Review of Environmental Factors
Division 5.1 assessment for council, utility, and public infrastructure works
BIODIVERSITY SERVICES
Project ecologist services
One ecologist, providing strategic and timely advice from the first constraints map to the final certification.
A project ecologist stays with a project rather than delivering a single report. In NSW that means advising on the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and the Water Management Act 2000, along with any Council guidelines, during project design, preparing the surveys and reports the approval needs, answering council and Department queries, then carrying the same evidence into pre-clearing surveys, fauna safeguards, clearing supervision, habitat replacement, and post-approval compliance.
ESEA provides project ecologist services to Tier 1 and 2 developers, infrastructure providers, councils, agencies, and education organisations across NSW.
WHEN YOU NEED THIS
When a project ecologist makes sense
A single assessment suits a single decision.
A project ecologist suits a project where ecology touches several decisions over time, a masterplan with vegetation, riparian, and heritage constraints that shift as the layout does, an infrastructure job with conditions requiring inspections at hold points, or a school or campus with retained bushland that needs managing through construction and beyond.
The value is continuity, the person supervising clearing has read the BDAR, the arborist schedule, and the biodiversity mapping agree, and consent conditions are understood by the people implementing them.
WHAT IS INCLUDED
What the role covers
01
Early constraints advice, mapping, and pathway determination while the design can change
02
The assessments and reports the approval requires, coordinated with planners, engineers, and arborists
03
Liaison with council, the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, and other authorities
04
Pre-clearing surveys, fauna spotter-catcher attendance, environmental toolbox briefings, and stop-work protocols
05
Management plans, monitoring, certification, and compliance reporting for the agreed period
HOW WE WORK
How we work as your project ecologist
The project ecologist role is the clearest expression of how ESEA works.
We engage from project commencement, identify the environmental constraints early, and develop practical solutions that minimise redesign, delays, and unnecessary cost, which on a development project protects subdivision yield and Gross Floor Area and on an infrastructure, government, or education project protects the programme.
We provide responsive communication, clear timelines, and efficient delivery so environmental assessment never becomes the project bottleneck, and your project is managed by an experienced Senior Consultant from commencement through to completion, with Director-level review providing an additional layer of technical and strategic oversight.
Recent project ecologist work
Hawkesbury
Review of Environmental Factors
Sea-Eagle and koala management
Clearing supervision
On a Transport for NSW bridge project in the Hawkesbury, ESEA's role spans a Review of Environmental Factors, biodiversity assessment, vegetation management, koala and White-bellied Sea-Eagle management, pre-clearing surveys, clearing supervision, and nest monitoring. In September 2026 an ecological hold was maintained over approximately 0.14 hectares of riverbank works after dependent chicks were confirmed in an active Spotted Pardalote nesting burrow, demonstrating how the project ecologist role carries environmental controls into live construction decisions.
Blacktown
Approximately 400 hectares
Eastern Creek riparian corridor
Vegetation mapping
Across an approximately 400 hectare development site in Blacktown containing Cumberland Plain Woodland, an Eastern Creek riparian corridor, biodiversity-certified and non-certified land, Biodiversity Values Map areas, a rail corridor, and heritage buildings, ESEA provides vegetation mapping, habitat assessment, riparian advice, management planning, pre-clearing work, clearing supervision, replacement habitat, and dewatering support as one continuing commission.
FAQ
Project ecologist FAQs
Per commission rather than against a single typical figure, since the fee depends on how long ESEA remains involved, the number of design and coordination meetings, the construction programme, and the inspection frequency. A limited advisory role is priced very differently from a full appointment through construction, and the proposal sets out the attendance basis.
Ideally one to two weeks once the works programme is settled, and sometimes about two business days where capacity and site information allow. Larger clearing stages, hollow salvage, and replacement habitat need more coordination.
Yes. Coordinating the ecological requirements across those parties is most of the role, and where ESEA also provides the arboricultural assessment the arborist and the ecologist are the same team.
Related Biodiversity Services
Dam Dewatering and Aquatic Ecology
Staged drawdown supervision and fauna salvage when a dam is drained
Ecological Research
Designed studies and long-term monitoring for councils, agencies, and universities
Controlled Activity Approvals
Waterfront land advice and applications for works within 40 metres of waterways
Biodiversity & Ecological Assessments
Statutory biodiversity assessment, from early constraints checks to a full BDAR
Vegetation Management Plans
Practical, council-ready plans for retained vegetation and rehabilitation areas
Thermal Surveys
Thermal inspection of buildings and hollow-bearing trees before demolition or clearing
Biodiversity Stewardship
Feasibility and site assessment for landholders considering biodiversity credits
Targeted Species Surveys
Threatened species surveys timed to the season and conditions guidelines require
partner with us
Want an ecologist on the project from day one?
Tell us about the project and where it sits in the programme. We will scope a project ecologist role that runs from the first constraints map through approval, construction, and final certification.