NSW Place and Road Naming Proposal System

NSW Place and Road Naming Proposal System

Place naming proposal user guide

II

Title: NSW Place and Road Naming Proposal System Place Naming Proposal User Guide

Published by

Geographical Names Board A Unit of the Department of Customer Service 346 Panorama Avenue BATHURST NSW 2795 Tel: (02) 6332 8214

www.gnb.nsw.gov.au

Cover photograph: Shutterstock. Pacific Highway at Berowra, Sydney, Australia

Photographer: Jamen Percy

Enquiries

Any enquiries regarding this Manual should be forwarded to [email protected]

Copyright

© Crown in right of New South Wales through Spatial Services, a division of the Department of Customer Service (DCS Spatial Services), 2020.

This copyright work is licensed under a Creative Commons Australia Attribution 4.0 licence.

Document control sheet

Record of Document IssuesVersion No. Issue Date Nature of Amendment 1.0 Jan 2020 Original Issue

Document Approval:

Approved By:

Lisa Powell

Date of Approval: JANUARY 2020

https://www.spatial.nsw.gov.au

mailto:CMU%40customerservice.nsw.gov.au?subject=

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NSW Place and Road Naming Proposal System Place Naming User Guide

ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

About place naming in NSW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Getting help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Place naming proposal system - user roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

User account details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Register a user account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Log in to the system as a place naming entity representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Reset password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

View and edit own profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

View and update entity details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Prepare and submit a place name proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Place name proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

New/amended address locality name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Address locality boundary amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Respond to clarifications from the GNB Secretariat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

View all submitted place naming proposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Respond to objections to a proposal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Place name proposals submitted by members of the public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Place name proposal reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Commenting on a place name proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Searching the geographical names register and adding place name information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Appendix - place names status: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

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IntroductionWelcome to the NSW Place and Road Naming Proposal System - Place Naming Proposal User Guide.

This guide is for ‘Place Name Proposals’. It explains the system’s role and the functions it supports.

It is designed to be read in two ways.

Firstly, it can be read from beginning to end as a means of becoming broadly familiar with place naming on the NSW Place and Road Naming Proposal System (the Proposal System) platform.

Secondly, it can be used as a tool to support a person seeking to perform a specific task on the Proposal System.

It is anticipated this guide will serve the needs of a wide range of people and will offer useful insights for a range of people’s needs, regardless of previous experience with place naming.

For information on place naming guidelines refer to Place Naming Policy and Guidelines for determination of place names.

http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/220148/GNB_Place_Naming_Policy.pdf

http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/58843/Guidelines_for_the_determination_placenames_2018.pdf


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About place naming in NSWThe Proposal System supports the following types of place naming proposals:

1. Place Name Proposal - Geographical Place Names

2. New/Amended Address Locality (often referred to as ‘Suburb’) Name

3. Address Locality (suburb) Boundary Amendment

Throughout this guide all three types are broadly described as Place Name Proposals. However, there are differences in the way each type is proposed and processed, so where applicable, they are discussed with their specific ‘proposal type’ name.

Over 80,000 geographical features have already been named in NSW, however many features remain unnamed.

The Board encourages community members to propose new names for these features and to provide historical information about existing names of places across the State.

Generally, proposals should have the endorsement of the local council or the government department that administers the area where the feature is located.

The name should also comply with the Board’s Place Naming Policy and Guidelines for determination of place names.

The place naming process generally follows four main steps: propose, review, consult and assign.

Further reading on the subject can be found here.

GNB does not have the statutory authority to name:

• facilities within reserves

• estate names

• infrastructure such as buildings or sporting facilities

• homestead or property names

• bridges

http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/220148/GNB_Place_Naming_Policy.pdf



http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/place_naming

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As such, the Proposal system does not support the naming of these types of features.

