Biodiversity Conservation Fund charge report FAQs

Under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW), development proponents may choose to pay into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF) as an alternative to retiring biodiversity credits.

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust administers the BCF Charge System, which it uses to determine the cost of meeting biodiversity offset obligations for proponents who choose to pay into the BCF.

By applying the BCF Charge System, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust aims to calculate an amount that reflects a reasonable estimate of the cost to the Trust of acquitting an offset obligation in a like-for-like manner.

A proponent can seek a quote from the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust to make a payment into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF) if they have:

• Development consent which includes a requirement to retire biodiversity credits.
• Submitted a development application, including a completed biodiversity development assessment report which indicates a biodiversity credit requirement.
• Approval under Part 5.1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 which includes a requirement to retire biodiversity credits or have submitted a Review of Environmental Factors to the determining authority.
• Approval under Part 5A of the Local Land Services Act 2013 which includes a requirement to retire biodiversity credits or have submitted an application for approval.
• Biodiversity certification which includes the retirement of biodiversity credits as an approved conservation measure or have submitted an application for certification.

For other development proponents and landholders, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust offers a credit price estimation service for a small fee.

The Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator Order 2022 specifies the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust must publish Biodiversity Conservation Fund charges between 180 days and 270 days after a charge is issued.

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust will publish Biodiversity Conservation Fund charges at least 6 months after they are provided. This is to reduce the impact of the Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge System price as a price signal in the biodiversity credit market.

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust will publish an updated Biodiversity Conservation Fund charge report quarterly to ensure new charges are published within the timeframe specified in the Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator Order 2022.

No. Many development proponents seek a Biodiversity Conservation Fund charge quote with the intention of paying into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund, and do so straight away.

Others, including proponents of some major projects, may seek a Biodiversity Conservation Fund charge quote to “benchmark” their potential offset costs, and may not pay into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund to meet all, or the bulk, of their project offset obligation.

No. Unless the proponent has paid into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF), as will be identified in the BCF report, the document BCF charge does not necessarily reflect the actual cost to the proponent of acquitting their development offset obligation. Biodiversity credits may be secured by the proponent in the market at a cost lower than the calculated BCF charge.

Conversely, proponents may choose to pay more than the BCF charge amount, in some circumstances, for example, to deliver project-specific environmental and/or social outcomes.
 

No. By applying the Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge System, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust aims to calculate an amount that reflects a reasonable estimate of the cost to the Trust of acquitting an offset obligation in a like-for-like manner.

Proponents, landholders, and other credit market participants should review other sources of market information, as well as the charge report when considering the likely value of biodiversity credits.

Charges in the report may not reflect the current market trade prices.

Yes. When applying for a Biodiversity Conservation Fund charge quote, development proponents must provide consent to the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust to publish information about their quote. This includes publishing the name of the applicant, name of the development, statutory offsetting obligation reference, date a charge quote was issued, amount of charge issued, date of payment (determined when paid) and the payment amount.

Yes. In accordance with the Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator Order 2022, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust may annually, or from time to time, update key datasets underpinning the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF) Charge System. This may result in changes to the BCF charge for Offset Trading Groups.

No. The report only contains Biodiversity Conservation Fund charges for Offset Trading Groups that have been included in Biodiversity Conservation Fund charge quotes. Some ecosystem and species credit Offset Trading Groups may not be represented in the report.

The Department of Planning and Environment has released a range of market information tools, including a market sales dashboard, credit pricing guidance, and associated guidance on how existing tools can be used. 

Landholders and development proponents can apply to the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust biodiversity credit price estimation service for an estimate of ecosystem and species credit prices. 

Market participants should exercise judgment when using this information to estimate credit prices and consider obtaining expert advice.

The Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator Order 2022 identifies how the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust establishes the prices for payments to the Biodiversity Conservation Fund. The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust uses a number of methods to establish the price and uses data from various sources to calculate an amount that reflects a reasonable estimate of the cost to the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust of acquitting an offset obligation in a like-for-like manner.

For the first year of the BCF Charge System a transitional cap rule was in place. Some credits were capped at 20% above the previous BOPC price, to enable a staged introduction of the BCF Charge System. This transitional cap expired on 16 October 2023 and if a payment was not received before this date, a new quote with the uncapped price was required to make payment to the BCF.