Strategic Offset Policy and Biodiversity Offset Guidelines · Attachment 2 - Noosa Biodiversity Offset Guideline Final

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ORGANISATIONAL GUIDELINE - Biodiversity Offsets


All Council representatives must act in accordance with the requirements of the Strategic Offset
Policy and this Biodiversity Offset Guideline when undertaking activities that may result in, require,
or contribute to the delivery of biodiversity offsets.
Additional elements of this framework may be developed to guide the Noosa Council offset process,
including procedure documents and templates for assessment, financial governance, due diligence
and implementation of offset projects.
This guideline does not remove the need for complying with state or federal offset requirements
for Matter of State Environmental Significance (MSES) and Matters of National Environmental
Significance (MNES) impacts.

REVIEW
This guideline will be reviewed every four years, or as required.


DEFINITIONS
Term                 Meaning
Additionality        A requirement that a project or activity results in biodiversity
                     outcomes unlikely to occur in the ordinary course of events in the
                     absence of the project or activity, including due to any existing
                     commitment or target publicly agreed by the entity responsible for
                     issuing the units.
Advanced Offsets     Areas of land that have been identified and restored for the potential
                     future use as an offset area for a significant residual impact on one
                     or more prescribed environmental matters.
Advanced Offset      Application to the state government to have an area of land identified
Application          and registered as an advanced offset
Biodiversity         The variety of life in all its forms, including the diversity of genes,
                     species, ecosystems, and the ecological processes that support
                     them.
Biodiversity         Activities undertaken to protect, restore, enhance or manage
Conservation Actions biodiversity values, including habitat restoration, revegetation,
                     weed control, pest animal management and conservation land
                     management.
Biodiversity Offset  Measures undertaken to compensate for the residual adverse
                     impacts on biodiversity arising from development or other
                     activities, after all reasonable actions to avoid, minimise and
                     rehabilitate those impacts have been implemented
Biodiversity Values  The ecological characteristics, functions and attributes of an area
                     that contribute to biodiversity, including native species, habitats,
                     ecosystems, ecological processes, connectivity and ecosystem
                     resilience
Broad Vegetation     A classification of vegetation communities based on shared
Group                structural and floristic characteristics that groups multiple regional
                     ecosystems into broader vegetation categories
Carbon Offsets       Verified actions that avoid, reduce, remove, or sequester
                     greenhouse gas emissions to compensate for emissions
                     generated elsewhere. Carbon offsets may include activities such
                     as reforestation, ecosystem restoration, renewable energy
                     projects, or other recognised carbon abatement initiatives
Combination Offsets Combination of proponent-driven offset and part financial
                     settlement offset
Conservation         A legally binding agreement registered on land title that secures
Covenant             the long-term protection and management of biodiversity values
                     on a property.

