Nature conservation

Protected areas

Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area - draft plans for walking tracks and other facilities

Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area lies just south of Sydney. It is made up of a number of parcels of land, stretching along the Illawarra Escarpment from Stanwell Tops in the north, to Wongawilli in the South.

The state conservation area has a network of walking tracks and management trails, as well as other visitor facilities such as lookouts, parks and cafes.

These facilities were developed over a long period, without a comprehensive plan. There are also safety issues along some steep sections of the escarpment, particularly from Austinmer to Bulli Tops. Some walking tracks in this area have been closed, due to the risk of landslides, rockfalls and other hazards.

The NPWS wishes to:

  • improve the network of walking tracks and other visitor facilities in Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area
  • integrate this network with other tracks, facilities and public transport services outside the state conservation area
  • consider the feasibility of a continuous escarpment walking track, extending from Royal National Park to Mount Kembla.

To do this, the NPWS has commissioned:

  • a master plan for a proposed network of walking tracks in Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area, excluding the Austinmer-Bulli Tops tracks
  • a concept plan covering walking tracks and associated facilities within the Austinmer-Bulli Tops precinct of the state conservation area.

You can download both of these documents below. The documents are on public exhibition from 5 November to 4 December 2005. During this period, you can comment on each of the documents by sending us a submission. You can do this by either filling out an online submission form, or sending a letter to the address(es) below.

1. Master plan

This master plan covers walking tracks in all areas of Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area excluding Austinmer-Bulli Tops tracks. The master plan is available in two versions. If you have a broadband internet connection, you may wish to download the complete 1.9MB file:


If you have a dial-up internet connection, you can download sections of the master plan:

Comment on the master plan

All submissions must be received by 4 December 2005. To send us a submission, you can either:


2. Concept plan

This concept plan covers walking tracks only in the Austinmer-Bulli Tops area.


Comment on the concept plan

All submissions must be received by 4 December 2005. To send us a submission, you can either:


Making a submission - privacy information

Please note, that for the purposes of the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act, any submissions on these documents, including your personal details, will be a matter of public record and will be stored in the NPWS records system.

If you don't want to have your personal details disclosed to members of the public once the plan has been adopted, you can prevent this. Just indicate in your submission that you wish your personal details to remain confidential to the NPWS and not available for public access.

More information about privacy


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Page last updated: 28 February 2011