An advanced offset is an area of land that has been registered by the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation for potential use as an environmental offset in the future because it contains, or is capable of containing, one or more Matters of State Environmental Significance (MSES).
Summary of key aspects of an advanced offset
prioritised for environmental offsets
all or part of the property can be registered
baseline habitat quality assessment required
procurement of environmental consultant and habitat assessment
costs associated with environmental consultant delivering habitat assessment
longer timeframe and complex process
no legal binding upon completion of registration
habitat management and restoration prior to offset invitation is considered
landholders are encouraged to apply for an advanced offset given their circumstance.
A landholder can apply to register an advanced offset under section 14 of the Environmental Offsets Regulation 2014.
Advanced offsets may be used as part of an offset delivery approach to compensate for a significant residual impact on one or more prescribed environmental matters.
Approved advanced offsets are listed on a publicly available offsets register on the Queensland Government website, which offset providers (developers and brokers) can view and potentially match offset requirements with registered advanced offsets.
Advanced offsets are encouraged within Strategic Offset Investment Corridors because these are likely to provide a strategic landscape outcome for the impacted prescribed environmental matter.
Information for proponents
Proponents are encouraged to utilise advanced offsets as they provide a way to manage the risks associated with the time delay in finding a suitable offset site and achieving a conservation outcome for the impacted prescribed environmental matter.
Advanced offset sites that have already achieved a gain in habitat quality since being registered can provide greater certainty that the offset will succeed in achieving the required conservation outcome for the impacted prescribed environmental matter, potentially reducing the time it takes to acquit an offset obligation.
In assessing the suitability of using an advanced offset as part of an offset delivery approach, the administering agency will consider any benefit or conservation outcome achieved for the prescribed environmental matter(s) contained on the site, measured from the date that the advanced offset was listed on the offsets register.
For the advanced offset site to be used, the management undertaken must satisfy all requirements of the policy and/or the offset condition. In addition, the management plan must clearly distinguish between management actions specific to the environmental offset delivery, and any other actions associated with other project approvals or required by conditions of other legislation (e.g. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999).
Information for landholders
Environmental offsets provide an opportunity for Queensland landholders to diversify their income by undertaking management actions to improve the condition of environmental values on their land. These actions help to compensate the loss of environmental values elsewhere.
Registering an area of land as an advanced offset under the Environmental Offsets Regulation 2014 is a way of attracting an environmental offset to be delivered on your land. Registered advanced offsets are listed on a publicly available offsets register. A proponent with an offset obligation can view this register and may approach a landholder (via the Department) to negotiate use of a site. If a proponent uses a registered advanced offset, the landholder will receive an incentive payment and can negotiate additional payments for managing the offset.
Advanced offsets may appeal to proponents because they reduce the amount of time required to locate and secure a suitable offset site. Additionally, advanced offsets that achieve a gain in habitat quality since being registered are attractive to proponents as this can reduce the time required to fulfil their offset obligation.
An environmental offset must be legally secured for the duration of the impact for which the offset was required, which is usually in perpetuity.
If your land contains or is capable of containing a Matter of State Environmental Significance (MSES) for which offsets can be required (see Table 1 below), then you can apply to have all or some of the area containing that MSES registered as an advanced offset. In addition, a conservation outcome must be able to be achieved at the site by implementing management actions such as:
improving existing habitat for the impacted prescribed environmental matter
creating new habitat for the impacted prescribed environmental matter where it will maintain the matter’s viability
reducing threats to the impacted prescribed environmental matter.
These actions need to be additional to those already occurring, funded or required (e.g. by law or a condition of authority) for the impacted matter.
Table 1: MSES that may be subject to offsets
Prescribed Matter Group
MSES
Regulated vegetation
Endangered and of-concern regional ecosystems; regional ecosystems that intersect with a wetland; regional ecosystems within a defined distance from the banks of a watercourse; and areas of essential habitat for an endangered or vulnerable plant or animal.
