Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017

The circumstances in which the ordinary offset rules for the determination of the like-for-like biodiversity credits required to be retired as a biodiversity conservation measure may be varied are as follows (the variation rules)—

The proponent who is to retire the biodiversity credits has taken reasonable steps to obtain the requisite like-for-like biodiversity credits and requests the variation of the ordinary offset rules.

In the case of impacts on threatened ecological communities or on the habitat of threatened species that are ecosystem credit species or other native vegetation—the biodiversity credits to be retired need not represent the same threatened ecological community or the same class of vegetation or represent a location in the same or adjoining Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia subregion, so long as—

they represent the same vegetation formation, and

they are in the same or a higher offset trading group, and

they represent a location that is in—

the same Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia region as the impacted site, or

a subregion that is within 100 kilometres of the outer edge of the impacted site, and

if the impacted habitat contains hollow bearing trees—they represent vegetation that contains hollow bearing trees or artificial hollows.

In the case of impacts on threatened species that are species credit species—the biodiversity credits to be retired need not represent the same threatened species, so long as—

if the impacted species is a plant—they represent a plant, and

if the impacted species is an animal—they represent an animal, and

they represent a species that has the same or a higher category of listing under Part 4 of the Act as a threatened species, and

they represent a location that is in—

the same or an adjoining Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia subregion as the impacted site, or

any such subregion that is within 100 kilometres of the outer edge of the impacted site.

The variation rules do not apply in relation to impacts on threatened species or ecological communities that are excluded by the Environment Agency Head.