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Declared Natural      A natural hazard event that has been formally declared by a
Disaster              relevant government authority under applicable legislation or
                      disaster management arrangements.
Direct Benefit        Where Council will deliver and/or collaborate with stakeholders to
Management Plans      provide benefits for prescribed environmental matters. It forms a
                      packaged investment that outlines priority actions to address
                      threats to, and provide substantial benefits for, particular
                      prescribed environmental matters. Substantial benefits are
                      achieved by providing landscape-scale environment and socio-
                      ecological benefits for those matters, or if the matter is localised,
                      improved outcomes compared to a traditional land-based offset
Direct Offsets        Offset actions undertaken on land to directly achieve measurable
                      biodiversity outcomes that compensate for residual environmental
                      impacts.
Environmental         Include Matters of State Environmental Significance and
Matters               Matters of State Environmental Significance and Matters of
                      Local Environmental Significance
Financial Agreements Legally binding agreements that establish financial arrangements
                      for the delivery, management, maintenance, monitoring or
                      administration of biodiversity offsets
First Nations People The Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi) Peoples and the Jinibara Peoples,
                      as the Traditional Custodians of lands and waters within and
                      adjacent to the Noosa Shire, together with other Aboriginal and
                      Torres Strait Islander peoples who live, work, or have cultural
                      connections to the area.
Force Majeure Event Fire, flood, cyclone, storm, drought or other natural disaster, or
                      any other event beyond the reasonable control of the responsible
                      party, that may justify a reasonable extension of time or variation
                      to implementation and maintenance obligations under an offset
                      delivery plan or written agreement, to the extent the event
                      materially delays or prevents performance
Intertidal Vegetation Native vegetation occurring within the area between the highest
                      and lowest tidal influence, including mangroves, saltmarshes and
                      other tidal wetland vegetation communities.
Land-use              A payment made by a third-party for the use of Council land as an
Compensation          offset receiving site, to compensate Council for making that land
Allocation            unavailable for other Council purposes. The amount is set at
                      $25,000 per hectare at 2026/27 rates and will be indexed annually
                      to CPI. This amount may be reviewed on occasion as needed
Mandatory Mitigation The provision of documentation that demonstrates all reasonable
Hierarchy Test        efforts have been made to avoid and reduce/mitigate potential
                      impacts to vegetation and biodiversity prior to the consideration of
                      biodiversity offsetting to the satisfaction of the Environment
                      Services Manager
Matters of Local      Are the areas included within the Biodiversity, Waterways and
Environmental         Wetlands Overlay of the Noosa Plan 2020.
Significance (MLES)
Matters of National   The following matters protected under the Environment Protection
Environmental         and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, chapter 2, part 3:
Significance (MNES)                   •        World heritage properties.
                                      •        National heritage places.
                                      •        Wetlands of international importance.
                                      •        Listed threatened species and communities.
                                      •        Listed migratory species.
                                      •        Commonwealth marine areas.
                                      •        Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

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Matters of State            The list of natural values and areas as described in the
Environmental               Queensland Government’s ‘State Planning Policy 2017’.
Significance (MSES)
Mitigation Hierarchy A tool that is used to limit the amount of damage an action, such as
                     a development, will have on the environment. There are three
                     steps, and each step must be followed in order, and to the greatest
                     extent possible, before moving on to the next.
Mitigation Hierarchy A set of principles which guide decision making regarding offset
Principles           approval
Monitoring Plan      A documented framework that sets out the methodology,
                     performance indicators, monitoring frequency, reporting
                     requirements and adaptive management measures used to assess
                     offset performance.
Nature-based         The act of working with nature to deliver benefits to people and the
Solutions            natural environment. They include the protection, restoration or
                     sustainable management of ecosystems, habitats and productive
                     lands, and can support and enhance biodiversity and ecosystem
                     health and help address climate risks, while simultaneously
                     providing a range of ecosystem services to people and community
                     wellbeing.
Nature Positive      An outcome whereby actions result in the overall improvement of
                     biodiversity, ecosystem health, ecological connectivity, and
                     resilience, such that nature is measurably better than the baseline
                     condition and any environmental losses are outweighed by
                     environmental gains.
Nature Refuge        A voluntary conservation agreement between a landholder and the
                     State that provides for the long-term protection and management of
                     biodiversity values on private land
Nature Repair Market Voluntary offsets market established to incentivise actions to
                     restore and protect biodiversity. It encourages nature positive land
                     management practices that deliver improved biodiversity outcomes.
                     The scheme establishes a marketplace where individuals and
                     organisations can undertake nature repair projects to generate a
                     tradable biodiversity certificate
No Net Loss and Net A target for a development project in which the impacts on specific
Gain                 biodiversity caused by the project are balanced or outweighed by
                     measures taken to avoid and minimize the project’s impacts, to
                     undertake on-site restoration and finally to offset the residual
                     impacts, so that no loss remains. Where the gain exceeds the loss,
                     the term Net Gain may be used instead of No Net Loss.
Non-remnant          Native vegetation that does not meet the criteria for remnant
Vegetation           vegetation under applicable Queensland legislation or mapping
                     frameworks
Noosa Council Driven Biodiversity offset opportunities, credits or conservation outcomes
Offsets              created through actions undertaken, funded or facilitated by Noosa
                     Council
Noosa Council Driven Development, infrastructure works or other activities undertaken,
Development          commissioned or delivered by Noosa Council, including activities
                     carried out by contractors on Council's behalf.
Noosa Plan 2020      Local planning instrument that regulates land use planning and
                     development in Noosa Shire, administered by Noosa Council
Noosa Plan 2020      A dataset which maps environmental values that are identified and
Biodiversity,        protected across Noosa Shire and which trigger assessment of
Waterways and        development against the overlay code.
Wetlands Overlay


