New Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge System has commenced
The Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF) Charge System replaced the previous Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator on 17 October 2022. The new Charge System will be used to determine the amount a proponent may pay into the BCF to meet their biodiversity offset obligation.
The Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) is responsible for administering the new Charge System.
For more information about the BCF Charge System, including how to request a quote, please visit the BCT website.
Biodiversity Conservation Trust website
You can view the ministerial order, which gives legal effect to the new Charge System, on the NSW Legislation website. The BCT has also published rules that supplement the order on its website.
A webinar about the BCF Charge System was held on 11 October 2022. You can watch the recording of this webinar below.
Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge System assurance
The Department of Planning and Environment has developed an assurance program to give scheme participants and the broader public confidence that the BCT is correctly applying the BCF Charge System.
An initial, independent assurance audit of the BCT’s application of the BCF Charge System was undertaken in October 2022. The audit, which was undertaken by Marsden Jacob Associates, found that BCT had applied the BCF Charge System in accordance with the relevant requirements in the Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator Order 2022.
The department will commission another independent assurance audit in 2023.
You can download the audit documentation below.
- Assurance audit methodology for the Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge System
- Cover letter and report – Assurance audit of the Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge System
- Biodiversity Conservation Trust response letter to assurance audit of the Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge System (PDF 132KB)
Making it easier to access market data
Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge System pricing information
The BCT has published a range of information about the BCF Charge System to support more accurate estimates of credit prices. This includes key values and data sources, information about Total Fund Deposits (TFD), typical TFD per hectare, and typical credit yield per hectare.
You can view this information at:
June 2022: New market information tools
The department has released new tools to help landholders, proponents, and other biodiversity offsets scheme participants estimate the likely price of credits in the open market, including:
- an interactive Biodiversity Credits Market Sales Dashboard that provides information about historical credit sales and trends
- a plain-English Credit Pricing Guide that provides high-level advice to support credit buyers and sellers to price credits.
November 2019: Launch of the Spot Price Index: Biobanking credits
The Spot Price Index is an innovative product that provides the public with easy access to the latest credit prices and historical biodiversity market data, published in the BioBanking Public Registers. The index being launched is for BioBanking credits which are still being traded. A Spot Price Index for biodiversity credits created under the new scheme (biodiversity assessment method, or BAM, credits) will be launched when those credits start trading and being registered in the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme Public Registers.
The Spot Price Index can be easily interrogated to provide a wide range of market information that will be valuable to biodiversity offsets scheme participants, particularly those who are purchasing or pricing credits and who need to understand the current price of credits.
The Spot Price Index was upgraded to the BioBanking Credits Sales Dashboard in October 2022.
Independent monitoring of the biodiversity credits market
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has been commissioned to monitor and report on the operation of the biodiversity credits market established by the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme.
Independent monitoring of the biodiversity credits market will support transparency and public confidence in the scheme and help improve its operation. For more information and to see how you can participate visit the IPART website.
