Introductory note— This Part contains provisions that set out the objects of this Act and define terms used in this Act. The Part also contains machinery provisions.
(1) In this Act: Advisory Council means the Biological Diversity Advisory Council established under this Act.animal means any animal-life that is indigenous to New South Wales or is known to periodically or occasionally migrate to New South Wales, whether vertebrate or invertebrate and in any stage of biological development, but does not include:
(a) humans, or (b) fish within the meaning of Part 7A of the . Fisheries Management Act 1994 Note— Some types of fish may be included in the definition of animal . See section 5A.biological diversity means the diversity of life and is made up of the following 3 components:
(a) genetic diversity—the variety of genes (or units of heredity) in any population, (b) species diversity—the variety of species, (c) ecosystem diversity—the variety of communities or ecosystems. council has the same meaning as in the. Local Government Act 1993 critical habitat means habitat declared to be critical habitat under Part 3.Director-General means the Director-General of National Parks and Wildlife appointed under the. National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 ecological community means an assemblage of species occupying a particular area.ecologically sustainable development has the same meaning as under section 6 (2) of the. Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991 endangered ecological community means an ecological community specified in Part 3 of Schedule 1.endangered population means a population specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1.endangered species means a species specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1.endangered species, populations and ecological communities means species, populations and ecological communities specified in Schedule 1 andendangered species, population or ecological community means a species, population or ecological community respectively specified in that Schedule.exercise a function includes perform a duty.Fisheries Scientific Committee means the Fisheries Scientific Committee constituted under Part 7A of the. Fisheries Management Act 1994 function includes a power, authority or duty.habitat means an area or areas occupied, or periodically or occasionally occupied, by a species, population or ecological community and includes any biotic or abiotic component.harm has the same meaning as in the. National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 joint management agreement means an agreement entered into under Division 2 of Part 7.key threatening process means a threatening process specified in Schedule 3.land includes:
(a) buildings and other structures permanently fixed to land, and (b) land covered with water, and (c) the sea or an arm of the sea, and (d) a bay, inlet, lagoon, lake or body of water, whether inland or not and whether tidal or not, and (e) a river, stream or watercourse, whether tidal or not. landholder of land means a person who owns land or who, whether by reason of ownership or otherwise, is in lawful occupation or possession, or has lawful management or control, of land.list means a list set out in Schedule 1, 2 or 3 and includes a list in one or more of those Schedules that does not contain any entries.pick has the same meaning as in the. National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 plant means any plant-life that is indigenous to New South Wales, whether vascular or non-vascular and in any stage of biological development, and includes fungi and lichens, but does not include marine vegetation within the meaning of Part 7A of the. Fisheries Management Act 1994 Note— Some types of marine vegetation may be included in the definition of plant . See Section 5A.population means a group of organisms, all of the same species, occupying a particular area.public authority means any public or local authority constituted by or under an Act, a government department, a statutory body representing the Crown, or a State owned corporation, and includes a person exercising any function on behalf of the authority, department, body or corporation and any person prescribed by the regulations to be a public authority.recovery plan means a plan prepared and approved under Part 4.region means, for the purposes of the provision in which it is used, a bioregion defined in a national system of bioregionalisation that is determined (by the Director-General under subsection (4)) to be appropriate for those purposes. If the bioregion occurs partly within and partly outside New South Wales, the region consists only of so much of the bioregion as occurs within New South Wales.Scientific Committee means the Scientific Committee constituted under Part 8.species of animal or plant includes any defined sub-species and taxon below a sub-species and any recognisable variant of a sub-species or taxon.species impact statement means a statement referred to in Division 2 of Part 6 and includes an environmental impact statement, prepared under the, that contains a species impact statement. Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 species presumed extinct means a species specified in Part 4 of Schedule 1.Strategy means the Biological Diversity Strategy referred to in section 140.threat abatement plan means a plan prepared and approved under Part 5.threatened ecological community means an ecological community specified in Part 3 of Schedule 1 or Part 2 of Schedule 2.threatened species means a species specified in Part 1 or 4 of Schedule 1 or in Schedule 2.threatened species, populations and ecological communities means species, populations and ecological communities specified in Schedules 1 and 2 andthreatened species, population or ecological community means a species, population or ecological community specified in either of those Schedules.threatening process means a process that threatens, or may have the capability to threaten, the survival or evolutionary development of species, populations or ecological communities.vulnerable species means a species specified in Part 1 of Schedule 2.
