Draft Biodiversity Offset Scheme Changes for Advisors
The NSW Government has released a draft set of changes to the Biodiversity Offset Scheme.
Here is a simple breakdown of the draft BOS Regulation 2026 for advisors working to support the Scheme.
The headline charges relate to accreditation arrangements. Ecologists gain more explanation on what is required for a BDAR and changes to the triggers. Brokers face a new licensing scheme, a code of conduct and a public register, with an offence for operating without accreditation.
Two accreditation regimes, and they are not the same
The scheme will have two separate accreditation regimes in the future, covering two different activities. Being accredited under one does not cover you for the other.
The first is the existing accreditation for applying the Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM), the method an ecologist uses to assess a site's biodiversity and prepare a biodiversity development assessment report. This regime already exists. The draft tightens it: applying the BAM, or advertising that you are accredited to apply it, without that accreditation becomes an offence, with a maximum penalty of $5,500.
The second is new. The draft proposes a mandatory accreditation scheme for conservation brokers: people who provide broking services in the credits market. This regime did not exist before, and it is separate from BAM accreditation.
The schemes will be separate. A BAM-accredited assessor is not automatically allowed to provide broking services, nor is a broker able to undertake BAM assessments.
The draft gives one narrow exemption.
An assessor accredited to prepare assessment reports may negotiate a biodiversity stewardship agreement on a landowner's behalf without also holding broker accreditation.
That exemption does not extend to any of the other broking services. This includes negotiating with a landholder on behalf of a development proponent, which is a distinct, mirror-image service, or advising on or assisting with buying or selling credits.
A BAM assessor who provides any of those other services will need broker accreditation as well.
The new broker accreditation scheme
The draft defines a broking service broadly:
negotiating a biodiversity stewardship agreement on behalf of a landowner;
negotiating with a landholder, on behalf of a development proponent, for them to enter a stewardship agreement;
providing advice on and analysis of the costs of buying and selling credits;
advising on buying or selling credits; and
assisting with buying or selling credits.
A person who provides one or more of these services is a conservation broker, whether or not they charge a fee. Once the scheme commences, it will be an offence to provide a broking service, or to advertise a willingness to provide one, without holding a current, unsuspended accreditation. The maximum penalty is $5,500.
To be accredited, an applicant must satisfy the Environment Agency Head that they are a fit and proper person and meet competency standards the department will set, and must then comply with a Conservation Brokers Code of Conduct.
Accreditation can be refused, varied, suspended or cancelled, including on grounds such as prior offences, a serious criminal conviction, or breach of the code.
Accredited brokers will be listed on a public register, which records the services they are accredited for and the status of their accreditation.
It is important to note that a person is not a conservation broker if they provide broking services only in the course of their employment and only for their own employer.
Acting as both assessor and broker
Because the two regimes sit side by side, some advisors will be accredited under both.
The consultation paper indicates the Conservation Brokers Code of Conduct will address conflicts of interest, including the situation where a person could act as both an accredited assessor and an accredited broker.
Advisors who intend to hold both accreditations should watch the code when it is published, because managing that conflict will be a condition of maintaining broker accreditation.
What changes for assessors preparing reports
The draft changes what a biodiversity development assessment report must contain.
For assessors, the regulation sets a fixed content list every BDAR must meet, so assessors are now working to a checklist rather than deciding what's relevant.
Requirements apply to reports certified after the relevant provisions commence, with transitional arrangements for reports already underway.
A defined test for genuine avoidance measures
The draft also sets out when a measure to avoid or minimise impact can be assessed as genuine. An assessor may treat a measure as genuine only where it:
was not already legally required when it was identified;
responds to the biodiversity values found on the site;
reduces impact compared both with doing nothing and with taking every practicable measure;
is supported by evidence; and
is independently verifiable.
For an advisor assessing a proponent's avoidance claims, this is the standard those claims must now meet. A measure the proponent was always going to take, or was already required to take, does not count as genuine avoidance. These provisions start once corresponding BAM changes are in place.
Timeline
Have your say. The draft regulation and consultation paper are open for submissions until 5pm on 17 July 2026, by email to the department. Full details and documents are here.
