Government delivers on commitment to improve the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme

The Minns Labor Government has delivered on its election promise to fix the state’s Biodiversity Offsets Scheme, by substantially improving biodiversity outcomes and delivering for regional communities.

The Biodiversity Offsets Scheme requires proponents to compensate for habitat destruction caused by their projects. Several independent reviews found the Scheme lacked integrity and was in need of reform.

NSW Parliament has now passed the Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Act 2024 which amends the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. The Act implements reforms to improve the operation of the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme, by:

• raising the ambition of the scheme by ensuring it delivers net positive outcomes across the entire Scheme
• requiring areas of high biodiversity value to be identified and avoided early, providing certainty and reducing costs of development
• reducing the reliance on the Biodiversity Conservation Fund – which means the option of paying into the fund will be limited
• increasing transparency and reporting on offset delivery and
• providing flexibility for low-risk regional development.

This reform is detailed in the NSW Plan for Nature. For information on the NSW Plan for Nature visit: https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/cabinet-office/resources/nsw-plan-for-nature

Quote attributable to Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Penny Sharpe:

'The goal of the Minns Labor Government is to leave nature better off than we found it. We owe this to the next generation. These amendments to the Biodiversity Offset Scheme are the first step to turning around the loss by protecting and restoring habitat.

'We cannot simply be the manager of steady environmental decline. We have a responsibility to turn around the loss by protecting and restoring habitat. We must set nature on a path to recovery.

'This is the first tranche of reform. There is more work to be done as the NSW Government delivers on our plan for nature.”