(1) The Minister may, by order made with the concurrence of the Minister administering the : Fisheries Management Act 1994
(a) declare a species of fish to be a species of animal for the purposes of this Act if it is an invertebrate and it is a species that may inhabit a terrestrial environment at some stage of its biological development, or (b) declare a species of marine vegetation to be a species of plant for the purposes of this Act if it is a species that may inhabit freshwater or a terrestrial environment at some stage of its biological development. (2) Any species of fish or marine vegetation that is the subject of an order in force under this section is taken to be a species of an animal or plant for the purposes of this Act, in accordance with the terms of the order. (3) The Minister and the Minister administering the may at any time consult with each other for the purpose of determining whether an order under this section should be made and the terms of the order. Fisheries Management Act 1994
Introductory note— This Part provides for the identification, and classification, of the species, populations and ecological communities with which this Act is concerned. It also provides for the identification of key threatening processes that are most likely to jeopardise the survival of those species, populations and ecological communities. To this end, this Part provides for the listing:
• in Schedule 1, of endangered species, endangered populations and ecological communities and species that are presumed to be extinct, and • in Schedule 2, of vulnerable species, and • in Schedule 3, of key threatening processes. The initial lists of threatened species, that is, species that are endangered, presumed extinct or vulnerable are contained in this Act on its commencement. Responsibility for inserting lists of endangered populations and endangered ecological communities and threatening processes, and for adding items to, omitting items from or amending items in the lists of threatened species, populations and ecological communities and threatening processes rests with the Scientific Committee. Division 1 makes provision with respect to Schedules 1–3 that are to contain lists of the species, populations and ecological communities and key threatening processes with which this Act is concerned. Division 2 deals with eligibility for listing. Division 3 describes the process by which the items may be added to or omitted from lists and by which items in lists may be amended, and makes provision for public participation in that process. Division 4 describes the process by which species that are endangered may be listed provisionally in Schedule 1, on an emergency basis, before the formal listing process described in Division 3 has been undertaken or completed, and makes provision for public participation in that process. Division 5 describes the process by which certain minor amendments may be made to Schedules 1–3. Offences relating to the harming of threatened species, populations and ecological communities (being animals) and the picking of threatened species, populations and ecological communities (being plants) are contained in the . National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974
(1) Part 1 of Schedule 1 contains a list of endangered species for the purposes of this Act. (2) Part 2 of Schedule 1 contains a list of endangered populations for the purposes of this Act.
(1) As soon as practicable after a species or ecological community that is or was indigenous to New South Wales becomes a listed threatened species or a listed threatened ecological community under the of the Commonwealth, the Scientific Committee is to consider whether, in accordance with Divisions 2 and 3, the species or ecological community should be listed as a threatened species or threatened ecological community in Schedule 1 or 2 to this Act. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
(1) Any person may nominate any species, population or ecological community for insertion in or omission from Schedule 1 or 2.
(1) If, in the opinion of the Chairperson of the Scientific Committee, a nomination of a key threatening process relates to a threatening process that is likely to have an impact on both terrestrial and aquatic environments, the Chairperson may consult with the Chairperson of the Fisheries Scientific Committee for the purpose of determining whether the nomination should also be considered by the Fisheries Scientific Committee under Part 7A of the . Fisheries Management Act 1994
(1) The Scientific Committee, after considering a proposal raised on its own initiative or in response to a request from the Minister or a nomination by another person, must make a preliminary determination as to whether the proposal should be supported or not supported. (2) As soon as possible after making a preliminary determination, the Scientific Committee must:
(a) in a case involving a nomination, notify the person who made the nomination, the Minister and the Director-General, and (b) in a case of a proposal raised on its own initiative or in response to a request from the Minister, notify the Minister and the Director-General, and (c) publish notice of its preliminary determination in a newspaper circulating generally throughout the State and, if the determination is likely to affect a particular area or areas (other than the State as a whole), in a newspaper circulating generally in that area or areas, and (d) publish notice of the making of the preliminary determination in the Gazette.
(1) The Scientific Committee may determine to amend the description of any species, population, ecological community or threatening process in Schedule 1, 2 or 3, without following the procedure set out in Division 3 or 4, if, in the opinion of the Scientific Committee, the amendment is necessary or desirable for any of the following purposes:
(a) to reflect any change in the name of a species as a result of taxonomic revision, (b) to correct any minor error or omission, (c) to clarify a description of an ecological community (including to reflect new surveys or research information).
(1) On making a determination under this Division, the Scientific Committee must, as soon as practicable:
(a) notify the Minister and the Director-General of the determination, and (b) publish notice of the determination in a newspaper circulating generally throughout the State, and (c) if the original determination was considered likely to affect a particular area or areas (other than the State as a whole), publish notice of the determination under this Division in a newspaper circulating generally in that area or areas, and (d) publish notice of the making of the determination in the Gazette.
(1) The Director-General is required to prepare a recovery plan for each endangered species (other than a species presumed extinct), population and ecological community, as soon as practicable after it is listed in Schedule 1, to promote the recovery of the species, population or ecological community to a position of viability in nature.
