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 109,911 hectares through land management under Biodiversity Stewardship and BioBanking Agreements (as of 31 March 2025).
- Directed $467.74 million into the Biodiversity Stewardship Payment Fund (as of 31 March 2025), providing annual payments to landholders for managing Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement sites.
- Paid more than $30.3 million from the Biodiversity Stewardship Payment Fund to landholders to generate biodiversity gains through weed and pest management, fire management, and land restoration works in the 12 months to 31 March 2025. A significant portion of this has gone to regional communities, diversifying incomes and providing environmental services.
- Established the Biodiversity Credits Supply Fund to increase the supply of in-demand credits. As of 30 April 2025, the fund has purchased credits worth $98.71 million and on-sold $97.47 million of those credits. It has supported nearly 600 sites identified by landholders to be considered for potential as new biodiversity stewardship sites.
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.