Proposed Nature Repair Market Reforms for EPBC Act Biodiversity Offsets
The Australian Government is consulting on proposed changes to the Nature Repair scheme that would, for the first time, allow biodiversity certificates issued under the Nature Repair Act 2023 (Cth) to be used as environmental offsets for projects approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). This is a material shift in how the federal biodiversity offset system operates. The consultation was initiated in May 2026, with submissions closing at 5:00 PM on Monday, 4 May 2026, meaning the window for practitioners and proponents to formally influence the policy settings has been extremely tight.
Until now, the Nature Repair Act 2023 contained an explicit prohibition on using biodiversity certificates for any “environmental offsetting purpose” under any Commonwealth, State or Territory law. Their use was limited strictly to voluntary activities, including ESG or sustainability commitments, philanthropic giving, or purchase by the government under biodiversity conservation contracts. The Environment Protection Reform Act 2025, passed late last year, will override this prohibition once its relevant provisions commence, which is anticipated to occur on 1 December 2026. Three consultation papers have been released covering the policy settings for an offset-capable market, the scoring framework for the proposed “Threatened Species Characteristic,” and amendments to the Nature Repair Rules to support integrity and administration.
For developers, infrastructure managers, legal advisers, and planning authorities, this reform alters compliance pathways for major projects. Sourcing and delivering biodiversity offsets under the EPBC Act has historically been one of the most intractable approval-related bottlenecks for major projects across Australia. Delays in securing suitable offset land, demonstrating additionality, and satisfying Commonwealth approval conditions have caused schedule overruns and cost blowouts on projects ranging from urban fringe subdivisions to nationally significant energy infrastructure. Introducing a structured, certificate-based supply mechanism through the Nature Repair Market addresses the supply-side problem that has long plagued offset procurement.
Key details of the Nature Repair Market consultation and proposed offset framework
The three consultation papers released by the Australian Government cover distinct but interconnected aspects of the proposed changes. The first addresses the overarching policy settings for configuring the Nature Repair Market as an offset-capable mechanism under the EPBC Act. The second focuses specifically on the scoring methodology for the “Threatened Species Characteristic,” which is a critical technical parameter that will determine how biodiversity certificates are valued in the context of regulatory offset conditions. The third paper covers proposed amendments to the Nature Repair Rules to ensure the administrative and integrity frameworks are fit for purpose once the offset function commences.
The concept of “high-confidence benefit pathways” is central to the proposed framework. These pathways define the types of ecological actions and land management commitments that will be recognised as generating credible, measurable biodiversity outcomes within the Nature Repair Market. For ecological consultants and project proponents, understanding how these pathways are defined and scored is directly relevant to advising on both offset generation strategies (for landholders seeking to create certificates) and offset procurement strategies (for developers needing to satisfy approval conditions). Certificates that score strongly against the Threatened Species Characteristic are likely to carry higher regulatory weight and commercial value, given the primacy of threatened species considerations in EPBC Act decision-making.
The legislative sequence underpinning this reform is important to understand precisely. The Nature Repair Act 2023 established the biodiversity certificate market but expressly prohibited regulatory use of those certificates. The Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 has already been passed, but the operative provisions have not yet commenced. Commencement is anticipated on 1 December 2026. This six-month window between the close of consultation in May 2026 and commencement in December 2026 is when final policy settings, rules amendments, and administrative arrangements will be locked in. Proponents with EPBC Act approval conditions that include offset obligations, and those currently in assessment, should be actively monitoring what emerges from this consultation process.
The integrity of the certificate system will be a key concern for regulators and practitioners alike. One of the persistent criticisms of biodiversity offset markets globally is the risk of low-quality credits being used to satisfy regulatory conditions, resulting in net biodiversity loss despite nominal compliance. The proposed amendments to the Nature Repair Rules are intended to address this risk by tightening the administrative framework. However, the specific mechanisms for verifying additionality, permanence, and the ecological equivalence of certificates to the values impacted by a given project remain areas where the final rules will determine the viability of market-based offset compliance.
Australian context: EPBC Act offsets, state frameworks, and what this means for project approvals
Australia’s biodiversity offset landscape has always been complicated by the dual-layer structure of Commonwealth and state regulatory requirements. Most significant developments must satisfy both EPBC Act approval conditions at the Commonwealth level and separate offset obligations under state legislation, such as the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW), the Environmental Offsets Act 2014 (Qld), and equivalent frameworks in other jurisdictions. The introduction of Nature Repair Market certificates as a recognised federal offset mechanism does not automatically displace or integrate with these state schemes, meaning proponents will need to carefully assess whether certificates can satisfy both layers of obligation or whether separate offset strategies remain necessary for state-level compliance.
References and related sources
- Primary source: www.claytonutz.com
- EPBC Act
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This is an iEnvi Machete news summary. Prepared by iEnvi to summarise the source article for contaminated land, groundwater, remediation, approvals and site risk professionals.
Published: 02 May 2026
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