E4 General Industrial zone in NSW

E4 is a zone in the NSW Standard Instrument, and 124 of the 147 council Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) use it. This page shows what the zone is for and what those councils allow in it, counted from each council’s own land use table.

Used by: 124 of the 147 council LEPs
Dwelling houses: allowed in 1 of the 124
Uses the table doesn’t name: allowed with consent in 107 of the 124
Tables as at: 19 August 2026

What the zone is for

Every council that uses E4 includes these objectives, word for word. They come from the Standard Instrument, the template all NSW council plans are built on:

To provide a range of industrial, warehouse, logistics and related land uses.
To ensure the efficient and viable use of land for industrial uses.
To minimise any adverse effect of industry on other land uses.
To encourage employment opportunities.
To enable limited non-industrial land uses that provide facilities and services to meet the needs of businesses and workers.

63 of the 124 LEPs add objectives of their own, so the full list for a property depends on its council.

Can you build a house in E4?

A dwelling house is allowed in 1 of the 124 LEPs that use E4 (with consent in 1). It is prohibited in 123.

Whether a particular lot can take a house also depends on rules mapped to that lot, such as the minimum lot size, so check the address before relying on this.

Allowed in most councils (43)

Each number is a count of LEPs, not properties. No consent needed means the use itself doesn’t need a development application. With consent means it does. Can’t say is not a ban: either that council has no rule for the use, or it is a broad term whose types the table treats differently, so it depends on the type of project.

Use	No consent needed	With consent	Prohibited	Can’t say
Depots	0	124	0	0
Freight transport facilities	0	124	0	0
Garden centres	0	124	0	0
General industries	0	124	0	0
Hardware and building supplies	0	124	0	0
Industrial retail outlets	0	124	0	0
Industrial training facilities	0	124	0	0
Light industries	0	124	0	0
Local distribution premises	0	124	0	0
Neighbourhood shops	0	124	0	0
Oyster aquaculture	0	124	0	0
Places of public worship	0	124	0	0
Roads	44	80	0	0
Take away food and drink premises	0	124	0	0
Tank-based aquaculture	0	124	0	0
Vehicle repair stations	0	124	0	0
Warehouse or distribution centres	0	124	0	0
Building identification signs	15	108	1	0
Business identification signs	9	114	1	0
Vehicle body repair workshops	0	122	2	0
Transport depots	0	121	3	0
Truck depots	0	120	4	0
Environmental protection works	66	52	6	0
Service stations	0	118	6	0
Storage premises	0	116	2	6
Flood mitigation works	5	110	9	0
Boat building and repair facilities	0	113	11	0
Mortuaries	0	113	11	0
Timber yards	0	110	14	0
Landscaping material supplies	0	109	15	0
Sex services premises	0	109	15	0
Wholesale supplies	0	109	15	0
Car parks	0	107	17	0
Recreation facilities (indoor)	0	106	18	0
Water reticulation systems	20	85	19	0
Veterinary hospitals	0	101	23	0
Vehicle sales or hire premises	0	99	25	0
Agricultural produce industries	0	97	27	0
Crematoria	0	96	28	0
Recreation areas	2	93	29	0
Kiosks	0	93	31	0
Research stations	0	93	31	0
Rural supplies	0	93	31	0

Councils differ (37)

These uses are allowed by some councils that use E4 and prohibited by others, so the answer depends on which council the land is in.

Use	No consent needed	With consent	Prohibited	Can’t say
Passenger transport facilities	0	91	33	0
Liquid fuel depots	0	90	34	0
Port facilities	0	89	35	0
Helipads	0	86	38	0
Signage	0	86	10	28
Environmental facilities	2	81	41	0
Plant nurseries	0	81	43	0
Water supply systems	0	81	18	25
Restricted premises	0	78	46	0
Animal boarding or training establishments	0	75	49	0
Rural industries	0	69	38	17
Community facilities	0	68	56	0
Recreation facilities (outdoor)	0	68	56	0
Extractive industries	0	65	59	0
Highway service centres	0	64	60	0
Funeral homes	0	63	61	0
Open cut mining	0	57	67	0
Boat launching ramps	0	56	68	0
Jetties	0	56	68	0
Boat sheds	0	55	69	0
Heliports	0	54	70	0
Heavy industries	0	52	64	8
Public administration buildings	0	51	73	0
Heavy industrial storage establishments	0	50	61	13
Correctional centres	0	46	78	0
Recreation facilities (major)	0	46	78	0
Charter and tourism boating facilities	0	43	81	0
Water recreation structures	0	42	82	0
Home occupations	22	19	83	0
Information and education facilities	0	38	86	0
Home businesses	7	29	88	0
Moorings	0	36	88	0
Home occupations (sex services)	5	27	92	0
Food and drink premises	0	18	85	21
Early education and care facilities	0	5	29	90
Industries	0	5	16	103
Commercial premises	0	0	92	32