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Noosa Shire                 The local government area administered by Noosa Council,
                            encompassing the communities, landscapes, waterways, and
                            natural environments located within its legally defined boundaries.
Offset Delivery Plan        A documented plan that outlines how a biodiversity offset will be
                            established, managed, implemented and maintained to achieve the
                            required ecological outcomes.
Offsets Program             Ecological compensation activities that aim to mitigate losses of a
                            biodiversity feature (i.e. a particular species, assemblage, or
                            ecosystem) because of unavoidable development.
Other Effective Area-       Geographically defined areas that are governed and managed in
Based Conservation          ways that achieve sustained and effective long-term conservation
Measures (OECMs)            of biodiversity, regardless of whether conservation is the primary
                            management objective
Proponent-driven            Offsets delivered by, or on behalf of the proponent. This can
Offsets                     include delivery of the offset by a third party through a contract
                            between the proponent and an offset provider
Regional Ecosystem          A vegetation community in a bioregion that is consistently
                            associated with a particular combination of geology, landform and
                            soil, as defined under Queensland's regional ecosystem
                            framework.
Regrowth Native             Native vegetation that has naturally regenerated or been re-
Vegetation                  established following disturbance and is not classified as remnant
                            vegetation.
Remnant Vegetation          Native vegetation forming an ecosystem that is mapped or defined
                            as remnant vegetation under applicable Queensland legislation and
                            regional ecosystem mapping.
Stacked Biodiversity        Land-based conservation or restoration activities that generate
Offsets                     multiple environmental credits—typically biodiversity and carbon—
                            from the same area of land, where each credit represents a distinct
                            ecological value and is accounted for separately
Successful                  Minimum establishment maintenance period required to achieve
Establishment               successful establishment, being the point at which the planting no
                            longer requires active maintenance for survival. The minimum
                            establishment maintenance period and successful establishment
                            state, where not specifically outlined in State of Federal approval
                            conditions, is set to the satisfaction of the Environment Services
                            Manager
Third-party Agency          An external organisation, government entity, conservation body,
                            non-government organisation, landholder or other approved party
                            engaged to deliver, manage, monitor or report on biodiversity offset
                            outcomes on behalf of Council.
Third-party Agency          Offsets generated from activities facilitated by parties that are not
Driven Offsets              Council or are for projects that are not Council led
Permanence                  A requirement that offset units are permanently maintained. For
                            biodiversity offsets, this includes the implementation of permanent
                            legal mechanisms to protect and offset receiving site and to
                            manage it in perpetuity to maintain the desired environmental
                            values intended.
Voluntary                   Offsets not required by legislation. They may, but do not have to,
Biodiversity Offsets        be associated with the Nature Repair Market

BACKGROUND
Biodiversity offsets are delivered by Council in response to unavoidable and unmitigated impacts to
biodiversity values from public infrastructure capital and civil works development or other relevant
Third-Party Agency developments. They are used to compensate for these unavoidable impacts on
significant environmental matters on one site, by replacing the unavoidable impacts onsite or
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securing land at another site and managing that land over time to replace specific environmental
matters which were lost.