(1) The Director-General may, with the prior approval of the Minister and the Minister administering the , make arrangements with the Director of NSW Fisheries for the joint preparation of a recovery plan under this Act and Part 7A of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 . Fisheries Management Act 1994
(1) A public authority must not exercise a function in a manner that is inconsistent with the implementation of measures included in a recovery plan unless:
(a) in the case of a public authority other than the Director-General—it has given written notice of the proposed exercise of the function to the Director-General, or (b) in the case of the Director-General—the Director-General has given written notice of the proposed exercise of the function to the Minister.
(1) The Director-General may prepare a threat abatement plan for each key threatening process to manage the threatening process:
(a) so as to abate, ameliorate or eliminate its adverse effects on threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or (b) in the case of a key threatening process that could cause species, populations or ecological communities that are not threatened to become threatened, so as to prevent those species, populations or ecological communities from becoming threatened.
(1) The Director-General may, with the prior approval of the Minister and the Minister administering the , make arrangements with the Director of NSW Fisheries for the joint preparation of a threat abatement plan under this Act and Part 7A of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 . Fisheries Management Act 1994
(1) A public authority must not exercise a function in a manner that is inconsistent with the implementation of measures included in a threat abatement plan unless:
(a) in the case of a public authority other than the Director-General—it has given written notice of the proposed exercise of the function to the Director-General, or (b) in the case of the Director-General—the Director-General has given written notice of the proposed exercise of the function to the Minister.
Introductory note— This Part deals with the licensing by the Director-General of actions that are likely to result in:
(a) the harming of an animal that is of, or part of, a threatened species, population or ecological community, or (b) the picking of a plant that is of, or part of, a threatened species, population or ecological community, or (c) damage to critical habitat, or (d) damage to habitat of a threatened species, population or ecological community. The offences relating to the above actions are set out in the . National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 This Part also contains provisions about species impact statements. These statements are employed to measure the significance of the effect of actions on threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or their habitats. A species impact statement must be lodged with an application for a licence under this Part if the Director-General determines that the action proposed is likely to significantly affect threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or their habitats. Division 1 deals with the grant of licences, including the making of applications, fees, determinations as to whether actions proposed will significantly affect threatened species, populations or ecological communities, publication of applications and the making of submissions concerning them, and matters that the Director-General must take into account before granting licences and appeals. Division 2 deals with the form and content of species impact statements and the notification of the Director-General’s requirements as to their preparation. Division 3 sets out exceptions to licensing requirements. Division 4 sets out miscellaneous provisions.
(1) The Director-General may grant a licence authorising a person to take action likely to result in one or more of the following:
(a) harm to any animal that is of, or is part of, a threatened species, population or ecological community, (b) the picking of any plant that is of, or is part of, a threatened species, population or ecological community, (c) damage to critical habitat, (d) damage to habitat of a threatened species, population or ecological community.
(1) The Director-General may require an applicant for a licence to provide additional copies of a species impact statement that accompanied the application or was provided in response to a notification from the Director-General that a statement is required.
(1) A species impact statement must include a full description of the action proposed, including its nature, extent, location, timing and layout and, to the fullest extent reasonably practicable, the information referred to in this section.
(1) The person applying for the licence (or, if the species impact statement is being prepared for the purposes of the , the applicant for development consent or the proponent of the activity or, if the species impact statement is being prepared for the purposes of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 , the applicant for authorisation under that Act) must request from the Director-General and must, in preparing the species impact statement, comply with any requirements notified to the person by the Director-General concerning the form and content of the statement. Plantations and Reafforestation Act 1999
(1) The Director-General is to institute arrangements for the accreditation of suitably qualified and experienced persons to prepare species impact statements for the purposes of this Act.
(1) The Director-General may, for the purposes of this Act, approve of a property management plan for land prepared by a landholder. (2) In determining whether to approve a property management plan, the Director-General must take into account such matters as may be prescribed by the regulations. (3) The Minister is to endeavour to ensure that regulations are made for the purposes of subsection (2) within 6 months after the commencement of that subsection.
(1) If the Director-General is of the opinion that any action is being, or is about to be, carried out that is likely to result in one or more of the following:
(a) harm to a threatened species, population or ecological community (so far as animals are concerned), (b) picking of a threatened species, population or ecological community (so far as plants are concerned), (c) damage to critical habitat, (d) damage to habitats of threatened species, populations or ecological communities, the Director-General may order that the action is to cease and that no action, other than such action as may be specified in the order, is to be carried out in or in the vicinity of the critical habitat or the habitat of the threatened species, population or ecological community within a period of 40 days after the date of the order. (2) An order takes effect on and from the date on which:
(a) a copy of the order is affixed in a conspicuous place in the critical habitat or other habitat the subject of the order, or (b) the person performing or about to perform the action is notified that the order has been made, whichever is the sooner.
