Environmental Offsets in Queensland
Environmental offsets are used to counterbalance a significant residual impact of a prescribed activity on a prescribed environmental matter. This factsheet outlines what offsets are and when they are used, the types of offsets available, and what to consider when participating in consultation opportunities in relation to projects involving offsets.
Summary
Key takeaways
- Environmental (or biodiversity) offsets are activities undertaken by a developer or mining company to ‘counterbalance’ significant environmental impacts of their development that cannot be mitigated or avoided and can be financial or proponent-driven.
- Administering authorities, such as the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, the Department of Resources or a local government, can
impose offset conditions on permits such as Environmental Authorities or Development Approvals - Environmental offsets can be a controversial tool in practice as there is often a delay between the environmental loss before the benefits of the offset can be determined.
Key actions
- You can review the Environmental Offsets Act, Regulation and Policy here.
- The general guide to the Queensland Environmental Offsets Framework is available here.
- If you think a proposed offset does not comply with the EO Act and EO Policy, or is inconsistent with the Offset Principles, you should report the inconsistencies to the administering agency (i.e. DETSI or the local council).
- Read EDO’s submission on the EO Framework review here.
