There are 3 key NSW government agencies that administer and support the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme.
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
The department is the administrator and regulator of the scheme, with responsibility for:
- key legislation governing the scheme
- the Biodiversity Assessment Method and supporting rules and policies
- maintaining public registers, including for creating, transferring and retiring credits
- providing additional credit market information, tools and support
- accrediting and monitoring assessors who apply the Biodiversity Assessment Method.
Nature Markets and Offsets
The Nature Markets and Offsets division:
- administers the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme within the provisions of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016
- delivers programs and reforms in policy and governance to improve how the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme operates to maximise conservation outcomes
- fast-tracks supply of biodiversity credits by proactively supporting landholders to enter into biodiversity stewardship agreements (BSAs) that generate priority credits (credits most likely to be in demand)
- assesses and approves new biodiversity stewardship agreements (BSAs) – note the Biodiversity Conservation Trust is responsible for the management of biodiversity stewardship agreements and making payments through the Biodiversity Stewardship Payments Fund (BSPF)
- operates the Biodiversity Credits Supply Fund in a way that improves the biodiversity credits market, lowering the cost of in-demand credits and increasing their availability for proponents to support the delivery of infrastructure and projects across New South Wales
- enhances conservation benefits by contributing to regional and landscape-scale conservation objectives, integrating private and public land measures and contributing to an integrated biodiversity strategy for the state
- leads initiatives in nature markets, natural capital and accounts.
To learn more, go to Nature Markets and Offsets.
Biodiversity Conservation Trust
The Biodiversity Conservation Trust oversees Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements and the Biodiversity Stewardship Payments Fund including by:
- assisting landholders to manage their biodiversity stewardship sites, including supporting annual reporting processes
- ensuring compliance with Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement management actions, including ecological monitoring
- managing the Biodiversity Stewardship Payments Fund (which holds management funding also called Total Fund Deposits, for each agreement) and administering annual management payments to landholders.
The Biodiversity Conservation Trust also manages the Biodiversity Conservation Fund. This includes:
- buying credits from landholders to meet offset obligations that have been transferred to the trust
- retiring credits to meet the trust’s obligations
- administering the Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge System, which determines the amount that scheme participants must pay to meet their offset obligations
- administering the biodiversity credits price estimation service.
The Biodiversity Conservation Trust also purchases biodiversity credits to meet the offset requirements of NSW Government priority projects and programs, such as Sydney Region Growth Centres and the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan.
Learn more about the Biodiversity Conservation Trust.