorised under the Forestry Act 2012 or under Part 5B (Private native forestry) of the Local Land Services Act 2013. Aquaculture must be permitted with consent, and roads with or without consent.

RU6 Transition is a buffer. Its objectives are to protect and maintain land that provides a transition between rural and other land uses of varying intensities or environmental sensitivities, and to minimise conflict. The Standard Instrument mandates nothing without consent, and only dwelling houses, oyster aquaculture and tank-based aquaculture with consent. Councils use RU6 sparingly, on the edges of towns, industrial areas and conservation land.

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What the Standard Instrument says

The objectives and uses every council LEP must carry for these zones, quoted from the Land Use Table. Blank items are left to the LEP.

Standard Instrument Land Use Table

Zone RU3 Forestry

Land managed for forestry. Development is what forestry legislation authorises, plus other uses the LEP finds compatible with it.

1 Objectives of zone

  1. To enable development for forestry purposes.
  2. To enable other development that is compatible with forestry land uses.

Direction: the LEP must permit, with or without consent

  • Roads

2 Permitted without consent

  • Uses authorised under the Forestry Act 2012 or under Part 5B (Private native forestry) of the Local Land Services Act 2013

3 Permitted only with consent

  • Aquaculture

4 Prohibited

Left to the council's LEP.

Standard Instrument Land Use Table

Zone RU6 Transition

A buffer zone between rural land and more intensive or more sensitive uses. It exists to keep incompatible uses apart.

1 Objectives of zone

  1. To protect and maintain land that provides a transition between rural and other land uses of varying intensities or environmental sensitivities.
  2. To minimise conflict between land uses within this zone and land uses within adjoining zones.

Direction: the LEP must permit, with or without consent

  • Roads

2 Permitted without consent

Left to the council's LEP.

3 Permitted only with consent

  • Dwelling houses
  • Oyster aquaculture
  • Tank-based aquaculture

4 Prohibited

Left to the council's LEP.

A council LEP adopts each entry and adds its own objectives, permitted uses and prohibited uses under the Land Use Table directions, so the LEP land use table for the land is the one that applies. Schedule 1 of the LEP, the Housing SEPP and the Codes SEPP can permit development the table does not.

What it means in practice

Where the common questions land, and which instrument decides each of them.

RU3: state forests and private native forestry

Most RU3 land is state forest. Forestry operations there are authorised under the Forestry Act 2012 and need no development consent. Private native forestry approved under Part 5B of the Local Land Services Act 2013 is treated the same way. Dwelling houses are not mandated in RU3, so a house on RU3 land depends on the council's LEP.

RU6: what a transition zone permits

A dwelling house is mandated with consent, usually subject to a minimum lot size, and the Rural Housing Code in the Codes SEPP applies to RU6 lots. Beyond that the LEP decides; the point of the zone is to keep intensive uses out, so land use tables in RU6 tend to be short.

Secondary dwellings

Neither RU3 nor RU6 is a residential zone under the Housing SEPP, so a secondary dwelling in either depends on the council's LEP land use table.

Subdivision

Consent is required under clause 2.6 and the Lot Size Map minimum applies. RU3 land is rarely subdivided; RU6 minimums are set to hold the buffer.

Frequently asked questions

What is RU3 Forestry zoning used for?

Land managed for forestry, most of it state forest. The Standard Instrument permits uses authorised under the Forestry Act 2012 or Part 5B of the Local Land Services Act 2013 without consent, requires aquaculture to be permitted with consent, and leaves other uses to the council's LEP.

Can I build a house on RU3 land?

Only if the council's LEP permits dwelling houses in RU3; the Standard Instrument does not mandate them. Where an LEP does permit them, the minimum lot size and dwelling entitlement clauses still apply.

What is RU6 Transition zoning?

A buffer zone that protects land sitting between rural land and uses of a different intensity or sensitivity, such as a town edge or a conservation area. Dwelling houses are mandated with consent; almost everything else depends on the council's LEP.

Can I build a house on RU6 land?

Dwelling houses are permitted with consent in every RU6 LEP, subject to the Lot Size Map minimum and any dwelling entitlement clause. The Rural Housing Code applies to RU6 lots, so a new dwelling can be complying development on a lot of at least 4,000 m² where it is permissible.

Sources

Standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plans) Order 2006, current version for 1 July 2026 to date. Read on the NSW legislation website on 26 September 2026.

Other instruments

State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021, current version for 11 September 2026 to date; State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, current version for 11 September 2026 to date. Read on 26 September 2026. The translation of the former B and IN zones to the employment zones follows NSW Department of Planning guidance rather than the Standard Instrument text.

Other zones

How to read zoning, height and FSR maps in NSW

Know the zone.
Then read everything that sits over it.

Plynth answers site questions with every control linked to its source: the zone, the LEP land use table, the SEPPs that add to it and the standards on the other maps.

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