For a list of all places named by the GNB, and supported by the system, view the glossary of designation values in the Geographical Names Register.

https://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/59627/Glossary_of_Designation_Values.pdf

Typically, this includes geographical features like mountains and rivers and administration areas such as reserves or suburbs.

https://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/59627/Glossary_of_Designation_Values.pdf

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Getting started

System requirementsTo use the Proposal System, you will need the following:

a) A computer or device with a display capable of Full-HD or 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels);

b) An internet connection;

c) A commonly used and recent web browser (for example Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge); and Please Note: Internet Explorer is not supported

d) An email address, because many functions on the platform will utilise email-based notifications.

Getting helpThe Proposal System is provided by the NSW Government.

The NSW Department of Customer Service is responsible for the delivery of the platform.

The statutory entity authorised to deal with place naming under the legislation is named the ‘Geographical Names Board’ or GNB.

The GNB’s Secretariat support comes from a business unit named ‘Spatial Services’ that sits in the NSW Department of Customer Service.

The Geographical Names Board team can be contacted via phone or email:

Phone: 02 6332 8214 or 1800 025 700

Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Place naming proposal system - user roles The processes for proposing a place name involves at least two participants, or roles.

1) Place Naming Applicant - this is a person that is authorised by a Place Naming entity to access the Proposals System on that entity’s behalf and put forward place name proposals (PNPs). It can also be a member of the public.

The ‘Place Naming entity Rep’ can undertake the following activities on the Proposal System:

• Register a user account

• Log in to the system

• View and edit their own system profile

• View other registered users from their Place Naming entity

• View details about their Place Naming entity

• Prepare a Place Name Proposal for the GNB to consider

• View all submitted Place Naming Proposals for the Place Naming entity that they represent

• Respond to clarifications sought by the GNB Secretariat about their Place Name Proposals

• Respond to public comments that object to a place naming proposal they have submitted

2) Geographical Names Board and its Secretariat – the NSW Geographical Names Board (or GNB) is the legislative place naming authority in NSW and operates under the Geographical Names Act 1966. The GNB has a Secretariat team that handles the administration of matters the Board considers. This team will use the information provided in PNPs to determine its suitability and assist in the process of arranging for the proposal to be considered by the GNB.

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User account details

Register a user accountTo use the NSW Place and Road Naming Proposal System (PRNPS), as a representative of a NSW Place Naming Authority, users must first register for an account.

NB: Members of the public or representatives of entities that are not a government entity do not need to register for an account or login to submit a place name proposal.

When they do submit a place name proposal on this system, they are asked to provide contact details so they can be updated about the progress of their proposal, and so they

can be contacted if there is a need to clarify any aspects of the proposal.

Visit the system website at this address https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/ and select ‘Register Now’ - as shown below.

https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/

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That selection will take you to a screen with the following view:

The user will need to complete the fields with their details as shown and ‘Submit for Approval’.

If the user is responsible for Place Names and Road Names - tick both options. Only one account is required.

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If the details provided are complete you will be shown the following:

The GNB will review the new user details and make any enquiries they need to determine the person’s role in place naming on behalf of the nominated organisation.

The user will be emailed when their registration has been processed.

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Log in to the system as a place naming entity representativeOnce the GNB team has approved the account, the user will be able to log in to the system at this address https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/

The following screen will display:

The user must enter their registered email address and password then click submit.

Reset passwordIf the registered user needs to reset their password, they can select ‘I need to reset my password’. This will result in the following screen:

The user will then receive an email with a unique code to reset their password.

https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/

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Once the email message with the unique code is received, the user can complete the following screen:

This will record the new password in the system and the user will then be required to use that password with the registered email address from that point forward.

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View and edit own profileUsers are provided with self-service functions in the system, including the ability to:

• View and edit their User Profile.

• Change their password

These options are available under ’Manage My Profile’ from the navigation menu on the left-hand side of the screen.

A user can also edit their own profile. They will first be shown their profile as it is, along with their activity in creating proposals on the system.

