Two key issues in NSW's draft Biodiversity Offset Scheme Regulations need to be addressed in the final version of the Regulations.
The final Regulations need to address Recommendations 10 and 11 from IPART’s July 2026 Annual Report on the Biodiversity Credits Market Monitoring; and further, align the NSW framework with recent amendments to the EPBC Act by requiring that a person must not retire biodiversity credits by paying an amount into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund for entities listed on the list of high offset risk entities.
Secondly, the proposed changes to entry thresholds to the Biodiversity Offset Scheme should not proceed as they ignore cumulative impacts; ALCA strongly rejects area-based exclusions to biodiversity offsetting schemes.