Connectivity areas
Regional ecosystems containing remnant vegetation over an area of land that is required for ecosystem functioning (i.e. a connectivity area).
Wetlands and watercourse
A wetland of high ecological significance; a wetland in a wetland protection area; or a wetland or watercourse in high ecological value waters.
A designated precinct in a strategic environmental area
A designated precinct in a strategic environmental area under the Regional Planning Interests Act 2014.
Protected wildlife habitat
Habitat for endangered or vulnerable plants or animals or special least concern animals (i.e. echidna and platypus).
Protected areas
Nature refuges; national parks, special wildlife reserves, conservation parks, resources reserves declared under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.
Highly protected zones of State marine parks
Marine national park and marine conservation park zones of State marine parks declared under the Marine Parks Act 2004.
Fish habitat areas
A declared fish habitat area under the Fisheries Act 1994.
Waterway providing for fish passage
Marine plants and waterways providing for fish passage.
Marine plants
A marine plant within the meaning of the Fisheries Act 1994.
The following resources can help you determine what MSES your land may contain:
For further information about regulated vegetation, regional ecosystems, wetlands, watercourses, essential habitat, protected plants and koala habitat in South East Queensland, request a vegetation management report of your property.
Registering an advanced offset does not guarantee that it will be selected as part of an offset delivery approach.
Once you have determined what MSES your land contains or is capable of containing, check the offsets register to see if there have been any conditioned impacts for those MSES. If there are conditioned impacts for those MSES, then it is possible that a site such as yours will be in demand.
To be assessed, an advanced offset application needs to:
Identify the MSES that the site contains or is capable of containing;
Landholders may also request that their local government register an advanced offset over an area of land that contains or is capable of containing a Matter of Local Environmental Significance (MLES). Approved advanced offsets that contain both MSES and MLES can be listed on both State and local government offset registers, which may increase the likelihood of the advanced offset being used as part of an offset delivery approach. Landowners interested in registering an advanced offset for MLES should contact their local government for advice.
On approval, the advanced offset will be listed on the offsets register.
Although they may choose to do so, landholders are under no obligation to manage registered advanced offsets before being selected to deliver an offset.
Once an advanced offset is registered, landowners are under no obligation to allow the use of their site to deliver an offset. Any negotiations in relation to the use of the advanced offset are undertaken between the landholder and the proponent.
After an advanced offset has been registered, the landowner may apply to amend the boundary of the advanced offset, or they may apply to remove the advanced offset from the offsets register using the request for the Request for the removal of or amendment of an advanced offset form.
This form should be submitted to the relevant agency (i.e. Department of Environment, Science and Innovation or the local government authority) that approved the advanced offset.
Further information
For further information regarding advanced offsets please contact: offsets@des.qld.gov.au
We collect your personal information to register on a database of Advanced Offset holders as legislated under Section 90 of the Environmental Offsets Act 2014, and Section 14 of the Environmental Offsets Regulation 2014. We will also use your information to contact you:
about delivering environmental offsets, including advanced offsets registration for priority environmental values (which change over time depending on what environmental values are being impacted)
to provide you with information about interested parties or local governments who have contacted the department with enquiries about your listed Advanced Offset site
to ask for feedback on the effectiveness of this Advanced Offset process and other elements of Queensland's environmental offset framework.
name of the advanced offset and the lot and plan numbers
the size of the advanced offset site
the associated environmental values identified on site.
In the event that interested parties contact the department with an enquiry about your listed site, we will only provide information that you have consented to share via the Environmental Offset Delivery forms submitted with your application.
Your advanced offset site registration information may be shared with the relevant local government to the extent necessary to ensure correct property information and to facilitate contacts from interested parties.
All local governments in Queensland are bound to comply with the Information Privacy Act 2009. We will not otherwise disclose your personal information without your consent unless authorised or required by law. You will be able to opt-out from receiving information, or be removed from our contact register, at any time by emailing the Offsets Policy team at offsets@des.qld.gov.au. For more privacy information see the department’s privacy page.
