Fixed price offer FAQs

No. It is only a first step to further explore whether you are eligible to enter a conservation agreement.  

A conservation agreement only becomes binding once both parties have signed the agreement and it is executed on title. Landholders are able to withdraw from the process at any time prior to this. 

We will prioritise expression of interests for site assessment based on eligibility criteria.  

If your site is a priority site, we will contact you, and we will assess your site.  

Following assessment, we will confirm eligibility to participate in the offer, and a conservation management plan will be prepared, specific to your site.

Following your review of the conservation management plan, you will be asked to apply for a conservation agreement that incorporates this plan. 

A landholder can express interest in a fixed price offer at any time, but expressions of interests are only assessed once a year from 1 March. 

You will receive an email notification that your expression of interest has been received.  

Our staff will register your interest and undertake an initial eligibility check. You may not hear directly from us again about the fixed price offer until after the current expression of interest period for the year has closed.

All expressions of interest are collated from 1 March, each year.  

Following this, a detailed eligibility check is completed and a desktop review ranks expressions of interest according to the biodiversity values of the proposed agreement site.  

Landholders will be contacted after that review, in order of priority, with high-ranking sites contacted first to make arrangements for site assessment: typically in April and May. 

Yes, all landholders who submit an expression of interest will be notified of their eligibility. If your site is not eligible, we will discuss other opportunities with you. For example, any other planned offers, tender opportunities or our Conservation Partners Program.  

Yes. You may be eligible to apply.

However, the offer will direct most investment to new applicants.  

Landholders with existing land management obligations and/or agreements on their property should consult the Landholder Guide for Fixed Price Offers and the Existing Agreements and Obligations fact sheet.

If you hold an existing NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust agreement, please discuss your plans for any change in arrangement to your agreement with us. 

You need to be eligible to enter into a conservation agreement with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust and have an eligible site for the current fixed price offer (see Landholder Guide for Fixed Price Offers).

A landholder needs to be confident they can undertake the management actions outlined in their management plan, and that the associated conservation management payments are a viable proposition.

Importantly, a landholder must also be willing to have an in-perpetuity (permanent) conservation agreement placed on their land’s title.  

Some attributes of good condition vegetation include having limited site disturbance with low level land use activity, a diverse plant species composition in the ground and shrub layer, and a stable soil surface.  

Sites with good condition vegetation often have all the attributes above.  

More information about the attributes sought for a high-ranking conservation agreement are outlined in the Landholder Guide for Fixed Price Offers.

Some characteristics of good condition wetland include having low land use intensity around the wetland, a zone of wide and continuous native vegetation surrounding the wetland and no change in the wetland's salinity from its natural state.

More information about the attributes sought for a high-ranking conservation agreement are outlined in the Landholder Guide for Fixed Price Offers. 

Entering into a conservation agreement and designating land on your property as an area for conservation is a decision for you. The agreement you enter, and that has been designed with you, outlines permissible land use.

If successful you will receive annual payments to manage the land for conservation outcomes, regardless of seasonal conditions.  

The conservation management actions you take with these payments can complement other uses of your property. 

Yes, weeds and pests can be just as much a threat to biodiversity as they are to agriculture.  

Management of weeds and pests is a core component of a conservation agreement. NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust staff will work with you on a conservation management plan for your site.

In applying to the fixed price offer, you are encouraged to consider how much it will cost to manage pests and weeds in a proposed conservation area, and whether the offer will cover your costs for this activity.  

Management of pests and weeds may involve engaging contractors, hiring equipment and/or purchasing chemicals.  

Conservation areas require ongoing management, and you will be entering an agreement that considers the cost to manage weeds, pests, and biomass levels.

Yes. Land that is subject to a conservation agreement is exempt from council rates under section 555(1)(b1) of the Local Government Act 1993. 

This program does not offer Local Land Service (LLS) rate relief.  

However, you can reduce the amount you pay on the area under a conservation agreement to the base levies (Special Purpose Pest Management Rate and General Rate) by completing your Annual LLS Stock Return.  

Yes. It is on the land's title, and the agreed conservation outcomes are secure for the term of the agreement - even if the land is sold, or you move on.  

Both the conservation agreement and associated annual payments transfer with the land title. This is important to secure the long-term conservation outcomes your land offers under the agreement.  

No. Not all sites can receive a site assessment. Sites will be prioritised for assessment based on information provided by the landholder in the expression of interest, and against eligibility criteria. 

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust schedule of fixed price offers details how we calculate annual payments for proposed sites based on the Local Government Area (LGA) and the Land and Soil Capability (LSC) classes across the site.

Using commissioned land valuation research, a base value for three LSC classes have been identified to create a reasonable rate of return (dollars / hectare / year) for each eligible LGA.

For more detail on the schedule of fixed price offers, see the Landholder Guide for Fixed Price Offers. 

No, but the conservation agreement provides for increased payments in future years, indexed in line with inflation.  

No. Your agreement will continue to receive the rate that was applicable to the FPO batch under which you applied and entered the agreement. 

Yes. The eligible area is regularly reviewed, which can result in additional areas being included, but also areas can be removed if conservation targets for those areas have been reached and they are no longer a priority for investment.  

If an area becomes ineligible for an offer in the future it is still eligible for other NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust programs, such as the Conservation Partners Program.

During the agreement negotiation you will have the option to request the direct costs for essential conservation infrastructure in your application.  

Additionally, you can make a request for up to 50 per cent of essential conservation infrastructure costs.  

However, we reserve the right to refuse such requests or limit the total funds provided based on demonstrated need and in proportion to the total value of the agreement. Approved costs will be in addition to the agreement’s fixed price payment schedule.

You may be eligible to apply for another agreement on your property. Applying for conservation support elsewhere on your property will be subject to the eligibility rules associated with that support.  

To receive annual management payment from the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust you will be required to annually report on progress towards achieving your management actions. Agreements with include the provision for periodic review every five years.

Landholders who enter a conservation agreement are part of a wider network of agreement-holders, educators, contractors and our staff. We also have online learning to support the conservation management actions that are in your annual plan.  

On any financial and/or legal advice, we’d recommend seeking professional guidance, appropriate to your circumstances.  

Yes, we’d love for you to be involved in supporting conservation on your property.  

Further information on conservation alternatives is available at www.bct.nsw.gov.au/cards/apply-voluntary-agreement.

Our Privacy Statement sets out our privacy obligations to you and explains how we manage personal information we collect about you. Our appropriate and responsible management of your personal information is an essential part of the way we do business, and we understand the importance of protecting your personal information.

Our full privacy statement.  

If you enter into a conservation agreement with us, the following information will be disclosed on a public register of private land conservation agreements:  

• the nature of the agreement, in this case a funded agreement  
• the unique agreement identifier which will be issued by us
• the size of the agreement
• the duration of the agreement  
• the date the agreement was registered on title  
• the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust region the agreement is in
• the Local Government Area (LGA) the agreement is in
• whether the agreement is in an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA) region.