Biodiversity Offsets Scheme overview
The Biodiversity Offsets reduce the impact of development and some types of clearing on biodiversity in New South Wales.
Under the scheme:
- Developers, individuals and other groups responsible for projects that significantly affect biodiversity must first seek to avoid and minimise that impact. A credit obligation will be imposed for any remaining impacts.
- Developers can buy and retire credits from landholders on the credit market to meet their credit obligation. Learn about credit obligations.
- Landholders generate credits by agreeing to secure and manage parts of their land to improve biodiversity.
- Agreements with landholders are called Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements. These agreements are in-perpetuity agreements.
- Credit sales fund ongoing management activities on the land, such as weed and pest management, fire management and restoration works.
- Transparent and scientifically robust methods are used to assess biodiversity impacts at development sites and determine biodiversity management at stewardship sites.
Significant achievements
To date, the scheme has:
- protected more than 137,000 hectares through land management under Biodiversity Stewardship and BioBanking Agreements (as of 20 July 2026)
- established the Biodiversity Credits Supply Fund to increase the supply of in-demand credits. As of 20 July 2026, the fund transacted more than 49,000 credits exceeding $128 million in value
- administered the Stewardship Support Program, which provides support to eligible applicants, including reviewing around 675 landholder applications, undertaking 170 on-ground assessments, and progressing more than 30 sites across New South Wales towards biodiversity stewardship approval
- reduced reliance on the Biodiversity Conservation Fund from 90% to 10% since 2021, as most obligations are met through other pathways.
For more information, see the Improvements to the NSW biodiversity credits market factsheet.
Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Act 2024
On 22 November 2024, the NSW Parliament passed the Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Act 2024 (the Amendment Act). The Amendment Act implements reforms to the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme in line with the NSW plan for nature, the government's response to the Statutory review of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. Most of the provisions of the Amendment Act commenced on 7 March 2025.
The reforms will:
- improve biodiversity outcomes achieved by the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme
- support a functioning biodiversity credits market
- increase the scheme's efficiency and transparency
- better balance the application of the scheme with the biodiversity risks of development.
More information on the Amendment Act and future scheme reforms is available below.