| Question | Expression of interest | Advanced offset |
|---|---|---|
| Do I need a baseline habitat quality assessment? | No | Yes |
| How much does it cost? | Free | Costs may be incurred in preparing the application for registration, for example the hiring of an ecological consultant to undertake a baseline habitat quality assessment of the property. |
| What is the likelihood of being invited to participate in an environmental offset project? | Interested landholders may be invited to participate in tenders or submit an application for an advanced offset. | Registered advanced offset areas will be prioritised for environmental offset projects due to the provision of verified ecological information about the area, for example the area’s ability to support particular environmental values. |
| What are my obligations? | A completed expression of interest does not legally bind the landholder. There is no obligation to legally secure or undertake management activities to improve the environmental values until the land becomes a formal offset site. A landholder will need to inform the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation once they enter into an Environmental Offset Agreement with a proponent or broker so that the expression of interest register can be updated. | An advanced offset does not legally bind the landholder. There is no obligation to legally secure or undertake management activities to improve environmental values on an advanced offset site until the land becomes a formal offset site. A landholder informs the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation once they enter into an Environmental Offset Agreement with a proponent or broker so that the advanced offset registration can be removed or amended. |
| If I undertake habitat management or restoration activities on the proposed offset site, will this be considered if I receive an invitation to participate in an environmental offset project? | No | Yes, restoration/improvement activities undertaken after an advanced offset is registered will make your land more attractive as an offset delivery site. This is because prior habitat management or restoration activities help reduce the time needed for an environmental offset to achieve a conservation outcome. A landholder may be able to negotiate additional compensation for any such environmental gains. |
| What details will be made publicly available? |
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Information and opportunities for landholders
Queensland landholders can earn income by using their land to deliver environmental offsets.
Eligible landholders include farmers, First Nations peoples, regional councils, and owners of rural lifestyle blocks and hobby farms.
In addition to income, offsets can create broader benefits for land, including:
- conserve soils and protect water quality
- provide wind breaks and shade
- reduce land management costs, improve agricultural productivity and protect livestock
- increase environmental sustainability status
- enhance recreation and tourism value of their property.
Environmental offsets
An environmental offset compensates for unavoidable impacts on significant environmental matters (e.g. threatened species and ecosystems) on one site, by securing land at another site, and managing that land over time to replace those significant environmental matters which were lost.
Generally, an environmental offset would involve a landholder being paid to undertake agreed management actions (including an incentive payment) to improve the condition of specific environmental values on their land. Alternatively, landholders can be paid for the use of their land for offset delivery by another person.
Landholders can register all or part of their property for environmental offsets through an expression of interest and/or as an advanced offset.
Registering all or part of a property will allow the Queensland Government and other interested parties to identify and potentially use the land to deliver an environmental offset for a particular project, and help minimise the time delay in successfully offsetting the loss of environmental values.
See the list of environmental matters in demand for offsets across the State. This list includes environmental offsets needed for Queensland financial settlement offset fund delivery projects.
Next steps
The steps outlined below guide interested landholders through determining which types of environmental offsets a property could be capable of containing, and whether to submit an expression of interest or advanced offset application.
Please note that the offset demand information is intended as a guide in gauging demand for environmental offsets to assist landholders in making a more informed decision on participation.
Expressions of interest and advanced offset applications are still welcomed for offset types not currently on the list of in-demand offsets.
Four-Step Guide to register land as an environmental offset
Follow this Four‑Step Guide to navigate the process to register land as an environmental offset.
Landholders can register their interest to provide a site or sites for environmental offsets by completing an A. expression of interest form or B. advanced offset application.
Step 1
- Review the information on the expression of interest page and the information relevant for landholders on the advanced offsets page.
- Review detailed comparison of expression of interest and advanced offsets.
- Identify the option that is best suited to your circumstance and navigate the following steps from:
If you are uncertain about which option to use, landholders are encouraged to register an expression of interest. Following the registration of an expression of interest, landholders can later consider if an application for an advanced offset is an appropriate course of action for their circumstance.
Steps 2 to 4
| Path A | Path B |
|---|---|
| A. Expression of interest registration process | B. Advanced offset application process |
| Step 2A Determine what environmental values are on your property | Step 2B Determine if your land meets the required eligibility |
| Step 3A Submit the expression of interest form | Step 3B Complete the Advanced Offset form and submit your application |
| Step 4A After submitting an expression of interest | Step 4B After completing an advanced offset application |
Path A. Expression of interest registration process
Follow steps 2A to 4A to register an expression of interest.
Use the following free online reports to determine the specific environmental values present on your property:
- Matters of state environmental significance (MSES)
- Environmental values found in this report:
- Waterways
- Wetlands
- Habitat corridors (connectivity)
- Environmental values found in this report:
- Regional ecosystems
- Environmental values found in this report:
- Regional ecosystem
- Environmental values found in this report:
- WildNet records – Conservation significant species list
- Environmental values found in this report:
- Threatened native animal species
- Threatened native plant species
- Environmental values found in this report:
Vegetation map or property report:
- Vegetation management report
- Environmental values found in this report:
- South East Queensland koala habitat area
- South East Queensland koala priority area
- Environmental values found in this report:
You’ll need to enter the property address, Lot on Plan, central coordinates, orthe tenure number to generate these reports.
