The NSW Government is protecting native vegetation by purchasing land for new reserves and establishing funding agreements with landowners to ensure conservation. These efforts help offset the biodiversity impacts from development in Sydney's north-west and south-west growth centres.
In 2008, the NSW Government established a $530 million (2006–07 dollar values) Growth Centres Conservation Fund to protect areas of high biodiversity value.
Of this, $397.5 million was allocated over 30 years to support the establishment of conservation agreements and the purchase and retirement of biodiversity credits outside the growth centres. This funding has been derived partly from a special infrastructure contribution (SIC) applying to development in the growth centres and partly from the government's Consolidated Fund equally shared 50:50.
From 1 July 2026, the Housing and Productivity Contribution (HPC) replaced the SIC for new development in the growth centres. The HPC will apply a strategic biodiversity component charge for development within the growth centres to provide a dedicated funding pathway to deliver key biodiversity conservation alongside new housing.
More information on the HPC is available at Housing and Productivity Contribution.
Growth Centres Biodiversity Offset certification extension
On 24 June 2026, the Minister for the Environment signed the order extending biodiversity certification of the Growth Centres State Environmental Planning Policy (Sydney Region Growth Centres) 2006 for 9 years to 30 June 2035.
In addition to extending the certification, the Minister has made changes to the certification order. This will ensure the certification continues to deliver on conservation commitments while streamlining biodiversity approvals to allow much needed housing in Sydney’s north-west and south-west growth centres. In addition to the extension, the Minister also made amendments to the certification order to improve conservation outcomes and certification delivery. These updates include:
- A requirement for the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) to prepare a land acquisition strategy to acquire high conservation value land within the growth centres.
- Identifying habitat for newly listed threatened species during rezoning and considering retention and enhancement.
- A rezoning strategy or other planning mechanism must be prepared by DPHI to ensure existing native vegetation is adequately protected and rezoned for conservation purposes.
- Measures have been included so that land within the growth centres can be protected using biodiversity stewardship agreements, in addition to conservation zoning and land acquisition.
- Other areas of high conservation vegetation that were not mapped in the 2007 conservation plan can now be used to meet the required target for existing native vegetation of 2,000 hectares.
The determination to extend the certification and to amend the order was published in the NSW Government Gazette (PDF 1MB) on 26 June 2026.
What's been achieved
As of 2025, the Growth Centres Biodiversity Offset Program has permanently protected approximately 913 hectares of land at 25 locations in western Sydney, comprising 24 biodiversity stewardship sites and one reserve.
These sites protect threatened ecological communities, including critically endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland, and provide valuable habitat for threatened animal and plant species.
For site details, see Land protected through the Growth Centres Biodiversity Offset Program.
How the offset program works
The offset program delivers offsets for the NSW Government under 4 key agreements:
- Biodiversity Certification of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Sydney Region Growth Centres) (2006)
- Edmondson Park Conservation Agreement
- Sydney Growth Centres Strategic Assessment Program Report
- Mulgoa biodiversity stewardship site funding agreement with the Australian Government.
In accordance with the biodiversity certification, the program receives funding annually at the same rate at which development is expected to occur in the growth centres. The program has also been supported by grants of additional funding from the NSW Government and the Australian Government.
The program spends the funds, as a first preference, within priority areas that contain the largest remaining areas of high conservation value bushland on the Cumberland Plain. If it is not possible to create a reserve, the program will protect the land by entering into biodiversity stewardship agreements (previously known as biobanking agreements) with existing landowners.
Biodiversity stewardship agreements are a type of permanent conservation agreement in which funding for site management is invested in an endowment fund (the Biodiversity Stewardship Payments Fund). The fund provides ongoing annual payments to the landowner, allowing the ongoing management of the bushland.