Most of the 2024 amendments to the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme took effect on 7 March 2025. Proponents can no longer use the variation rules, staged offsetting can be approved for local development, and the scheme must now move towards a net positive outcome. The “genuine measures” to avoid and minimise impacts have not yet started.
If your development needs a Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR), these changes affect how credits are met, how offsets are timed, and how much weight avoidance carries. Our biodiversity assessments are led and reviewed by an accredited assessor, supported by the ecology team, and already reflect the amended Act.
This update summarises what changed, what has not yet commenced, and what stays the same.
What is the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme?
The Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (BOS) is the NSW framework for assessing and offsetting impacts on native vegetation and threatened species from development and clearing. It sits under Part 6 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act). Where a proposal enters the scheme, an accredited assessor applies the Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM) and prepares a BDAR. The report sets out how impacts will be avoided and minimised, and the number and type of biodiversity credits needed to offset what remains.
Credits can be met by buying and retiring credits, by paying into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund, or by setting up a stewardship site. The biodiversity services page explains how each of these fits into a project.
What changed on 7 March 2025?
The Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Act 2024 (No 96) was passed in late 2024. A proclamation commenced the Act on 7 March 2025, except for three items in Schedule 1 that deal with avoiding and minimising impacts.
A legislated move to net positive
New section 6.2A requires the scheme to transition to a net positive outcome for biodiversity. The Minister must make and publish a strategy for that transition. At the time of writing, we have not found a published strategy.
Variation rules are now for the Trust only
The variation rules allowed a proponent to meet an offset obligation with credits of a different type when like-for-like credits were hard to find. Proponents and consent authorities can no longer use them. Only the Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) can apply the variation rules, when it acquits money paid into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund. Approvals issued before commencement that expressly allowed variation are unaffected.
Staged offsetting for local development
A concept or staged development consent may now provide for credits to be retired in stages, as the development proceeds. This is available for local development generally, but it is at the consent authority’s discretion and is set out in the consent conditions.
Faster concurrence for State Significant projects
For State Significant Development and State Significant Infrastructure, the Environment Minister’s concurrence is needed where the approval conditions depart from the credit requirement in the BDAR. The Minister now has 14 days to decide, or another period set by the regulations. If no decision is given in time, concurrence is taken to have been given without conditions.
A time limit for the Fund
The BCT must now acquit each offset obligation paid into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund within 3 years of the payment. If it cannot, it must reach an agreement with the Minister on how the obligation will be met.
What has not commenced yet?
The amendments that strengthen the duty to take “genuine measures” to avoid and minimise impacts were excluded from the 7 March 2025 commencement. They wait on supporting regulations. The NSW Government consulted on a draft Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Regulation 2026 from June to July 2026. As far as we can find, that regulation has not been made.
In practice, consent authorities and the BCT already expect a clear record of avoidance and minimisation in a BDAR, so it pays to document design decisions from the start.
Which assessment method applies now?
The Biodiversity Assessment Method 2020 (BAM 2020) remains the operative method. DCCEEW (the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water) has consulted on an updated method, but no replacement has commenced. We will update this post when a new method takes effect.
When does the scheme apply to my site?
A local development enters the scheme if it exceeds either of two thresholds. The first is the Biodiversity Values Map, which flags land with high biodiversity value. The second is the area clearing threshold, which depends on the minimum lot size for the land.
| Minimum lot size for the land | Clearing of native vegetation that triggers the scheme |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 ha | 0.25 ha or more |
| 1 ha to less than 40 ha | 0.5 ha or more |
| 40 ha to less than 1,000 ha | 1 ha or more |
| 1,000 ha or more | 2 ha or more |
These thresholds are set by clause 7.2 of the Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017 and were not changed by the 2024 Act. The draft 2026 Regulation proposes changes to the entry thresholds, so check the current position before relying on the table for a new site.
If your land is mapped on the Biodiversity Values Map, the scheme applies regardless of how little is cleared. A significant impact on threatened species can also trigger it.
What this means for your project
Budget for the credit requirement as calculated, not for a cheaper substitute. With the variation rules gone for proponents, a scarce credit type has to be met as it is, or through a payment into the Fund.
For staged local development, ask early whether staged offsetting suits your program. It can spread the cost of credits over the life of the project, but it needs to be written into the consent.
Document avoidance and minimisation properly. The “genuine measures” test is not yet in force, but the direction is clear, and a BDAR that shows real design changes is easier to assess. Where you hold land that could generate credits, biodiversity stewardship may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
Do the 2025 changes affect a BDAR already underway?
It can. The amendments have applied since 7 March 2025, subject to the savings and transitional provisions in Schedule 9 of the Act. The most likely effect is on how credits can be met, because proponents can no longer rely on the variation rules. Approvals issued before commencement that expressly allowed variation keep that permission. Ask your assessor to check how the transitional provisions apply to your application.
Can I still use the variation rules?
No. Since 7 March 2025, only the Biodiversity Conservation Trust can apply the variation rules, when it acquits payments made into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund. A proponent who cannot find like-for-like credits can pay into the Fund, and the Trust then meets the obligation within 3 years.
What is the clearing threshold for my lot?
It depends on the minimum lot size for the land under the local planning controls, not the size of your lot. The thresholds run from 0.25 ha for land with a minimum lot size under 1 ha, up to 2 ha for 1,000 ha or more. Check the Biodiversity Values Map as well, because it is a separate trigger.
Sources
- Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Act 2024 No 96
- Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016
- Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017
- DCCEEW, Biodiversity Offsets Scheme reforms
- DCCEEW, Biodiversity Offsets Scheme entry requirements
- DCCEEW, Biodiversity Assessment Method 2020
Related projects: Kemsley Park, Grose Vale, Advance Street, Schofields and Old Northern Road Sand Quarry, Maroota.
Related updates: Biodiversity offset charges in NSW from 1 October 2026 and The 2026 guidelines for Reviews of Environmental Factors.
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