Purpose:

This legislation provides for the protection, conservation, enhancement, and management of nature and reserves within the Australian Capital Territory.

Objectives:

• Protect, conserve, and enhance the biodiversity of the ACT, including native species, their habitats, ecological communities, biological diversity at all levels, ecosystems, and natural landforms.
• Promote and support the management, maintenance, and enhancement of biodiversity of local, regional, and national significance.
• Promote the involvement and cooperation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, landholders, community members, and governments in biodiversity conservation.
• Encourage public appreciation, understanding, and enjoyment of biodiversity.
• Recognise and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ role in, and knowledge of, the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of biodiversity.
• Recognise the significant stewardship role that landholders have in managing natural assets on their land.
• Ensure public access to reliable and relevant information and opportunities to participate in nature conservation.
• Promote the principles of ecologically sustainable development.

Key Provisions:

• Establishment of the Conservator of Flora and Fauna and the Scientific Committee, defining their roles in developing policies, programs, and providing expert advice on nature conservation.
• Requirement for a Nature Conservation Strategy for the ACT, outlining proposals and strategies for native species, ecosystems, and addressing climate change impacts, developed through public consultation.
• Framework for identifying and listing threatened native species, threatened ecological communities, and key threatening processes, based on eligibility criteria and requiring conservation advice.
• Development and implementation of Native Species Conservation Plans for protected or special protection status species and Controlled Native Species Management Plans for species having unacceptable environmental, social, or economic impact.
• Regulation of activities affecting native animals, including offences for interfering with nests, killing, injuring, taking, keeping, selling, importing, or exporting non-exempt animals, and the use of prohibited fruit netting.
• Regulation of activities affecting native plants, including offences for taking native plants on unleased land, damaging native trees on unleased or leased land, taking fallen native timber, and selling, importing, or exporting protected or special protection status native plants.
• Establishment of reserves with assigned IUCN categories and requirements for Reserve Management Plans and Ramsar Wetland Management Plans to guide their conservation and management.
• Creation of offences related to activities within reserves, including general prohibitions, specific rules for wilderness areas, and serious harm offences for clearing native vegetation or damaging land.
• Licensing framework for activities that would otherwise be offences under the Act, including application requirements, suitability criteria, licence conditions (including financial assurance), and provisions for amendment, transfer, and renewal.
• Provisions for management agreements between the conservator and agencies (including land developers) to manage their activities on public or unleased territory land to minimise conflict with nature conservation objectives.
• Powers for conservation officers to enforce the Act, including entry to premises, inspection, seizure of things connected with offences, and the issuance of various directions.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

• Compliance with Management Plans:

  • Native Species Conservation Plans (NSCPs): For an NSCP in force on leased land (including agricultural land), the lessee must take reasonable steps to implement the plan (Section 124). Evidence includes documented adherence to plan requirements, such as specific land management practices, habitat protection measures, or restrictions on certain activities.
  • Controlled Native Species Management Plans (CNSMPs): For a CNSMP in force on leased land, the lessee must take reasonable steps to implement the plan (Section 167 (1) (b)). Evidence includes documented adherence to the plan’s details, such as prohibitions on feeding or propagating certain species, or records of implementing best practices.
  • Cultural Resource Management Plans (CRMPs): If a CRMP is in force and applicable to leased land, an agricultural organisation may be authorised to take action to implement the plan by the conservator (Section 168G (2)). Evidence would be adherence to the specific authorised actions and any conditions outlined in the written authorisation (Section 167 (3)), or compliance with plan-specific restrictions.
  • Management Agreements: If considered an “agency” (e.g., a land developer) and proposing activities affecting public or unleased territory land, an agricultural organisation may be invited to enter into a management agreement (Section 311). Evidence would be the signed agreement and adherence to its standards and conditions (Section 310). Failure to enter or breach may result in the conservator repairing damage and recovering costs (Sections 313, 314).

