New South Wales Biodiversity Legislation Reforms

The New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) is proposing to reform the states biodiversity legislation. The major changes proposed include:

• Introduction of a new Biodiversity Conservation Act;
• Amendment to the Local Land Services Act; and
• Repeal of the Native Vegetation Act 2003, the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, Nature Conservation Trust Act 2001 and parts of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

The OEH has justified the amendment by acknowledging that current framework has become “fragmented, overly complex and process driven” (OEH, 2016). There are concerns over the proposed changes as they involve the removal of some of the states key long-held environmental policy. Public exhibition and invitation for submissions closed late June 2016.

The reform represents a once in a lifetime window to improve conservation outcomes in a meaningful way and create a framework for delivering balanced outcomes across environmental, social and economic sectors.

For information on how the proposed reforms interact with your projects contact EPS Director of Ecology.