Biodiversity Offset Program - Princes Highway upgrade program

Transport for NSW is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from rural landowners within the Wollongong, Wingecarribee, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and Eurobodalla Local Government Areas that may be interested in entering a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement on their land under the Biodiversity Offset Program.

Landowners interested in lodging an EOI need to complete and return the application form (PDF, 174Kb) to us by 31 March 2023.

We will contact you to discuss your application, the Biodiversity Offset Program and next steps. Responding to the EOI is obligation free and does not commit you to anything.

Existing credit holders and landowners who have already undertaken the necessary ecological assessments do not need to respond via the EOI process and are encouraged to contact us directly.

Transport for NSW seek to minimise and avoid impacts on biodiversity from road and other infrastructure projects. When building roads, sometimes land available for wildlife (biodiversity) can be impacted and that impact needs to be offset by protecting and improving similar biodiversity values by ‘offsetting’ in a different place.

The Biodiversity Offset Scheme provides:

• a consistent biodiversity assessment process for development
• a rigorous and credible offsetting scheme
• an opportunity for rural property owners to generate income by managing land for conservation.

Under this scheme, landowners enter a ‘Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement’ with the NSW Minister for the Environment and Heritage and can then sell the biodiversity credits generated by their properties. The scheme is a voluntary process.

Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements provide an opportunity for landowners to receive a guaranteed long-term income in return for managing some or all of their land for wildlife.

EOI are sought from the following Local Government Areas on the South Coast including:

• Wollongong Local Government Area
• Wingecarribee Local Government Area
• Shellharbour Local Government Area
• Shoalhaven Local Government Area
• Eurobodalla Local Government Area.

We are seeking properties with the following:

Native plant species

• Hibbertia puberula
• Eucalyptus sturgissiana
• Eucalyptus langleyi
• Illawarra Greenhood
• Nowra Heath Myrtle
• Leafless Tongue-orchid
• Scrub Turpentine
• Thick-lipped Spider-orchid
• Bauer’s Midge Orchid
• Pretty Beard Orchid
• Pterostylis vernalis.

Animal species

• Southern Myotis
• Eastern Pygmy Possum
• Glossy Black Cockkatoo
• Gang-gang Cockatoo
• Powerful Owl
• Barking Owl
• Sooty Owl
• Greater Glider
• Koala
• White-footed Dunnart
• White-bellied Sea-Eagle
• Little Eagle.

We are also seeking the following native vegetation communities (or plant community types):

• Bangalay - Old-man Banksia open forest on coastal sands (PCT 659)
• Forest Red Gum - Thin-leaved Stringybark grassy woodland on coastal lowlands (PCT 838)
• Woolllybutt - White Stringybark - Forest Red Gum grassy woodland on coastal lowlands (PCT 1326)
• Blackbutt - Turpentine - Bangalay moist open forest on sheltered slopes and gullies (PCT 694)
• Red Bloodwood - Hard-leaved Scribbly Gum - Silvertop Ash heathy open forest (PCT 1082)
• River Peppermint – Rough-barked Apple moist open forest (PCT 1109)
• Red Bloodwood - Silvertop Ash - White Stringybark heathy open forest (PCT 1084)
• Red Bloodwood - Blackbutt - Spotted Gum shrubby open forest (PCT 1079)
• Spotted Gum - Blackbutt shrubby open forest (PCT 1206)
• Spotted Gum - Grey Ironbark - Woollybutt grassy open forest (PCT 1212)
• Turpentine - Red Bloodwood - Sydney Peppermint shrubby open forest (PCT 1283)
• Swamp Mahogany swamp sclerophyll forest (PCT 1231)
• Hairpin Banksia – Slender Tea-tree heath on coastal sandstone plateaux (PCT 882).

The EOI process offers suitable landholders the opportunity to have their land assessed for its biodiversity values, free of charge.

Transport for NSW will also support landholders financially to understand the legal and practical implications of entering a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement over their land.

In return, Transport for NSW will:

• expect landholders to sign an Exclusivity Agreement with Transport for NSW
• retain ownership of all assessment reports prepared
• discount the costs of preparing the assessment from the credit price.

Participating in the EOI process or signing an Exclusivity Agreement does not mean that landholders must enter an agreement to sell their credits to Transport for NSW.

Further information

EOI will run until 31 March 2023 or until such time that Transport for NSW has secured sufficient biodiversity offsets.

EOIs will be progressed in the order that they are received. For more information about how Transport for NSW supports landowners to enter Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements please read the Selling biodiversity credits to Transport for NSW (PDF, 354.24 KB) fact sheet.

For more information about what’s involved in entering a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement, visit the Biodiversity Conservation Trust.