The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, and Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017 outline the framework for addressing impacts on biodiversity from development and clearing. The framework requires a proponent to avoid, minimise and offset impacts on biodiversity from these actions using the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme.
The Scheme establishes biodiversity stewardship agreements, which are voluntary in perpetuity agreements entered into by landholders. Biodiversity stewardship agreements are the mechanism used to secure offset sites where the improvement in biodiversity values is used to offset the loss incurred by development and clearing of native vegetation elsewhere in New South Wales.
The Biodiversity Offsets Scheme includes the Biodiversity Assessment Method 2017 (BAM), which is enabled by section 6.7 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act.
First published in September 2019; reprinted April 2023 with amendments.