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There are two actions available when a user is editing their own profile, one is ‘Change Password’ and the other is to ‘Edit Account’. As shown below:

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Selecting the action to ‘Edit Account’ displays the following screen, with the fields that are editable shown with a red box outline:

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View and update entity detailsThe system allows the authorised representatives to access details stored about their Place Naming entity, under ‘My Organisation’ from the navigation menu on the left hand side of the screen.

The information stored against each Place Naming entity includes:

• The address details of the Place Naming entity

• The user accounts of people registered for the system for their Place Naming entity

• View and adjust the status of their accounts (suspend or activate)

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Prepare and submit a place name proposal

NB: The description and steps that follow refer to the process of preparing and submitting a place name proposal that is taken by a person representing a local or other government entity. Whilst the process for a member of the public is very similar, it is not identical. The Place Name Proposal preparation and submission process is described later in this document in the section

titled ‘Place Name Proposals submitted by members of the public’.

The information provided in the application is used to prepare a report for the Board’s consideration. It is also used to record the name (and related details) in the Geographical Names Register. The name is held in the register as ‘proposed’ until it is considered by the GNB.

Log in to the system and select ‘Create Place Names Proposal’

These red * symbols indicate that a field is mandatory.

The ‘Reference Name’ field can contain anything that is meaningful to the person or the organisation submitting the proposal and is used to quickly identify a single Place name proposal.

Note – if a user is uncertain about the Place name proposal type, they can review the NSW Address Policy and User Manual (for more information on Address Localities) and the NSW Place Naming Policy (for more information on geographical place names), or contact the GNB team for guidance.

Complete the place name application form.

Following are examples of completed forms for the three place name proposal types:

1. Place Name Proposal

a. a proposal for a place such as a reserve, or geographical features like a creek or a hill

2. New/Amended Address Locality Name

a. to create a new Address Locality (suburb) or to propose a change to an existing Address Locality name

3. Address Locality (suburb) Boundary Amendment

a. to change the boundary between existing Address Localities

https://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/223346/NSW_Address_Policy_and_User_Manual.pdf

https://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/223346/NSW_Address_Policy_and_User_Manual.pdf

https://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/220148/GNB_Place_Naming_Policy.pdf

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Place name proposal This form is to be used for a reserve, or geographical feature such as a hill or a creek.

Supporting information provided in the application is used to prepare a report so that it can be considered by the GNB and to record the proposal in the Geographical Names Register.

Describe the type of geographical feature, where it is, and its extent.

Once the Proposed Geographical Name field has been completed, the user can ‘save as draft’.

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Supporting information is needed so the GNB can adequately review applications.

Place name origin is an important element in determining suitability of an application.

Any suitable supporting material about a name can also be made public, which supports preservation of the place name origin.

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This provides a self-check to ensure the GNB has the information it needs when the application is considered

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When completing some of the fields on the Place Name Proposal form, you may be presented with a warning (as per Proposal Checklist example below). This flags elements of the application that potentially contravene policy and may result in the proposal being rejected.

Once the form is complete, the user can select the ‘Submit Proposal’ option at the bottom of the screen.

Note that if the ‘Submit Proposal’ selection is not available (i.e. it appears greyed out) that indicates that one of the mandatory elements of the proposal has not been completed.

Selecting ‘Save as Draft’ saves the details already entered which allows the user to return to the proposal again. Note that any proposal that is left in a draft state, and is unactioned for a period of 30

Should the application be approved by the GNB the next step is to advertise it as a proposed name for public comment. As well as advertising the name on the GNB website a newspaper ad and gazette notice is published.

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days, will be archived . This means it will no longer be visible in the system unless the user ticks the box labelled ‘Show Archived Proposals?’. This prevents the dashboard view from becoming visually

cluttered with old or abandoned proposals.

When users select ‘Submit Proposal’ they will be shown a new screen that confirms that their submission was successful.

From this point no further action is required from the user. The proposal will be subject to a review by the GNB Secretariat.

