Biodiversity Offset Strategy

Developers of infrastructure, energy, resources and property in Australia must comply with a range of complex and evolving biodiversity regulations at state and federal levels.

This involves quantifying a project’s impact on flora and fauna to determine biodiversity offset obligations and then procuring offsets in alignment with regulations.

While this is a critical process to mitigate the environmental impacts of a project, biodiversity offsetting is often overlooked leading to critical time and cost risks for projects.

Taking a proactive approach to biodiversity offsetting can reduce project time and cost risks, as well as achieve better environmental and community outcomes.

We help clients avoid or minimise biodiversity impacts, meet offset requirements efficiently and often provide additional opportunities for nature positive outcomes and pathways for cost-recovery through engagement with offset schemes.

Our offset strategies often value-add by simultaneously addressing carbon or organisation sustainability targets or requirements.

Our biodiversity offset strategy services

• Project design
  Working with project proponents early in a project’s planning phase, we can provide strategic advice to shape the design and approval conditions of the project to reduce biodiversity impacts and offset opportunities
• Biodiversity offset strategy
  Planning the most effective way to meet offset obligations, from engaging with local landholders or our own landholder network for offset site development opportunities, to sourcing biodiversity credits from the market
• Land acquisition
  Exploring options with you to purchase land to develop a biodiversity stewardship project that meets your specific biodiversity obligations
• Credit procurement
  For developers that know their biodiversity obligation, we can procure biodiversity credits from our significant network of landholders with existing or planned projects, or secure credits from the market – see our credit brokerage services here

Our experience extends across the Australian Government’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act and Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES), including avoidance and mitigation measures as well as environmental offset strategy and procurement.

We have significant experience in NSW working on the Biodiversity Offset Scheme under the Biodiversity Conservation Act, including having delivered the state’s largest and most complex Biodiversity Development Assessment Report and set the offset strategy for the HumeLink project.

Our experts also work across Queensland and Victoria, interacting with both the federal regulation and the respective state-based requirements under the Queensland Environmental Offsets Act and the Victoria Planning and Environment Act.

Niche is the largest and most experienced biodiversity consultancy in Australia with a uniquely dedicated team focused on natural capital and offsetting.

Having worked in this space for more than 15 years, we understand the complexities of balancing environmental impacts with your project goals.

Our multi-disciplinary team of ecologists and natural capital experts are creative and solutions-focused when it comes to delivering the best biodiversity strategies for our clients.

Our clients trust us to be transparent and flexible, driven by outcomes and science-backed always.