DECISION MAKING PARAMETERS
Under this guideline, delivery of offsets will be considered for projects involving:
Noosa Council generated offsets
    •   Council driven development that impacts on MNES under the Environment Protection and
        Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 environmental offsets policy. This includes threatened
        ecological communities and essential habitat for Commonwealth listed fauna and flora
        species.
    •   Council driven development that impacts on MSES under the Queensland Environmental
        Offsets Policy 2022 and associated Queensland Legislation requiring offsets. This includes
        remnant vegetation and high value regrowth mapped under the Vegetation Management
        Act 1999, and essential habitat for native flora and fauna species under the Nature
        Conservation Act 1992.
    •   Council driven Offsets required under the Fisheries Act 1994 and the Planning Act 2016 for
        interfering with protected marine plants or for waterway barrier works.
    •   Council driven Offsets required for public infrastructure projects under the under the State
        Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971.
    •   Council driven Stacked Biodiversity Offsets driven through Council internal carbon offset
        initiatives, including but not limited to those registered under the National Nature Repair
        Market.
Third-party Agency offsets:
    •   Third-party driven impacts on MNES under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
        Conservation Act 1999 environmental offsets policy. This includes threatened ecological
        communities and essential habitat for Commonwealth listed fauna and flora species.

   •    Third-party driven impacts on MSES under the Queensland Environmental Offsets Policy
        2022. This includes remnant vegetation and high value regrowth mapped under the Vegetation
        Management Act 1999, and essential habitat for native flora and fauna species under the
        Nature Conservation Act 1992.
   •    Third-party driven impacts on MLES on matters that are mapped under Noosa Council’s
        Noosa Plan 2020 Biodiversity, Waterways and Wetlands Overlay overseen by the Planning
        Act 2016, including: non-remnant or regrowth native vegetation that acts as connecting
        habitat, habitat trees in non-remnant areas, feed trees/habitat for listed fauna species, and
        hollow bearing trees for hollow dependent fauna.
   •    Third-party driven Offsets required under the Fisheries Act 1994 and the Planning Act 2016
        for interfering with protected marine plants or for waterway barrier works.
   •    Third-party driven Offsets required for public infrastructure projects under the State
        Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971.
   •    Third-party generated Voluntary Biodiversity Offsets driven through initiatives, including but
        not limited to, the National Nature Repair Market.


ASSESSMENT AND APPLICATION OF OFFSETS
Noosa Council Generated Offsets
Council will offset biodiversity values impacted because of its Public Infrastructure works (i.e. capital
works, civil works and maintenance, landfill expansion, disaster mitigation) or Development projects
where required under State or Commonwealth legislation.

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Offset Delivery Plans supported by allocated funding will guide Council’s delivery of direct offsets
and other prioritised biodiversity conservation actions. Financial agreements, Offset Delivery Plans
and monitoring reports will be prepared to the satisfaction of the Director of Strategy and
Environment to ensure offsets achieve the required conservation outcome.
Council will not externalise biodiversity offsets requirements, including financial offset agreements
with the State Government for MSES matters of the Commonwealth Government for MNES
matters, except in extenuating circumstances. Exceptions may apply where:
            o   Critical infrastructure failures require urgent rectification; or
            o   No suitable offsets are available within the Council area after consultation with
                Council’s Director of Strategy and Environment.

