Plantation Authorisation - Threatened Species Protections

In NSW, plantation authorisation is required for:

• new tree and/or shrub plantings for timber and non-timber purposes over 30 hectares in total on a property (including for biodiversity and carbon but not primarily for food produce or farm produce other than timber); and
• plantings under 30 hectares involving limited clearing of native vegetation.

An application for authorisation is assessed by the Department of Regional NSW Plantations Regulation Unit in accordance with the Plantations and Reafforestation Act 1999 (the Act) and the environmental standards of the Plantations and Reafforestation (Code) Regulation 2001 (the Code).
The objects of the Act include:

• to facilitate the reafforestation of land, and
• to promote and facilitate development for timber plantations on essentially cleared land, and
• to codify best practice environmental standards, and provide a streamlined and integrated scheme, for the establishment, management and harvesting of timber and other forest plantations.

Plantations are an area of land on which the predominant number of trees or shrubs forming, or expected to form, the canopy are trees or shrubs that have been planted (whether by sowing seed or otherwise). A plantation may contain some non-planted trees and shrubs that have not been planted but it is still a plantation if the predominant canopy is planted. Plantation species can vary and may be pine, native hardwoods or other species.

A natural forest is not a plantation for the purposes of the Act and a plantation area is not a natural forest merely because it contains some native trees or shrubs that have not been planted. The Act and Code regulate the establishment and management of all plantations, and timber plantation harvest operations.

In accordance with the Act, the authorisation process for new plantations includes an assessment of the potential impacts of the plantation on threatened species and communities including vulnerable and endangered species and communities. Consistent with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, the Department of Regional NSW undertakes a test of significance to provide consideration of threatened species, ecological communities and their habitats.
A plantation authorisation application that is likely to significantly affect a threatened species must be accompanied by a species impact statement and is assessed as an application for a non-complying plantation. Most plantations authorised in NSW are complying plantations assessed as not having significant impacts on threatened species.

The Code sets out complying development standards for plantation establishment. All new complying plantations authorised under the Act must be established and operated in accordance with the Code and the Act. The Code sets out limitations and operational standards to protect the environment and manage risks such as soil erosion. This includes standards for establishment operations and regulation of management and harvesting operations (where applicable).

The Code standards for establishment of a plantation include standards for:

• The protection of soil and water.
• The protection of places, objects or items of heritage significance.
• The protection of biodiversity.
• Bushfire risk mitigation.

Regulation of management operations includes:

• Protection of places, objects and items of heritage significance.
• Regulation of activities and management of retained areas of native vegetation.

Regulation of harvest operations (for timber plantations only) includes a range of rules, standards and requirements for environmental protection.

The Act also provides additional protections for unique or special wildlife values on authorised plantations. Land has unique or special wildlife values if any endangered species, endangered ecological community or extinct or presumed extinct species (within the meaning of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and Fisheries Management Act 1994) grow on or inhabit the land, or any such wildlife is likely to grow on or inhabit the land.

It is a condition of plantation authorisation that the owner or manager of an authorised plantation notify the Minister or delegated officer of the Department of Regional NSW as soon as they become aware that plantation operations on the authorised plantation have or are likely to have an impact on unique or special wildlife values of the land.
When the Minister or delegate is notified or otherwise becomes aware of the impact or likely impact of a specified plantation operation on unique or special wildlife values on the land, the Minister or delegate is to arrange for:

• an evaluation of the impact or likely impact on unique or special wildlife values of the land concerned, and
• a report that deals with the following matters:
  • the existence and extent of unique or special wildlife values,
  • the extent to which plantation operations are likely to have an adverse impact on unique or special wildlife values,
  • whether plantation operations in all or part of the authorised plantation must be prevented, suspended for a period or modified so as to minimise the adverse impact on unique or special wildlife values, and
  • in the case of an authorised timber plantation—the extent of the direct financial loss, if any, arising from harvesting operations on the plantation being delayed, restricted or prevented altogether in order to protect unique or special wildlife values.

The Minister or delegate may by notice in writing to the plantation owner or manager, direct plantation operations to be suspended in all or part of the plantation for a specified period or pending determination of the unique or special wildlife values matter.
The Minister administering the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 is notified of the arrangements.

On consideration of the completed report the Minister or delegate may direct that plantation operations are not to be carried out in part or all the plantation, be suspended for specified periods or place restrictions on plantation operations in all or part of the authorised plantation so as to minimise adverse impacts on unique or special wildlife values. Any such direction becomes a condition of the authorisation.

The Department of Regional Plantations Regulation Unit work with plantations owners and managers to achieve best practice management of plantation operations. The Plantations Regulation Unit also undertake compliance monitoring and audits to manage compliance with the Act and Code.