Understanding the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme and how our Natural Capital service can help 

Biodiversity in New South Wales is under increasing pressure. Rapid urban growth, agricultural clearing, infrastructure expansion and invasive species are all contributing to habitat loss and species decline. The NSW Government’s Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (BOS) provides a scientific, transparent framework to ensure that development proceeds in a way that recognises and accounts for biodiversity values.  

What the Scheme is and how it works 

At its heart, the BOS requires that before an unavoidable biodiversity impact proceeds, developers and land-clearing proponents must avoid, then minimise, and only then offset residual impacts of this unavoidable impact. This “avoid-minimise-offset” hierarchy underpins the scheme.  

When a proposed development or vegetation clearing cannot avoid or minimise impacts entirely, the scheme quantifies the remaining biodiversity loss via a scientifically based method, the Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM). This method calculates how many biodiversity credits a development must retire to offset its impacts, and likewise how many credits can be generated on a stewardship or conservation site through long-term management and improvement of biodiversity values.  

For landholders willing to participate, entering a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement (BSA) converts part of their property into a stewardship site where native vegetation, threatened species habitat and ecological functions are secured in-perpetuity, and managed for biodiversity gain. The gains at those sites produce biodiversity credits that can be sold to meet developers’ obligations.  

The scheme is administered by the Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) and other NSW government divisions and includes mechanisms such as the Biodiversity Credits Supply Fund to support a well-functioning credits market and ensure that credits are available when required.  

Why it matters 

Many ecosystems and endemic species are, and have historically been, under threat in NSW from a rapidly changing climate, and mounting pressures from urban, agricultural and infrastructure development impacts. It is clear that without sound policy intervention, we face significant loss of biodiversity. The BOS is intended to deliver a standard of no net loss of biodiversity, meaning the gains of stewardship sites must at least match the losses caused by developments.  

For developers, the scheme provides regulatory certainty: once obligations are understood (via the BAM), they can plan accordingly. For landholders, it opens a revenue-stream for ecosystem management, restoration, and conservation. For the environment, it aims to shift from business-as-usual impact to measurable conservation outcomes. 

Key recent reforms and opportunities 

In late 2024 and early 2025, major reforms were passed under the Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Act 2024, reflecting the State government’s commitment to improve scheme integrity, increase transparency, and ultimately support a shift towards net positive biodiversity outcomes (rather than just no net loss).  

These reforms create strong impetus for both generating and acquiring biodiversity credits: the market is evolving, demand is increasing, and credible providers of offset outcomes are strongly positioned. 

Our Natural Capital Service 

In response to this evolving landscape, Biodiversity Australia offers its Natural Capital Service, designed to support both sides of the equation: credit generation and credit acquisition. 

Our Natural Capital Service offers: 

  • Biodiversity credits available for sale, generated via well-designed stewardship agreements and restoration programs.
  • Tailored advisory support for developers who need to fulfil credit obligations under the BOS: we help assess, purchase, retire or manage credits efficiently and credibly.
  • Landholder partnership opportunities, where we work with you to identify stewardship-site potential, structure agreements, secure management funding, and develop credits for the market.
  • Rigorous monitoring and management to ensure the biodiversity gains are real, sustained and aligned with the goals tailored to each stewardship site.

Why choose our Natural Capital Service? 

  • We bring 15+ years of ecological and conservation experience across the varied Bioregions in NSW.
  • We understand the BOS regulatory framework intimately, from impact assessment and credit offset obligations through to stewardship site design and credit market mechanics.
  • We prioritise transparency, quality and ecological integrity, ensuring that credits we generate or manage are robust and valued in the market.
  • We provide end-to-end service: from stewardship site selection, biodiversity assessment and habitat improvement to credit accreditation and sale or acquisition support.

How to get started 

If you are a developer with an upcoming project and you expect a biodiversity credit obligation, contact our Natural Capital team to: 

  1. Understand your credit class, obligation size and market value.
  2. Explore available credits in our portfolio.
  3. Set up a strategic offset delivery strategy, or a tailored stewardship site if you are seeking to generate credits to meet the offset obligation.

If you are a landholder and interested in generating credits: 

  1. Let us assess your property’s suitability for a stewardship agreement (habitat quality, vegetation condition, eligibility).
  2. We’ll act as the Accredited Assessor to assist in establishing a Biodiversity Stewardship Site on your land. We will provide a Biodiversity Stewardship Site Assessment Report and co-design a compliant management plan to improve biodiversity values in line with the agreement.
  3. Work with you to bring the resulting credits to market, and to provide support for the long-term management of the Stewardship Site under the co-designed management plan.

Final thoughts 

The NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme presents a compelling framework for ensuring that development and nature conservation proceed together. But the success of the scheme ultimately depends on quality, integrity and participation in the credits market. 

With our new Natural Capital Service, Biodiversity Australia is stepping up to provide credible, experienced and streamlined support for all stakeholders, whether you need to acquire credits, generate them or simply understand how the BOS intersects with your project or landholding. Let’s work together to ensure that nature is not the forgotten element of development, it’s the reason we do it. 

Ready to explore? Contact us today to discuss how we can help you turn biodiversity obligations into meaningful conservation outcomes or transform your land into a lasting asset for nature and society. 

Information in this article is informed by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s Biodiversity Offsets Scheme resources, available at environment.nsw.gov.au. This content has been written and summarised by Biodiversity Australia to provide general context on the scheme and introduce our Natural Capital Service.