Third-party Agency Driven Offsets
Council may offer offset receiving sites to other agencies undertaking infrastructure and development
within Noosa Shire by way of suitably costed financial contributions, an offset delivery plan and a
monitoring plan. This can occur once the MNES, MNES and MLES assessment process has been
undertaken by the relevant agency and offset requirements have been determined.
Where the offset is being delivered on behalf of an external third-party entity as a condition of
Commonwealth or State legislative approvals, or as a Voluntary Biodiversity Offset, Council will
consider applying, where appropriate, the offset delivery as either:
    1. A proponent-driven offset, where Council delivers the offset on behalf of the proponent as
       agreed in the proponent’s offset delivery plan
    2. A financial settlement offset where Council will enter into a financial agreement with the
       proponent with funding being dedicated to achieving the offset requirement and targets
       outlined in Council’s current Environment Strategy and supporting plans, negotiated in
       partnership with the Third-party Agency
    3. A combination offset where Council will deliver the offset requirement that is part proponent-
       driven and part financial settlement offset
    4. A direct benefit management plan where Council will deliver and/or collaborate with
       stakeholders to provide benefits for prescribed environmental matters
    5. An advanced offset where Council will make available suitable sites which contain matters
       of environmental significance to compensate for a future significant residual impact on one
       or more prescribed environmental matters.
To the satisfaction and endorsement of the Director of Strategy and Environment, financial
agreements, offset delivery plans and monitoring reports will be developed that will allow for offsets
to achieve the required conservation outcome.
Where possible, a Land-use Compensation Allocation relevant to the area of land made available
for a Third-Party Agency area-based (not including individual threatened plant offsets) offset is to be
sought from the proponent as part of the financial offset contract. Funds raised as a result of Land-
use Compensation Allocations will be directed to future land acquisition activities in accordance with
the Noosa Environment Levy Policy 2020.


Assessment of Impacts
Assessment of impacts on MNES, MSES or MLES matters and State Government generated
projects under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971, Fisheries Act 1994
or other applicable legislation, are outside the scope of this assessment guidance and are subject to
the relevant legislation, policies and guidelines governing the matters.


Offset Receiving Sites
Council will identify suitable land within its conservation estate OR look to secure or acquire land
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elsewhere that can act as a receiving site for:
    •   Impacts on MNES such as threatened ecological communities and habitat for threatened
        species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
    •   Impacts on MSES identified under the Vegetation Management Act and Nature Conservation
        Act.
    •   Impacts on Areas of Biodiversity Significance captured under the Noosa Plan 2020
        Biodiversity Waterways and Wetlands Overlay Mapping for local environmental matters not
        otherwise MNES or MSES.
    •   Impacts on protected marine plants or waterway barrier works under the Fisheries Act 1994
        and the Planning Act 2016.
    •   Offsets required for public infrastructure projects under the under the State Development and
        Public Works Organisation Act 1971.
    •   Impacts identified under the Strategic Offsets Policy and this Biodiversity Offsets Guideline.
    •   Voluntary Biodiversity Offsets driven through initiatives including the National Nature Repair
        Market.
Offset receiving sites will be on Council owned/managed land (e.g. Council freehold tenure, Nature
Refuge or State Land with Noosa Council as trustee) or privately owned land where legally secured
for conservation in perpetuity under a Conservation Covenant or similar.
All offset receiving sites will have legally binding protective mechanisms in place such as a
Conservation Covenant, Nature Refuge, Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures
(OECM’s) or Voluntary Declaration under the Vegetation Management Act 1999.
In extraordinary circumstances Council may look to and deliver offsets outside of the Shire where
no suitable relevant biodiversity offset area is available, or feasible within the Noosa Local
Government area.


Advanced Offsets
Council will develop a portfolio of advanced offsets as funds avail, to be notified under the
Commonwealth Environmental Offsets Policy and registered as per the Queensland Government
Environmental Offsets Regulation 2014.


GOVERNANCE
The Director of Strategy and Environment will be responsible for managing the biodiversity offset
program delivery within Council.