NOTE: The Lot on Plan details of your property can be found by entering the property address into the Queensland Geocoder or directly through the environmental reports online service.
Complete and submit the expression of interest form.
Provide as much information about your property as possible using the environmental reports from Step 2A.
- Additional reports and resources that may further assist in this process:
- Environmental reports online (see details above).
- Queensland Globe.
Information provided in your registration will be displayed on the public List of Potential Offset Sites, which includes:
- local government area
- estimated size of target area
- environmental values present or potentially present
- threatened native animal species
- threatened native plant species.
Personal details of applicants remain confidential and will not be shared without the consent of the landholder.
Your application may then be considered by the Queensland Government and other interested parties as a potential environmental offset site.
In the event that interested parties contact the department with an enquiry about your listed site, we will only provide information which is publicly available on the List. We will notify you of the interested party and you may engage with the interested party at your own discretion.
Path B. Advanced offset application process
Follow steps 2B to 4B to submit an advanced offset application.
Landholders are encouraged to register their land by submitting an expression of interest form prior to submitting their application for an advanced offset. The Queensland Government and interested parties may then view your land as a potential offset earlier, whilst you are preparing the requirements for an advanced offset application.
To determine if your land meets the required eligibility to be registered as an advanced offset, it must contain or be capable of containing a Matter of State Environmental Significance (MSES).
The MSES report found on Environmental reports online, can provide you with information about any MSES present on your land.
To request the MSES report, you will need to provide one of the following details to identify your property: Lot on Plan, central coordinates, or tenure number.
The Lot on Plan details of your property can be found by entering the property address into the Queensland Geocoder or directly through the environmental reports online service.
MSES that may be subject to offsets are specified in Table 1 under information for landholders on the advanced offsets page. Identify whether any of the MSES listed on the table are present on your land from the MSES report.
If an MSES is present on your land, it may be eligible for an offset and you are encouraged to submit an advanced offset application.
A suitably qualified person should be engaged in the preparation of the required assessment and forms. Should the landholder require a suitably qualified person to prepare the requirements, it is recommended that they engage with an environmental consultant.
The following form is required:
The form requires the completion of a baseline habitat quality assessment, this provides baseline information against which improvements in condition can be measured. The Guide to determining terrestrial habitat quality (Version 1.3) (PDF, 1.76MB) may be used to determine the baseline habitat quality score for each MSES at the site.
If the land being registered contains Southeast Queensland koala habitat area and/ or Southeast Queensland koala priority areas, additional requirements are subject to the application. The landholder is required to consider the Spatial modelling for koalas in South East Queensland (Version 2.0) (PDF, 9.33MB) guide. The guide details the suitability of regional ecosystems for koala habitat. Refer to Appendix 3 Regional ecosystem koala suitability in the guide to determine if the regional ecosystems present on your land apply to this guideline.
Users of this guide must be suitably qualified with relevant ecological and technical knowledge and skills. Details of the assessor’s qualifications and experience must be provided as supporting material with an advanced offset application.
Submit the required forms for your advanced offset application to offsets@des.qld.gov.au.
On approval, the advanced offset will be listed on the offsets register. Personal details of applicants remain confidential and will not be shared without the consent of the landholder.
The Queensland Government and interested proponents may then contact the landholder regarding potentially delivering an environmental offset on their land.
Once an advanced offset is registered, landholders are under no obligation to manage the proposed land as an environmental offset site until the application has been selected to deliver an offset. Once the landholder has been notified that there are interested parties in the site, negotiations in relation to the use of the advanced offset are undertaken between the landholder and the proponent. Until such negotiations are finalised, landowners are under no obligation to allow the use of their site to deliver an offset.
List of registered advanced offset sites
View the list of registered advanced offset sites on the offsets register.
List of potential offset sites
View the list of potential offset sites from landholder expressions of interest.
Other opportunities and environmental offsets
Other ways you can engage with environmental offset opportunities include:
- register your interest with a private offset broker
- an invitation to Offer may be periodically advertised. To receive email updates about new tender opportunities please register on the QTender website
- learn how you can tender for opportunities, including the process for tendering
- check the offsets register regularly. The register lists offset payments that will be used to deliver future offset projects for the corresponding environmental matters.
- engage with AgForce’s Agriculture, Carbon and the Environment (AgCarE) program certification scheme that allows landholders to self-assess the natural capital on their property and determine a benchmark score on landscape condition. Learn more about the introduction of the AgCarE initiative.
- engage with the advanced environmental offsets process under the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Contact
For assistance registering an advanced offset or submitting a landholder expression of interest form, please contact offsets@des.qld.gov.au.
For information on offset delivery from the offsets account and QTender processes, please contact financialoffsets@des.qld.gov.au