Local communities are concerned about safety and amenity issues caused by property left unattended on public footpaths, roads and in parks and reserves.

In response to these concerns, on 1 November 2022, following consultation with key stakeholders, the NSW Government commenced new Public Spaces Unattended Property laws. These new laws repeal and replace outdated Impounding laws.

The new laws create stronger incentives for owners, operators and others to attend to property in public that they are responsible for within reasonable, risk-based timeframes with notice, or face regulatory action.

The Public Spaces Unattended Property laws provide further direction for industry to be responsible for their property in public.
For supermarkets and others that operate sharing services, a Code of Practice sets out minimum standards for Class 2 items (sharing service items) in addition to the laws in the Act and regulations.

For further information on the new laws please refer to the below documents and read our Frequently asked questions.