The user has the choice of preparing another Place Name Proposal by selecting ‘Create Another Place Name Proposal’, or alternatively they can select ‘Go to My Proposals Dashboard’.

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New/amended address locality nameThis form to be used to create a new address, locality name or amend an existing address locality name.

Complete this form to create a new Address Locality (suburb) or to propose a change to an existing Address Locality name.

New Address Locality names need to adhere to the naming rules defined in the NSW Address Policy and User Manual. The GNB team also checks for duplication with other State and Territory jurisdictions.

It is encouraged to supply ESRI Shape files (if possible) for any changes to Address Locality boundaries

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There needs to be a driver to change Address Localities. This check list shows criteria used by GNB when evaluating proposals. If there is more than one reason, or other details, outline this in the ‘other relevant information’ section. Details describing the reason should also be included in this section of the application.

The NSW Address Policy and User Manual (chapter 8 – Process AP3) provides details on considerations when changing Address Localities.

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Note: If the application will propose amending existing boundaries to create a new Address Locality, evidence will also need to be provided that it meets criteria defined in Section 6.8.5 of the NSW Addressing Policy and User Guide. This includes ensuring boundaries follow clear and distinguishable lines and reflect access points to properties.

Origin details, of the place name, are needed for proposals to the GNB as it is an important part of determining suitability of the proposal.

GNB encourages Aboriginal and Multi-cultural place naming.

If the name commemorates a person there are further questions to determine suitability of the name.

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This provides a self-check to help ensure the GNB has the information it needs when the application is considered

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Should the application be approved by the GNB the next step is to advertise it as a proposed name and call for submissions. As well as advertising the name on the GNB website a newspaper ad and gazette notice is published.

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Address locality boundary amendment This form is to be used to make amendments to existing Address Locality boundaries, without creating a new one.

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Criteria is used to evaluate the need to change Address Locality Boundaries. Changes made for perceived property values is not considered as a reason for change.

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If the amendment affects less than 20 owner/occupiers it does not need to be advertised, but needs support from all affected owners/occupiers and council.

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Respond to clarifications from the GNB SecretariatOnce the proposal has been submitted, the GNB will review and if necessary, may seek clarification. In this instance, the system will generate an email to the applicant. See below.

The user can click on the link provided in the email which directs them to the proposal in the system and respond to the clarification. The user can also respond to the clarification directly from the system.

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The status of the proposal is ‘Clarification’ with the option to ‘Respond to Query’. See below.

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The user can type in a response and if necessary, provide further file attachments, and submit using the ‘Submit Clarification’ button at the bottom of the page.

As the proposal is processed, it will be subject to the consideration of the GNB Secretariat, and once they are satisfied that the information provided in the proposal is ready, by the GNB itself.

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View all submitted place naming proposalsWhen a user first logs in to the system, they are shown the ‘Proposal Dashboard’. The user can navigate to this view at any time by selecting ‘Manage Proposals’ from the menu on the left-hand side of all screens.

On this page, they will see the Place Name proposals submitted by both themselves their organisation.

This allows colleagues within an organisation to work collaboratively on Place Name proposals.

From this view the user can see an overview of all Place Name Proposals underway or recently completed for their organisation.

From this view the user can elect to:

A) The proposed place name

B) The type of proposal

C) The actions available on this proposal

D) The status of the proposal

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Respond to objections to a proposalWhere the GNB has approved the advertisement of a proposal, the public are invited to provide a comment that either supports or objects to the proposal.

Any objection received must be considered by the GNB prior to it making a determination on the proposal. To support this process, the person or entity that submitted the proposal is invited to respond via the system, to each objection raised.

Submissions received by the GNB are not made public. Place name proposals may attract vexatious, vindictive or otherwise offensive comments, particularly when a proposed name commemorates an individual and/or represents a minority group. No Australian naming jurisdiction publicly release submissions to proposed names.

However, all submissions lodged may be subject to a Government Information (Public Access) application and may be viewed by a third party to assist the Board in considering the proposal.

