Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017

In this clause—

The Environment Agency Head is to prepare and publish a Biodiversity Values Map. The Environment Agency Head may, from time to time, amend or replace the Map.

The Map may include the following land—

land that is the coastal wetlands and littoral rainforest area of the coastal zone referred to in the Coastal Management Act 2016,

land identified as koala habitat in a plan of management made under State Environmental Planning Policy No 44—Koala Habitat Protection, being land that in the opinion of the Environment Agency Head is core koala habitat,

land that is a declared Ramsar wetland within the meaning of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 of the Commonwealth,

land that, in the opinion of the Environment Agency Head, contains any threatened species or threatened ecological communities that are identified in a list of potential serious and irreversible impacts on biodiversity values under section 6.5(2) of the Act,

land that is identified by the Environment Agency Head as biodiverse riparian land,

land containing high conservation value grasslands or other groundcover—

as determined under the “Interim Grasslands and Other Groundcover Assessment Method” published by the Minister for the Environment in the Gazette on 25 August 2017, or

as determined by an independent field assessment undertaken before the commencement of the Act,

land that is identified by the Environment Agency Head as containing old-growth forests, on the basis of—

the mapping of old-growth forests for the purposes of the Comprehensive Regional Assessment under the National Forest Policy Statement (being the agreement between the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments made in 1992 and so described), but

excluding any land containing native vegetation that does not meet the criteria for old-growth forests published jointly from time to time by the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Primary Industries (as determined in accordance with the procedure so published),

land that is identified by the Environment Agency Head as containing rainforests, on the basis of—

the mapping of rainforests for the purposes of the Comprehensive Regional Assessment under the National Forest Policy Statement (being the agreement between the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments made in 1992 and so described), but

excluding any land containing native vegetation that does not meet the criteria for rainforests published jointly from time to time by the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Primary Industries (as determined in accordance with the procedure so published),

land that is a declared area of outstanding biodiversity value,

land that, in the opinion of the council of the local government area concerned, contains vegetation connectivity features or threatened species habitat and whose inclusion in the Map will, in the opinion of the Minister, conserve biodiversity at a bioregional or State scale,

any other land that, in the opinion of the Environment Agency Head, is of sufficient biodiversity value to be included in the Map.

Despite anything to the contrary in this Part, proposed development (other than subdivision) does not exceed the biodiversity offsets scheme threshold merely because it is to be carried out on a lot included in the Map if the lot was the result of a subdivision carried out before the commencement of the Act and the lot is within land zoned R1 to R4, RU5, B1 to B8 or IN1 to IN3 under an environmental planning instrument.

If an area of land is included in the Map, proposed development to be carried out in that area of land does not exceed the biodiversity offsets scheme threshold if it is the subject of an application for planning approval when the area is so included or within 90 days after it is so included.