PROCESS
The following process will be followed for projects generated internal and external to
Noosa Council that require biodiversity offsets:
    •   Prior to Offsets being accepted, the proponent must demonstrate compliance with the
        Mandatory Mitigation Hierarchy Test which is to only proceed with offsets as a last resort
        after all options to avoid, reduce/mitigate potentially impacted biodiversity have been
        exhausted.
    •   Offsets delivered on behalf of a proponent will be governed by a written agreement which
        outlines the roles and responsibilities of all parties, financial arrangements, and monitoring
        and reporting protocols.
    •   For Council generated offsets, coordination, planning and costing development for offsets
        is to occur during the project’s early design phase (prior to the clearing of impact site) with
        engagement by all relevant parties.
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    •   A financial agreement, offset delivery plan and monitoring plan (with monitoring and
        reporting protocols and clear timelines) will be prepared for approval by the Director of
        Strategy and Environment, prior to any impact work occurring, to ensure that the offset
        achieves the required conservation outcome.
    •   The roles and responsibilities of offset delivery plan and monitoring plan are to be clarified
        and communicated to all parties across the project life.
    •   Whole-of-life costs for project deliverables (i.e. assessment, planning, implementation,
        project management, contingencies and stipulated establishment maintenance period) will
        be the responsibility of the entity undertaking the development or project.
    •   All financial agreements must include clauses for force majeure events to absolve liability to
        Council for offset delivery. A force majeure event, including fire, flood, cyclone, storm,
        drought or other natural disaster, or any other event beyond the reasonable control of the
        responsible party, may justify a reasonable extension of time or variation to implementation
        and maintenance obligations under an offset delivery plan or written agreement, to the extent
        the event materially delays or prevents performance.
    •   A minimum establishment maintenance period is required to achieve successful
        establishment, being the point at which the planting no longer requires active maintenance
        for survival. This minimum establishment maintenance period, where not specifically outlined
        in State of Federal approval conditions, is set to the satisfaction of the Director of Strategy
        and Environment.
    •   Council will ensure the proponent's financial contribution is quarantined within individual
        project accounts (budget codes) over the life of the offset project to ensure whole of life costs
        for projects can be funded, monitored, evaluated and reported. Allocation for Offset Project
        Management and contingencies will be an element of all funding agreements. Financial
        expenditure will be reported transparently, as required, in the relevant written agreements.
    •   When the offset has reached the growth stage of meeting the performance requirements as
        stipulated in the offset delivery plan, it will be re-mapped according to the relevant legislation
        (e.g. Category A vegetation under the State Regulated Vegetation Management Map or Core
        Koala habitat area). This applies where the offset is not otherwise protected through a
        Conservation Covenant, Nature Refuge, or other legally protected conservation area.
    •   Offsets delivered on private land will have an agreement in place that specifies roles,
        responsibilities, and funding arrangements between Council, the Third-party Agency (if
        applicable) and the Landholder.

    •   A Land-use Compensation Allocation relevant to the area of land made available for a Third-
        party Agency offset is to be sought from the proponent as part of the financial offset contract.
        Funds raised because of Land-use Compensation Allocations will be directed to future land
        acquisition activities in accordance with the Noosa Environment Levy Policy 2020.


Offset Register
An offset register (including a GIS based product) will be established by Council that details the
following:
    •   Impact site, size and proponent
    •   Impact date
    •   Offset site and area (linked to a corporate GIS layer)
    •   Date offset established
    •   Financial arrangements
    •   Details of contract works
    •   Audit procedures
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    •   Offset status (active, completed, failed)
    •   Monitoring and evaluation methods
    •   Performance results
    •   Reporting requirements


