Meeting papers

Administrative and legal requirements
A VCA requires three elements detailed below:
   1. Statutory conservation mechanism.
   2. VCA – written agreement.
   3. Environmental Management Plan (EMP).
Statutory conservation mechanisms
Council offers two statutory conservation mechanisms under the VCA program. These are (in order of level of
protection):
   1. Nature Refuge; and
   2. Conservation Covenant
Further details are provided below:
Nature Refuge
A Nature Refuge gazetted under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 can be placed over all or part of a property
and runs with the title, binding successive owners. A Nature Refuge offers the highest level of protection
however is subject to Queensland Government requirements such as size of the conservation area and
exceptional biodiversity values. Compliance action in the event of a breach of the Nature Refuge conditions is
the responsibility of the Queensland Government. Where the property meets eligibility criteria for a Nature
Refuge this is Council’s preferred protection mechanism as it does not require a survey plan which can be
expensive. Council staff work with the State Government to progress Nature Refuge dedication over eligible
properties.
Conservation Covenant
Under the Land Act 1994, a conservation covenant is registered over the nominated conservation area on the
property and runs with the title, binding successive owners. The conservation covenant (Appendix 4) is a legal
agreement between the property owner (the covenantor) and Council (the covenantee) and requires
development of a survey plan, and preparation and lodgement of covenant documents with Titles Qld.
Compliance action in the event of breaches of conservation covenant conditions is the responsibility of Council
as the covenantee.
VCA – written agreement
The agreement (Appendix 5) and associated documentation is developed in consultation with the landholder.
The VCA terminates when land changes ownership or if both parties agree to terminate the agreement. If
ownership of the property changes, Council may seek to engage the new landholder in a new VCA agreement if
it is considered necessary to continue works as identified in the associated Environment Management Plan.
Areas on VCA properties outside the conservation area can continue to be used for other purposes (e.g. grazing,
orchards, open space, future buildings). A VCA does not grant any public right of access to the land. Landowners
are encouraged to seek independent legal and financial advice prior to placing statutory conservation protection
over their land and entering into a VCA.
Due to the associated start-up costs incurred by Council during the VCA establishment process, a letter of
agreement to proceed must be signed by the landholder. This states that if the landowner changes their mind
about proceeding with the agreement, they will reimburse Council for any reasonable costs outlaid up to the time
the landowner notifies Council of their withdrawal from the VCA process. Any third-party interest holders on the
property title (such as a lending institution) must provide consent for the VCA to proceed.
Environment Management Plan (EMP)
An EMP is developed for the conservation area. This EMP covers a description of the conservation area and its
environmental values, threatening processes (e.g., invasive species), and management actions required. An
EMP template is provided in Appendix 6.
Administrative and Legal Requirements
The Voluntary Conservation Agreement (VCA)
A Voluntary Conservation Agreement is a legal document that outlines the terms agreed to between the
landholder and Council relevant to the conservation area that is under statutory protection (see example
agreement Appendix 3).
The VCA includes details of:


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