Introductory note— This Part establishes, and describes the functions, membership and procedure of, and the manner of service of documents on, the Scientific Committee. The Part provides that the Scientific Committee is not subject to Ministerial control or direction.
(1) The Scientific Committee is to consist of 11 members appointed by the Minister.
(1) Subject to this Act, a member of the Scientific Committee holds office for such period (not exceeding 3 years) as is specified in the member’s instrument of appointment, but is eligible (if otherwise qualified) for re-appointment. (1A) A person who serves as a member of the Scientific Committee for 2 consecutive periods is not eligible to be a member of the Scientific Committee for 3 years after the end of those consecutive periods. (1B) In determining the term of office to be provided for by a member’s instrument of appointment, the Minister is to have regard to the desirability of maintaining some continuity of membership of the Committee. That is, the Minister is to endeavour to ensure that the terms of office of all members do not expire at or about the same time.
(1) The Director-General is to prepare a Biological Diversity Strategy within 9 months after the commencement of this Part setting out how the objects of this Act are to be achieved.
(1) The Director-General is to prepare a draft Strategy and publish notice of the draft Strategy in a newspaper circulating generally throughout the State. (2) A notice is to:
(a) be in the form prescribed by the regulations, and (b) state the date by which submissions may be made to the Director-General, which is to be at least 30 days after the date on which the notice is published, and (c) specify the manner in which submissions may be made, and (d) fix a time and place at which a copy of the draft Strategy will be available to the public for inspection. (3) Any person may make submissions to the Director-General about the draft Strategy.
Introductory note— This Part makes provision for a number of miscellaneous matters relating to the operation of the Act. These include:
• a statement that the Act binds the Crown • a requirement that the Director-General report on the operation of the Act in the Director-General’s annual report to Parliament • a provision enabling third parties to bring proceedings in the Land and Environment Court for orders remedying or restraining breaches of the Act • a statement that the Act is not intended to affect native title rights and interests • a provision providing that the Director-General may decline to disclose the location of critical habitat (or proposed critical habitat) other than to specified persons if the Director-General is of the opinion that disclosure would be likely to expose the critical habitat (or proposed critical habitat) to a significant risk and that withholding of the location is in the public interest, and if affected landholders have requested, or are agreeable to, the withholding of the location • a provision enabling third parties to bring proceedings in the Land and Environment Court for orders remedying or restraining breaches of the Act • provisions as to the form and service of notices and other documents under the proposed Act • a provision concerning review of the operation of the Act as soon as possible after the period of 18 months after the date of assent to the proposed Act. The Part also authorises the making of regulations, and contains formal provisions giving effect to the Schedules amending other Acts and inserting savings, transitional and other provisions.
(1) The Director-General may, by notice in writing, determine that any matter in any document in the possession of the National Parks and Wildlife Service that may identify the location of critical habitat or any area or areas of land proposed to be identified as critical habitat should not be disclosed to the public. (1A) Despite the other provisions of this Act, the Director-General may decline:
(a) to give public notice (by publication in a newspaper or in the Gazette) of a proposal (or amended proposal) to identify an area or areas of land as critical habitat, the approval of such a proposal, a declaration of critical habitat or the amendment or revocation of such a declaration, and (b) to serve a copy of a map of critical habitat on any one or more of the persons or bodies referred to in section 54 (Maps of critical habitat to be served), and (c) to include a copy of a declaration of critical habitat or a map of critical habitat in the register kept under section 55 (Director-General to keep register of critical habitat).
(1) The Scientific Committee may make a written recommendation to the Minister that the following matter should not be disclosed to the public:
(a) information provided to the Scientific Committee relating to the location of threatened species, populations or ecological communities, (b) information provided to the Scientific Committee that may identify any individual who made a nomination under Part 2 or made a submission in respect of a nomination.
(1) Any person may bring proceedings in the Land and Environment Court for an order to remedy or restrain a breach of this Act, whether or not any right of that person has been or may be infringed by or as a consequence of that breach.
(Section 6)
(Section 8) Alteration to the natural flow regimes of rivers and streams and their floodplains and wetlands (as described in the final determination of the Scientific Committee to list the threatening process) Anthropogenic Climate Change Bushrock removal (as described in the final determination of the Scientific Committee to list the threatening process) Clearing of native vegetation (as defined and described in the final determination of the Scientific Committee to list the key threatening process) Competition and grazing by the feral European Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) Competition from feral honey bees, Apis mellifera L. Death or injury to marine species following capture in shark control programs on ocean beaches (as described in the final determination of the Scientific Committee to list the key threatening process) High frequency fire resulting in the disruption of life cycle processes in plants and animals and loss of vegetation structure and composition Importation of Red Imported Fire Ants Solenopsis invicta Buren 1972 Infection by Psittacine Circoviral (beak and feather) Disease affecting endangered psittacine species and populations
(Section 156)