Prohibited in most councils (31)

Most of the LEPs that use E4 prohibit these, either by naming them or through the catch-all rule below.

Show all 31

Use	No consent needed	With consent	Prohibited	Can’t say
Camping grounds	0	0	124	0
Residential accommodation	0	0	124	0
Eco-tourist facilities	0	1	123	0
Caravan parks	0	2	122	0
Tourist and visitor accommodation	0	2	122	0
Exhibition villages	0	6	118	0
Exhibition homes	0	8	116	0
Forestry	0	8	116	0
Registered clubs	0	12	112	0
Amusement centres	0	13	111	0
Cemeteries	0	13	111	0
Function centres	0	13	111	0
Markets	0	13	111	0
Office premises	0	13	111	0
Entertainment facilities	0	14	110	0
Farm buildings	0	14	110	0
Health services facilities	0	9	110	5
Schools	0	14	110	0
Airstrips	0	17	107	0
Home-based child care	2	21	101	0
Specialised retail premises	0	23	101	0
Pond-based aquaculture	0	25	99	0
Agriculture	0	0	98	26
Business premises	0	6	98	20
Air transport facilities	0	13	97	14
Marinas	0	27	97	0
Centre-based child care facilities	0	28	96	0
Wharf or boating facilities	1	27	96	0
Mooring pens	0	29	95	0
Respite day care centres	0	29	95	0
Educational establishments	0	14	93	17

Uses the table doesn’t name

Every council’s table ends with a rule for anything it hasn’t listed. 17 of the 124 LEPs prohibit any use their E4 table doesn’t name. The other 107 allow such uses with consent.

That is why a use can be counted as prohibited above in more councils than actually name it.

What the zone doesn’t tell you

Lot size, height and floor space are set on the LEP maps for each property, so they vary within the same zone.
Heritage, flood and bushfire mapping can limit what is possible on a lot even where the zone allows it.
State policies can apply as well as the council’s table. Granny flats are dealt with under the Housing SEPP, and small works such as sheds can be exempt development under the Codes SEPP. See the NSW granny flat rules and NSW shed rules.

An address search shows all of this for one property.

Council LEPs that use E4 (124)

Some councils have more than one LEP, each covering part of the area.

Land zoned under a State Environmental Planning Policy rather than a council LEP, such as some growth precincts, isn’t included in these counts.

Frequently asked questions

What is E4 General Industrial zoning in NSW?

E4 General Industrial is one of the zones in the NSW Standard Instrument, used by 124 of the 147 council Local Environmental Plans. Its first standard objective is: “To provide a range of industrial, warehouse, logistics and related land uses.”

Can you build a house in E4 zoning?

A dwelling house is allowed in 1 of the 124 LEPs that use E4 (with consent in 1). It is prohibited in 123. Whether a particular lot can take a house also depends on rules mapped to that lot, such as minimum lot size, so check the address.

What happens to uses the E4 table doesn’t list?

17 of the 124 LEPs prohibit any use their E4 table doesn’t name. The other 107 allow such uses with consent. That catch-all rule is part of each council’s table, so a use can be prohibited in E4 without being named.

How do I check if my property is zoned E4?

Search the address on ZoneScout. It reads the zone from NSW Government planning data and shows that council’s own land use table, along with the lot size and any heritage, flood or bushfire mapping.

Sources

Land use tables as at 19 August 2026. Councils amend their LEPs, so confirm against the current plan for your land.

General information only, not planning advice. Whether a project counts as a particular defined use is a planning judgement for your council or a planner.

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