When the public advertising period concludes, the applicant will be advised via email if any objections have been received. The email includes a link to a page in the system where the user is prompted to enter their response to each objection. See example email below:

On that page each public comment is shown – supportive and objecting – although only a response to each objection is required.

The system displays all comments submitted. It is here the proponent can respond to the objection.

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40


Each comment response can be saved in the system by selecting ‘Send Response’. A response can be updated once submitted by selecting ‘Update Response’. Once all the objections have been responded to, the user can select the action at the bottom of the page ‘Finalise Comment Responses’. See example below:

Once responses to objections are submitted, the Secretariat will prepare a briefing for the GNB that includes the public comments as well as the responses provided by the applicant. The user will be notified by the system of any updates to the proposal as it progresses through this stage.

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Place name proposals submitted by members of the public

NB: The description and steps that follow refer to the process of preparing and submitting a place name proposal by a person that DOES NOT represent a local or other government entity.

Whilst the process for a member of the public is very similar it is not exactly the same.

The GNB welcomes Place Name Proposals from members of the public and non-government organisations.

To prepare an application form, visit this site:

https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/520public/place-names/create

or alternatively via a link on the GNB website:

https://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au

All fields marked * are mandatory. The information in the application will assist the Board in making a determination about the proposal.

An example of the place name application form follows.

https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/520public/place-names/create

https://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au

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In general, when completing some of the fields on the Place Name Proposal form, you may be presented with a warning (as per Proposal Checklist example below). This flags elements of the application that potentially contravene policy and may result in the proposal being rejected.

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Prior to submitting the application the user will be required to enter their contact details.

This section allows the GNB Secretariat team to know who the proposal is being submitted by, in case any aspect of the proposal needs clarification.

The email address provided in this section will also be the address that all notifications will be sent as the proposal progresses.

Once all the necessary details are entered the person can submit the proposal and they will be shown a confirmation screen to indicate that they proposal has been submitted.

Where a person feels that they need assistance with the process of preparing and submitting a place name proposal, contact the GNB Secretariat team by phone or email:

Phone: 02 6332 8214 or 1800 025 700

Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Public%20Place%20Name%20Proposal%20Assistance%20Request

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Place name proposal reportsThe System offers a reporting function, Place Name Proposal Summary.

It can be accessed via the left hand navigation menu available in the Proposals System, as shown below:

The ‘Place Name Proposal Summary’ provides a view that displays a list of all active PNPs submitted by the user’s organisation, which is all current and recently completed proposals prior to being archived.

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Upon accessing the proposal summary the user will be presented with a default view of the report contents, an example is shown below:

As highlighted in the example above the user has two key actions that they can take from this default view, they are:

1). Show Filter Options

2). Download Results

When the user selects ‘Show Filter Options’ a set of record filtering options are displayed.

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These filters are as follows:

a) Date from and date to – selecting a from and to date to establish date range, although both are not mandatory.

b) Results per page - Select from a drop down menu the number of results the user wishes to view once the search is executed.

c) Keyword – this is a text field that allows the user to indicate a word or words they wish to have present in the results they are presented with.

d) Proposal Type – the user may select from the drop down list the type or types of PNPs they wish to include in the results.

e) Status – the user may select from the drop down list the status or statuses of PNPs they wish to include in the results.

f) LGA – the user may select the LGA or LGAs they wish to include in the results set.

g) Locality - the user may select from the drop down list the locality or localities of PNPs they wish to include in the results.

h) Affected localities - the user may select from the drop down list the affected localities they wish to include in the results.

i) Submitted by - the user may select from the drop down list who submitted the proposal

In the example below, by entering a keyword of ‘kit’ and clicking on the search symbol, the records that match that search term are shown in the section below the filters.

There is an option to ‘Download Results’ which becomes active when results are available – as shown above. This selection appears in the upper right hand side of the report view. Once selected this function begins a download process of the record set in a CSV format file. The file name is ‘Place_Name_Proposals_Extract_DD MMM YYYY.csv’.

