Threatened species
The Department of Environment and Climate Change is responsible for administering the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The protection of threatened fish and marine vegetation is the responsibility of the Department of Primary Industries.
The Department fulfils this role through various means including advice, education, research, landscape planning, consultation and recovery planning. There are also occasions when the Department will use the enforcement tools available in the legislation to ensure threatened species are protected.
The Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act) provides a number of tools for conserving our biodiversity and protecting threatened species, populations, communities and their habitats at the landscape scale.
The key areas include:
- the integration of biodiversity into strategic land-use planning and improvements to the development assessment process through the certification of environmental planning instruments
- in rural areas - threatened species conservation embedded within native vegetation protection and incentives for landholders
- the accreditation of flora and fauna consultants
- transparent prioritisation of recovery and threat abatement actions
- the listing of threatened species maintained as a scientific process and based on defined criteria
- upgraded enforcement and compliance provisions
- expert advisory councils to advise the Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water on social, economic and biodiversity implications
- an assessment of significance, which allows applicants/proponents to analyse the likely impacts of a proposed development, and whether further assessment needs to be undertaken through a species impact statement.
Native vegetation package
The Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water has granted biodiversity certification on the native vegetation reform package, which commenced on 1 December 2005.
This means that approved property vegetation plans under the Native Vegetation Act 2003 will not require a separate threatened species licence.
Catchment Management Authorities will be the main point of contact for farmers in relation to native vegetation and threatened species conservation. The CMAs are developing Catchment Action Plans which identify biodiversity targets to achieve conservation outcomes.
New listings do not affect existing property vegetation plans.
Farming activities
Farmers can undertake routine agricultural management activities without the need for a separate threatened species licence. See Schedule 3 Amendment of other threatened species legislation.
Accreditation of environmental consultants
A new accreditation scheme for individuals involved in threatened species and biodiversity survey and assessment will ensure unbiased and objective information is available for use in biodiversity certification, assessments of significance and species impact statements.
The scheme aims to improve the overall standard of threatened species and biodiversity survey and assessment in NSW, provide industry recognition, and professional development goals for newly-qualified ecologists.
Key facts:
- An individual can be accredited in one, two or all three categories.
- Accredited Individuals will need to comply with a Code of Conduct.
- The initial accreditation period will be one year, renewable every three years.
- Initial accreditation will be based on knowledge and experience in various natural science disciplines, including biology, botany, zoology, aquatic ecology and natural resources.
- The proposed cost of accreditation will be around $200 per category per year, with discounts for accreditation in more than one category and for longer than a year.
- An Accreditation Panel will review and decide applications.
- Poor performance will result in withdrawal of accreditation based on a demerit point system.
- The scheme is not currently compulsory.
Public exhibition for the proposed scheme was completed in June 2006 and the scheme is expected to be operational in 2007.
Action on recovery - NSW Threatened Species Priorities Action Statement
A Threatened Species Priorities Action Statement (PAS) has been developed which outlines strategies to promote the recovery of each threatened species, population and ecological community and manage key threatening processes.
The PAS offers guidance on species recovery and provides a priority list of actions for government and non-government organisations with the resources to contribute to the recovery effort.
The PAS also identifies which recovery and threat abatement plans DECC will prepare over the next three years to 2010.
The PAS will be reviewed every three years with input from the Natural Resources Commission, the Scientific Committee, the Social and Economic Advisory Council, the Biological Diversity Advisory Council, state and federal government agencies, and the public.
Scientific Committee and the listing process
Listing of threatened species continues to be undertaken by the independent Scientific Committee. As a result of the reforms, the Scientific Committee is now required to base listing decisions on criteria consistent with those used by the Commonwealth Government and the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
Two new listing categories have been introduced:
- 'critically endangered' species and communities
- 'vulnerable' ecological communities
Upgraded enforcement and compliance
Authorised officers have powers to use the investigative tools under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 for the purposes of the national parks legislation (including the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995). This has improved powers of entry, search and seizure, and gives officers the authority to require persons to provide assistance and answer questions.
New evidentiary provisions place the onus of proof on the suspected offender for some offences. For example, the landholder of land on which a threatened species offence occurred will be presumed to have committed the offence, unless the landholder proves the activity was carried out by another person and the landholder did not cause or permit the activity. Also, for the offence of damaging habit of threatened species the suspected offender is presumed to have known the land was habitat of that kind if there was a failure to obtain or comply with development consent or approval where required.
On-the-spot penalty notice fines can now be issued for threatened species offences. These are generally used as a way to penalise breaches which are not serious enough to warrant prosecution in court.
The penalty notice fine amounts are:
- Vulnerable species: $500 individual, $1000 corporation
- Critically endangered and endangered species, populations or ecological communities: $1500 individual, $3000 corporation
Suspected offences should be reported to Environment Line on 131 555.
Advisory councils
An expert panel will be established to advise the Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water, DECC and the Natural Resources Commission on social and economic matters that relate to threatened species legislation. The Social and Economic Advisory Council will have expertise in natural resource management, economics, social impact assessment and industry. The Minister will appoint members to the Council.
The Biological Diversity Advisory Council (BDAC) will be re-established following changes to its role and membership. The panel of experts will provide advice on approaches and challenges in biodiversity conservation across the State. BDAC will also advise on the development, implementation, periodic review and evaluation of the revised NSW Biodiversity Strategy.
Assessment of significance
Replacing the eight part test, the Assessment of Significance commenced on 31 October 2005.
The revised factors maintain the same intent but focus consideration of likely impacts in the context of the local rather than the regional environment. There is a new requirement to consider ecological communities, key threatening processes and the terms of relevant recovery and threat abatement plans.
DECC and the Department of Primary Industries have jointly prepared the Threatened Species Assessment Guidelines: The Assessment of Significance.
The Assessment Guidelines address each factor individually and clarify ambiguous terms.
More information
An information sheet - Biodiversity Certification and BioBanking: A new initiative for threatened species protection provides a brief overview of how biodiversity certification and biodiversity banking will, in some instances, offer developers and local governments an alternative path to the current threatened species assessment required under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.