2015-06-23 Planning & Organisation Committee Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                     23 JUNE 2015


The Queensland Environmental Offset Policy replaces the following offset policies:
    Queensland Government Environmental Offset Policy
    Policy for Vegetation Management Offsets
    Queensland Biodiversity Offset Policy
    Marine Fish Habitat Offsets Policy
    Offsets for Net Gain of Koala Habitat in Southeast Queensland Policy
The Act aims to incorporate all previous offset policies under one head of power, thus
proving a clear and executable offset framework. The framework consists of
    the Act,
    Environmental Offsets Regulation 2014,
    Environmental Offsets (Transition) Regulation 2014 (expires 1 July 2015) and
    Queensland Environmental Offset Policy.

2.    OPERATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL OFFSETS ACT 2014
Existing legislation continues to provide assessment requirements for when an offset is
required, including the Sustainable Planning Act, the Nature Conservation Act,
Environmental Protection Act and Marine Parks Act. These acts have been amended to
reference the new EO Act.
The EO Act provides the framework for what an offset is and how it is delivered. It identifies
the legal security mechanisms that may be used and provides a single head of power for the
supporting regulation and policy.
The EO Act allows the administrating authority to impose a condition for a prescribed activity
that impacts on a prescribed environmental matter.
Prescribed activities and prescribed environmental matters are identified through the
Environmental Offsets Regulation (Regulation). These activities are the type of works that
are regulated and these matters are the things that the Act seeks to mitigate impacts upon.
The prescribed activities are:
    Resources activities under the Environment Protection Act
    Prescribed ERA’s under the Environment Protection Act
    Works in a marine park
    An activity in a protected area under the Nature Conservation Act (NCA)
    Clearing of protected plants under the NCA
    Development for which an environmental offset may be required under the Sustainable
      Development Assessment Provisions
    Development under a local planning instrument or under the State Planning Policy
      (Part E)
Prescribed environmental matters are matters identified by the Commonwealth, State or
Local Government.
Commonwealth
Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) are protected under the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and include:
    World heritage
    National Heritage
    Ramsar
    Listed threatened species and ecological communities
    Migratory species
    Commonwealth marine areas
    Water resources

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