Strategic Offset Policy and Biodiversity Offset Guidelines · Attachment 1 - Strategic Offsets Policy - (Biodiversity) Final

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preserved, and managed in a manner that is nature positive, low carbon and climate resilient
consistent with the Corporate Plan.


SCOPE
Any proposal for the assessment, creation, obtainment, receipt and delivery of biodiversity
offsets must satisfy this policy.
This policy applies to:
•   Offsets delivered by Council to offset negative biodiversity impacts resulting from
    Council’s operations and capital projects.
•   Offsets delivered by Council on behalf of an external entity as a condition of:
    Commonwealth or State approvals; as part of approved development under The Noosa
    Plan 2020; as part of voluntary biodiversity offset partnership projects; or, as a negotiated
    financial agreement.
To avoid duplication of offset requirements, this policy does not remove or replace the need
for complying with State or Federal legislative offset requirements for Matters of State
Environmental Significance (MSES) and Matters of National Environmental Significance
(MNES) impacts.

REVIEW
This policy will be reviewed every four years, or as required. This policy is intended to be
updated to include Carbon Offsets when required.
The Noosa Corporate Plan 2023-2028 and Noosa’s Sustainability Principles provide the
strategic direction to ensure ‘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’. In addition to the driving environmental
objectives the Corporate Plan this policy will also support ‘housing, facilities and services,
transport, health and wellbeing to enable an inclusive, connected and vibrant community’ as
this policy is fundamental to achieving acceptable outcomes when site impacts are
unavoidable.
The Noosa Environment Strategy provides the framework for implementing the Corporate
Plan objectives and includes targets and goals for biodiversity benefits, sustainable living and
improving ecosystem resilience to climate change. It prioritises ‘net gain’ in biodiversity
outcomes and aims for measurable improvements for species and ecosystems over time.
Noosa’s long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship supports the health,
wellbeing, and prosperity of its community and economy. Conservation efforts focus on
avoiding environmental impacts, restoring habitats, reducing threats, and improving ecological
connectivity and climate resilience. Where impacts are unavoidable, they are offset through
habitat restoration or enhancement to achieve a net gain in ecosystem values.
Poorly managed offsets can fail to deliver genuine biodiversity outcomes. Global concerns
have highlighted the need for stronger safeguards and integrity in offsetting practices.
Stringent controls and environmental safeguards are required to ensure that offsets deliver on
biodiversity outcomes.
To be effective, offsets must be well-designed, science-based, and managed to best-practice
standards. This Strategic Offset Policy sets out the principles to ensure offsets contribute
meaningfully to Council’s conservation goals.




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The Biodiversity Offsets Guidelines provide a governance framework for delivering offsets
in response to unavoidable biodiversity impacts from public infrastructure and development
projects.


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.
 Biodiversity             The variety of life in all its forms, including the diversity of
                          genes, species, ecosystems, and the ecological processes that
                          support them.
 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
 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
 First Nations            The Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi) Peoples and the Jinibara Peoples,
 People                   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.
 Matters of State         The list of natural values and areas as described in the
 Environmental            Queensland Government’s ‘State Planning Policy 2017’.
 Significance
 (MSES)
 Matters of National      The following matters protected under the Environment
 Environmental            Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, chapter 2,
 Significance             part 3:
 (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
 Matters of Local         Are the areas included within the Biodiversity, Waterways and
 Environmental            Wetlands Overlay of the Noosa Plan 2020.
 Significance
 (MLES)
 Mitigation               A tool that is used to limit the amount of damage an action, such
 Hierarchy                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.

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 Term                     Meaning
 Mitigation               A set of principles which guide decision making regarding offset
 Hierarchy                approval
 Principles
 Nature-based             The act of working with nature to deliver benefits to people and
 Solutions                the 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.
 Net Gain                 An outcome whereby biodiversity values are enhanced beyond
                          the level required to compensate for impacts, resulting in an
                          overall improvement in the extent, condition, connectivity, or
                          resilience of ecosystems, habitats, species, or ecological
                          processes.
 Noosa Plan 2020          A dataset which maps environmental values that are identified
 Biodiversity,            and protected across Noosa Shire and which trigger assessment
 Waterways and            of development against the overlay code.
 Wetlands Overlay
 Noosa Shire              The local government area administered by Noosa Council,
                          encompassing the communities, landscapes, waterways, and
                          natural environments located within its legally defined
                          boundaries.
 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.
 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.

PRINCIPLES
Council’s offset programs must:
   1. Adhere to the Mitigation Hierarchy - avoid, then reduce/mitigate before offsetting as
      a last resort;
   2. Adopt a target-based approach to biodiversity compensation – align offsets to
      broader conservation targets that provide for a ‘net gain’ in biodiversity outcomes;
   3. Provide for additionality- secure additional, measurable biodiversity outcomes that
      would not have happened otherwise;
   4. Ensure permanence of biodiversity gains – offsets must be lasting and durable (low
      risk of reversal) over the long term;




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   5. Harness the benefits of nature-based solutions – prioritise solutions that provide
      for multiple co-benefits for biodiversity, ecosystem health, climate resilience, First
      Nations involvement and socio-economic wellbeing; and,
   6. Local delivery of Offsets - Consider as priority, self-delivered offset projects that
      support the above principles in addition to supporting local employment and green
      economic opportunities. Biodiversity offsets will generally be delivered within the
      Noosa Shire. Offsets outside the Shire will only be considered in exceptional
      circumstances where no suitable or feasible offset opportunity exists within the local
      government area.


ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Councillors
Adopt Council’s Strategic Offset Policy.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Team
Provide leadership and organisational compliance with this Policy, associated Guideline, and
relevant legislation requirements.

Ensure biodiversity programs are appropriately governed and implemented in accordance with
Council’s delegation’s framework.

Director of Strategy and Environment
Provide strategic oversight of the implementation, compliance assurances and reporting for
the Policy and associated Guidelines.

Environmental Services Manager

Oversight of operational management, delivery and reporting of Biodiversity Offsets.

Council Officers
Must comply with this Policy and relevant legislation and incorporate its principles into
decision-making related to biodiversity offsets.


RELATED LEGISLATION, STRATEGIES AND POLICIES
   •   Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act)
   •   EPBC Act Environmental Offsets Policy (Cth)
   •   Environmental Offsets Act 2014 (Qld)
   •   Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld)
   •   Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld)
   •   Marine Parks Act 2004 (Qld)
   •   Queensland Environmental Offsets Policy
   •   Noosa Environment Strategy 2019/2026
   •   Noosa Plan 2020
   •   Environmental Management Policy 2016
   •   Environment Levy Policy 2020
   •   Koala Conservation Policy 2015
   •   Tree Management on Public Land Policy 2022

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    •     Bushland Reserves Management Plan 20XX


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.

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

    1.0       Create new                                   Council                 XX/XX/2025




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