Commencement of New Biodiversity Conservation Legislation In NSW (The New Native Vegetation Regime)

28 Aug 2017
Today marks the commencement of the reforms to the land management in NSW and as such the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 has now formally commenced.

Disappointingly the Native Vegetation Regulatory (NVR) Mapping has not yet been finalised.

The NVR Mapping is said to classify land in NSW into two categories, either:-

Category one [1] unregulated or;

Category two [2] regulated.

It is said that the NVR maps will show land holders whether their land is regulated or unregulated under the new Native Vegetation clearing framework. At this stage the mapping is not said to be coming into effect until to first half of 2018 and there will be (at least according to the NSW Government) the ability for landholders to seek a review in the event that they believe that their land has been incorrectly categorised. During this time the mapping will be in a transitional period however it appears that the review mechanism will be with the OEH. As such we have our concerns about the impartiality of the OEH in relation to any reviews.

At this stage landholders should still exercise caution in relation to clearing activities and we again remind our clients’ that there are serious penalties including significant fines and remediation orders that can be made by the Courts in the event that clearing has been undertaken unlawfully.

We suggest that you first obtain advice prior to any clearing being undertaken. Please contact Brendan Moylan or Mitchell Carrigan for further information.


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