Our compliance and enforcement work upholds government legislation and ensures fair and safe application of the law. The focus of this work is to protect the environment and Aboriginal cultural heritage to achieve better environmental outcomes for New South Wales.
Programs
Our compliance and enforcement programs complement other NSW government programs, such as funding by the NSW Environmental Trust and Biodiversity Conservation Trust, strategic land-use planning and education, and community engagement. These programs aim to ensure that our environment and Aboriginal cultural heritage is valued, protected and sustainably managed.
What we do
Through education, support, monitoring, investigation and regulatory action, we optimise compliance with:
- the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (for threatened and protected species, habitats and ecological communities, the Biodiversity Offset Scheme and commercial kangaroo management)
- the Local Land Services Act 2013 (for native vegetation and land management activities)
- the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (for Aboriginal cultural heritage).
- the Heritage Act 1977 (for environmental heritage of State significance).
How we work
We work to:
- encourage compliance and best practice in environmental protection management
- detect potential breaches of the law through surveillance and community outreach
- analyse land-change satellite imagery to monitor vegetation across New South Wales
- investigate potential breaches of the law using a risk-based approach to prioritise compliance issues and focus on the highest conservation priorities across New South Wales
- remediate harm to the environment and provide community-wide deterrence.
Outcomes
Outcomes we deliver for the community and the environment across New South Wales include:
- improved compliance with environment and Aboriginal cultural heritage protection laws
- prevention of unlawful vegetation clearing and harm, damage and cumulative impacts to biodiversity at a bioregional scale
- maintaining the integrity of state-wide regulatory frameworks that govern biodiversity and Aboriginal cultural heritage
- remediation of damaged ecosystems and Aboriginal cultural heritage.