RELATED STRATEGIES AND POLICIES
Noosa Environment and Sustainable Living Policy 2019 - outlines the principles by which Noosa
Council will partner with the community to manage Noosa’s natural environment, to maintain and
continually improve on the Noosa Biosphere. It recognises that Noosa will continually strive for a
higher standard of biodiversity improvement in the way we manage and live in our environment.
Human impacts on biodiversity values will be avoided and minimised before resorting to mitigation,
offsets, or rehabilitation.
Noosa Environment Strategy includes targets for which offsets are an important mechanism for
achieving nature positive outcomes, sustainable living and improving ecosystem resilience to climate
change. Other supporting plans may also apply, such as species management plans.
Corporate Plan and Sustainability Principles
Noosa’s vision of “Different by Nature” as well as Noosa Council’s seven Sustainability Principles
enshrined in Noosa Council’s Corporate Plan 2023-2027, are supported by a strong framework for
ecological compensation. Two principles relating specifically to Council’s offset framework and
‘nature positive’ goal.
    •   “Resources are sustainably managed so that the lifestyle and wellbeing of the community is
        enhanced whilst safeguarding our natural systems and without compromising the ability of
        future generations to meet their own needs.”
    •   “Noosa’s environment is protected, preserved and managed in a manner that is nature
        positive, low carbon and climate resilient and respects our Traditional Owners spiritual and
        cultural connection to Country.”
The Noosa Plan 2020 strategic outcomes for 2041 support the need for a strong offsets program
that prioritises Net Gain over merely ‘minimising loss’, demonstrating best practice and keeping in
line with Noosa’s nature positive goal.
    •   “Noosa Shire is the most biologically diverse area in SEQ, supporting a wealth of
        environmental assets and ecosystem services that support the community's health, wellbeing
        and prosperity.”
    •   “The natural environment is protected and enhanced to maintain and improve biodiversity,
        ecological processes, native habitat, connectivity, native species health, landscape character
        and scenic amenity.”
    •   “The value of ecosystem services provided by the natural environment is recognised through
        maintenance of biodiversity, water quality, air quality and soil resources, which in turn
        provides and supports the Shire's food production, water supply, primary production, climate
        regulation, flood regulation, soil formation, and cultural, social, recreational and tourism
        values.”
    •   “The ecological resilience and capacity for the natural environment to evolve and adapt to
        the predicted impacts of climate change is supported though the maintenance of healthy,
        well-functioning ecosystems that facilitate genetic, species and ecosystem diversity and
        movement both within and beyond Noosa Shire.”
    •   “Adverse impacts from development on biodiversity, ecosystem health, ecological processes,
        soil, air and water quality are avoided. Where avoidance is not practicable, adverse impacts
        are minimised or mitigated and it is demonstrated that: on the balance of social, economic
        and environmental considerations, the development is in the interests of the community; and
        any adverse impacts incurred are compensated by suitable habitat replacement and
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          replanting on site in the first instance or in a way that results in a Net Gain and enhancement
          of the overall habitat values of the Noosa Shire.”
Noosa Environment Levy Policy 2020 and Conservation Land Plan provides for the acquisition
of environmentally significant land as part of a wider strategy for landscape protection and the
preservation of biodiversity in Noosa Shire. The Noosa offset program will contribute to the
objectives of this policy and plan.
Noosa Tree Management on Public Land Policy 2022 outlines Council’s commitment and
strategic direction for the protection, management, enhancement, and maintenance of the trees in
public recreation parks and street trees within the Noosa Shire.
Noosa Koala Conservation Plan 2015 aims to provide a coordinated and structured framework to
help conserve and protect koala populations and habitat within the Noosa Shire.


RELEVENT ENVIRONMENTAL OFFSET POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
Commonwealth
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
State
Environmental Offsets Act 2014
Environmental Offsets Regulation 2014
Environmental Protection Act 1994,
Planning Act 2016,
Nature Conservation Act 1992,
Marine Parks Act 2004
Land Titles Act 1994
State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971
State Planning Policy 2017
Vegetation Management Act 1999
Guide to Determining Terrestrial Habitat Quality – Methods for assessing habitat quality under the
Queensland Environmental Offsets Policy 2020


HUMAN RIGHTS STATEMENT
In developing this Policy, the subject matter has been considered in accordance with the
requirements of the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019. It is considered that the subject matter
does not conflict with any human rights and supports a human rights approach to decision making
by Council. Council representatives will endeavour to act and make decisions under this policy in a
manner that is compatible with human rights. In particular, representatives will endeavour to:
     •    identify relevant human rights which may be affected by the action or decision;
     •    give proper consideration to the impact of its actions and decisions on human rights; and
     •    ensure that any conduct or decision by Council which limits an individual’s human rights is
          reasonable and justifiable.
This Policy should be read in conjunction with Council’s Human Rights Policy.




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  Version     Reason/ Trigger                     Change (Y/N)   Endorsed/ Reviewed by          Date

  1.0          Create new                         N/A            Environment Services Manager   << >>




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