• Licensing Requirements (Nature Conservation Licence):

  • Application for Licence: Required for specific activities that would otherwise be an offence (Section 262). The application must be in writing, state the activity, and provide complete suitability information about the applicant and the activity (Section 264 (2)).
  • Provision of Further Information: Must provide further information about individuals (Section 267) or the activity (Section 270) if requested by the conservator within a stated reasonable time.
  • Risk Management Plan: May be required to prepare a risk management plan identifying and minimising risks to people or property if the licensed activity is likely to cause undue risk (Section 271).
  • Inspection of Premises: If the activity involves keeping animals, applicants may be required to allow the conservator to inspect the premises (Section 272).
  • Compliance with Conditions: Licensees must comply with all licence conditions, including general conditions (Section 274), those related to native species conservation plans (Section 275), and financial assurance conditions (Section 263). Non-compliance is an offence.
  • Financial Assurance: If a financial assurance condition is imposed, the licensee must provide a bank guarantee, bond, insurance policy, or other approved security (Section 279 (2)). Failure to provide this by the due date results in licence cancellation (Section 281).
  • Licence Amendments/Transfers/Renewals: Applications for amendments (e.g., change of management personnel) (Section 287), transfer (Section 289), or renewal (Section 291) must be submitted in writing with required suitability information and before licence expiry for renewals (at least 30 days prior).
  • Notification of Change of Details: Licensees must notify the conservator in writing of any change of name or address within 30 days and return the licence (Section 295). Failure to do so is an offence.
  • Return of Licences: Licensees must return amended, suspended, or cancelled licences to the conservator as soon as practicable, but not later than 7 days, after receiving a reviewable decision notice (Section 302). Failure to do so is an offence.

• Record-Keeping Requirements:

  • Licensed Activities: Licensees carrying on activities involving animals or plants must keep records as required by regulation for their licence (Section 306). Failure to keep required records is an offence, with higher penalties for activities involving special protection status species.

• Reporting Requirements:

  • Royalty Payments: If a licence authorises taking native animals, plants, or native timber, and these are sold or disposed of, the licensee must pay royalty to the Territory at the rate prescribed by regulation (Section 307).

• Compliance with Prohibitions & Defences:

  • Prohibited Fruit Netting: Occupiers of residential premises (including on agricultural land) must not use netting with a mesh hole size greater than 5mm x 5mm when fully stretched on plants (Section 138A). Non-compliance is a strict liability offence.
  • Damage Native Tree (Leased Land): On leased land outside a built-up urban area, damaging a native tree is an offence (Section 145). A defence exists if the tree was damaged by an occupier for non-sale primary production in accordance with the lease purpose. Evidence would include documentation of lease purpose and non-commercial use.
  • Clearing Native Vegetation: Clearing native vegetation in a native vegetation area within a reserve is an offence (Sections 236-238). To avoid conviction, a defendant may need to prove they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all appropriate diligence to prevent the offence (Section 239). This requires documented procedures, environmental impact assessments, and adherence to codes of practice.
  • Damage Land: Damaging land in a reserve is an offence (Sections 245-247). Similar to clearing, a defence of appropriate diligence may be available (Section 248), requiring documented precautions and diligence.
  • Court Orders for Restoration/Rehabilitation: Courts may order persons convicted of clearing vegetation or damaging land to mitigate harm, restore vegetation, or rehabilitate land (Sections 241, 250). Compliance requires documented evidence of carrying out the ordered actions or paying specified costs to the Territory.

• Compliance with Directions from Officers/Conservator:

  • Identity and Information: Must comply with directions to give full name and address (Section 319, 320), produce licence or records (Section 321, 322), or provide other information or documents (Section 323, 324) reasonably required by a conservation officer for enforcement.
  • Conservator’s Directions: Occupiers of land must comply with a conservator’s written direction about the protection or conservation of native species, ecological communities, or their habitats on their land (Section 331, 332). Directions state compliance timeframes (at least 14 days). Evidence includes documented actions taken in response to the direction.
  • Treatment Directions: Keepers of native animals or plants suffering from disease must comply with a conservator’s written direction to carry out stated treatments (Section 333, 334). Evidence includes veterinary records or records of treatment application.
  • Directions to Give or Destroy Animal/Plant: If treatment fails, keepers must comply with a conservator’s direction to give the animal or plant to the conservator or destroy it (Section 335 (2)).

• Inspection and Audit Requirements:

  • Conservation officers have powers to enter premises (including agricultural properties in certain circumstances, e.g., if animals are kept under licence, or if there’s suspicion of non-exempt animals or native plants), inspect, examine, take measurements, samples, photographs, and require reasonable help (Sections 338, 341). Agricultural organisations should facilitate such access and have relevant records readily available.

Metadata Keywords:

Nature conservation, biodiversity, native species, ecological communities, land management, environmental regulation, ACT agriculture, licensing, compliance, biosecurity.

Publication Information:

Publication date: 15 May 2025 Version number: Republication No 33 Last amendment made by A2024-38

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Fisheries, Forestry, Horticulture.

Date Added to database:

This document was parsed and added to the database on 25-07-2025

URL:

https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/DownloadFile/a/2014-59/current/PDF/2014-59.PDF →