The CSV file format once saved can be opened in a range of spreadsheet programs, including Microsoft Excel. Once opened the contents of the file will replicate the records that were shown in the filtered view.

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Commenting on a place name proposalWhere a member of the public chooses to view a proposal that is currently open for public comment, they can visit the page https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/currentproposals.

On this page they will find a list of all the current PNPs as per the example below:

Each current proposal has a link labelled ‘View Proposal’, by selecting this link the public user can view different aspects of the record.

https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/currentproposals

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The public user has the following choices:

a) ‘View Map’ – to view a map of the proposal.

b) ‘View Place Name Record’ – to view all the details recorded for that specific place name in the Geographical Names Register.

c) ‘Comment on Proposal’ – this is the pathway that allows the user to indicate whether they support or object to the proposal, and to provide details about their views on the proposal. The screen that allows them to do this is shown below:

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Upon completing the form shown above the user’s comments on the proposal will be recorded and considered as part of the proposal process. Submissions made to the GNB are not made public, however, all submissions lodged may be subject to a Government Information (Public Access) application and may be viewed by a third party to assist the Board in considering this proposal.

The user will be shown a confirmation screen as per below.

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Searching the geographical names register and adding place name informationThe GNB, as the geographical place name ‘record keeper’ for NSW is always interested in receiving information from the public about places.

The public can search the Geographical Names Register (GNR) by visiting the this web address: https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/public/geonames/search

Upon visiting that screen allows the public to:

• ‘Download all GNR Records’ – download a CSV file of all the records in the GNR at that point in time.

• Select various aspects of a GNR record to filter and search for specific records. In the example over the page the filters applied are

a. Place names with the word ‘Lennox’

b. Place names with a Status = ‘Official Assigned’

c. Place names within the LGA of ‘Ballina’

Once the selections are made the user can select ‘Search’ and the system will provide a view of the records that match the selection, as seen below.

https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/public/geonames/search

https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/public/geonames/search

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The results are shown, and the user can:

• Download Search Results - this selection will provide the user with a CSV file containing the records found in the search, or

• View/Edit Info – for each specific record in the search, and this allows the user to view all the GNR details for that specific record, as shown below:

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As can be seen, the details of the record are shown, and the user has the option to ‘Add Place Name Information’.

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The user is then shown a screen that allows them to provide both text and file uploads as shown below:

The user can then provide details about the place name that will be considered by the GNB and where applicable it will ensure that information becomes available to the broader community by adding it to the Geographical Names Register.

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Appendix - place names status:The following list showing potential statuses for Place Naming Proposals.

Starting Status Potential Interim Statuses Potential Process End Statuses

Proposed Under Review Official Assigned and Official RecordedThe proposal has just been submitted for consideration by an applicant.

The GNB Secretariat has begun the process of reviewing the proposal.

The place name is gazetted as the official name.

Clarification AbandonedThe GNB Secretariat is seeking further information from the applicant.

The place name proposal has been abandoned, by the Board.

Board Consideration WithdrawnThe proposal is subject to GNB consideration.

The applicant has withdrawn the place name proposal.

Approve Advertise RejectedThe GNB has approved the public advertisement of the proposal.

The place name proposal has been rejected by the GNB or the Minister.

AdvertisedThe proposal is currently being advertised for public comment.

Applicant CommentThe applicant is currently being asked to provide a response to objections to the proposal.

Review CommentsThe GNB Secretariat is reviewing the comments on objections from the applicant.

Board ReconsiderationThe proposal (if objections received) is scheduled to be reconsidered by the Board.

With MinisterThe GNB has made a recommendation to the Minister about the proposal.

Pending GazetteThe advertising period is complete with no objections received and is pending formal gazettal.

Process Administratively(minor boundary amendment only) The proposal has been approved to be processed administratively owing to the small scale of the proposed change.

Documents

NSW Place and Road Naming Proposal System