Biodiversity Offsets Program

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Please note that as of 27 July 2022, management of the Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement application processes will be handed over to Credit Supply Taskforce at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). This means expression of interest, application, and variation processes for Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements will no longer be managed by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust. Landholders at these stages of the Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement process should visit the Stewardship Expression of Interest webpage for more information.

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust is still supporting landholders following the establishment of a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement. This includes conducting annual site visits and supporting the annual reporting process.

The NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme is administered by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) role:

the policy, legislative and regulatory framework for the BOS, as set out in Part 6 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (the Act) and Part 6 of the Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017
the Biodiversity Assessment Method or BAM (Division 2 of Part 6 of the Act)
scheme integrity issues, including the accredited assessor scheme (Division 2 of Part 6 of the Act)
the transfer and retirement of biodiversity credits, including issuing statements of reasonable credit equivalence (Divisions 4 and 5 of Part 6 of the Act)
the Biodiversity Offsets and Agreements Management System (BOAMS)
the Biodiversity Offsets Payments Calculator (Division 6 or Part 6 of the Act)
scheme cost recovery (Division 8 of Part 6 of the Act)
public registers (Division 2 of Part 9 of the Act).

NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust roles:

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust assists landholders to manage their Biodiversity Stewardship sites. Once a landholder has entered into a biodiversity stewardship agreement with the Credit Supply Taskforce, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust manages the agreement by making annual biodiversity stewardship payments to the landholder for carrying out conservation management actions on the site. The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust ensures compliance through review of annual reports and site inspections and provides ongoing landholder support.
The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust is the Fund Manager for the Biodiversity Stewardship Payments Fund. When biodiversity credits are sold, the landholder must deposit a specified amount of money into the fund. The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust invests these funds with NSW Treasury Corporation and uses the funds and proceeds from investment to make the annual biodiversity stewardship payments to the Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement holder.
The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust's Biodiversity Offsets Program is responsible for securing biodiversity offsets on behalf of development proponents who opt to pay into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund to meet NSW state and Commonwealth offset obligations of their development approval. The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust acts as a market intermediary. Developers with an offset obligation can make a payment into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund at a price set by the Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator. If developers choose to pay into the fund, the obligation to procure the biodiversity credits transfers to the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust. This enables developers to proceed with the development while allowing the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust to bundle credit obligations and secure strategic offset outcomes.

Visit the outcomes page to learn more about the outcomes of the Biodiversity Offsets Program

Click here for information on acquitted obligations
The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust is funded by government to procure offsets under various place-specific biodiversity offsets schemes, such as the Growth Centres Biodiversity Offset Program, which operates in Western Sydney.

What are biodiversity credits and how do they work?

Biodiversity credits are generated when a landowner commits to protect and enhance the biodiversity values on their land in perpetuity through a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement.

Biodiversity credits represent the expected improvement in biodiversity that will result from the protection and management of the site.

There are two basic types of credits: ecosystem credits and species credits.

Biodiversity credits may be sold to developers or the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust to offset the impacts of development occurring elsewhere. The credits may also be sold to third parties seeking to invest in conservation outcomes, including individuals, philanthropic organisations or government.

The sale of biodiversity credits generates ongoing, permanent funding for the management of the site at which they were generated. The sale of credits may also return a profit for the landowner.

What is a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement?

A Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement is a voluntary agreement between the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust and a landholder to permanently protect and manage an area of land. It enables biodiversity credits to be generated, which may be sold to a developer, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust or other interested parties.

Once the credits are sold, Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement-holders receive annual, in-perpetuity biodiversity stewardship payments to manage the land and biodiversity on the offset site. They may also make a profit from the sale of credits.

Landholders can apply to the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust at any time to enter a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement.

Learn more about applying for a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement.

How does the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust secure biodiversity offsets?

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust uses four delivery mechanisms to secure biodiversity offsets:

Biodiversity credit fixed price offers: The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust uses two biodiversity credit fixed price offers; open and targeted. The biodiversity credit open fixed price offer is available to existing and prospective credit owners on a continuing basis for credits on the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust’s Wanted Credit List and operates on a ‘first in’ basis. The biodiversity credit targeted fixed price offer is where the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust offers to purchase credits directly from credit owners or landholders. It is used in limited circumstances and specific regions to obtain highly sought-after credits.
Biodiversity credit tenders: The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust may call for expressions of interest or bids from credit sellers to participate in a biodiversity credit tender. Open tenders are used when there is a medium to high volume of high demand credits available, or potentially available. Targeted tenders are used when one landowner can satisfy all or a proportion of credits wanted.
Revolving fund: The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust may use the revolving fund to purchase properties for sale that have the potential to generate biodiversity credits wanted. Properties will be sold with a pre-commitment to enter a funded Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement, or with a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement in place.
Biodiversity conservation actions: Under the Biodiversity Offset Scheme rules, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust may sometimes be required to fund biodiversity conservation actions, instead of procuring site-based offsets. The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust may identify and fund high-priority investment options or may invite tenders to supply conservation projects.

Learn more about how the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust has secured Biodiversity Credits from landholders.

Financial assistance to establish a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement

Landholders proposing to sell credits to the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust may be eligible for financial assistance to set up a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement. The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust recognises that many landholders face barriers to participating in the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme due to the high upfront costs of establishing a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement. The assistance is intended to facilitate the supply of credits by helping landholders to undertake these assessments.

What is the Growth Centres Biodiversity Offset Scheme?

The Growth Centres Biodiversity Offset Scheme aims to protect some of the best remaining bushland in Western Sydney for current and future generations.

The Scheme is achieving this by buying land for new reserves and funding Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements with landowners to permanently conserve their land. This land is being protected by the NSW Government to offset the impacts on biodiversity that will be caused by the development of the northwest and southwest growth centres.

Since its introduction in 2008, the Growth Centres Biodiversity Offset Scheme has permanently protected 855 hectares of land at 23 locations in Western Sydney.

These sites protect threatened plant communities, including critically endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland and provide valuable habitat for threatened animal species.

Learn more

What is the Biodiversity Conservation Fund?

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust manages the Biodiversity Conservation Fund. Developers or other participants can make a payment into the fund to fulfil their biodiversity credit obligation. The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust then takes on the obligation to purchase or find these biodiversity credits.

As payments are made into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust will list the credits sought on the Wanted Credits List.

Any landholders who have credits that match these obligations or equivalent like-for-like credit alternatives are encouraged to contact the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust on info@bct.nsw.gov.au or by phoning 1300 992 688.

More information about this program

Factsheets