Overview
Griffith City Council in New South Wales has announced that from 1 August 2026, all relevant Development Applications (DAs) involving land disturbance, vegetation removal, earthworks, or other activities with potential ecosystem impacts must be accompanied by a Biodiversity Values Map and Threshold (BMAT) Report or Letter at the time of lodgement. This mandatory upfront requirement replaces the previous case-by-case approach, under which council officers would request BMAT documentation during assessment if they identified a potential biodiversity concern. The change takes effect immediately from 1 August 2026 and applies consistently across all applicable DAs lodged with Griffith City Council.
For ecological consultants, town planners, and developers operating in regional New South Wales, this policy shift is meaningful because it repositions biodiversity screening from a reactive, mid-assessment step to a non-negotiable pre-lodgement obligation. Any applicant who lodges a DA without the required BMAT documentation after 1 August 2026 faces immediate delays or formal Requests for Information (RFIs) from council, unless council determines that the proposal does not involve physical works or biodiversity impacts and waives the requirement. In practical terms, that means project timelines and budgets can be affected before assessment has even commenced.
The broader significance extends well beyond Griffith. Griffith City Council’s decision to formalise and standardise biodiversity screening reflects a wider pattern of NSW local councils tightening pre-lodgement requirements to reduce information gaps and improve assessment efficiency. For developers and consultants working across regional New South Wales, this development signals that upfront ecological due diligence is becoming an expected baseline, not an optional extra that can be deferred until council asks for it.
Key details of the Griffith City Council BMAT requirement from 1 August 2026
The BMAT tool is an online mapping and threshold assessment instrument administered under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017. It is the legislated gateway mechanism for determining whether a development proposal triggers the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (BOS). The tool assesses two primary criteria: first, whether the land proposed for clearing or disturbance is mapped on the NSW Biodiversity Values Map; and second, whether the area of native vegetation proposed to be cleared exceeds minimum area thresholds, which vary according to the minimum lot size applicable to the land under the relevant local environmental plan.
If a project exceeds either of these thresholds, the proposal enters the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme and the applicant is required to commission a Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR). A BDAR is a comprehensive ecological assessment document that must be prepared by a NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act accredited assessor. The BDAR quantifies biodiversity impacts using the Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM), identifies required biodiversity credits, and informs the conditions of development consent. Preparing a BDAR is resource-intensive: it typically requires field surveys across multiple seasons, desktop analysis, credit calculations, and formal accreditation of the assessor. Adding this requirement to a development timeline can extend the assessment programme by months, particularly where threatened species surveys or vegetation community mapping are required.
Griffith City Council’s announcement makes clear that where the BMAT outcome confirms a project does not trigger the BOS, the applicant submits the BMAT report or letter as evidence of that screening outcome and the assessment proceeds without further biodiversity offsets obligations under the scheme. Where the BMAT confirms a trigger, the BDAR pathway commences. The key operational change from 1 August 2026 is that council will no longer make this determination on behalf of applicants during assessment. The BMAT report or letter must accompany the DA at lodgement. Council retains the discretion to waive the requirement where a proposal clearly does not involve physical works or any credible biodiversity impact, but applicants should not rely on that discretion as a substitute for upfront screening.
The Biodiversity Values Map itself is a state government spatial dataset that identifies land with high biodiversity values across New South Wales, including areas supporting threatened species, threatened ecological communities, and areas of special ecological sensitivity. The map is regularly updated by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). Because the map can change between project inception and lodgement, relying on an outdated desktop check is a genuine risk for applicants who do not refresh their BMAT assessment close to lodgement.
Australian context: how the Griffith Council BMAT mandate fits within NSW biodiversity planning law
The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) and the Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017 represent the primary legislative framework governing biodiversity impacts from development in New South Wales. The BC Act established the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme as the principal mechanism for managing residual biodiversity impacts that cannot be avoided or minimised, replacing the former Native Vegetation Act 2003 and elements of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The BMAT tool is embedded within this framework as the legislated screening step, and its outputs have direct legal consequences for the development consent pathway under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act). Griffith City Council’s new mandatory requirement does not create new law; it enforces the existing legal framework more consistently.
References and related sources
- Primary source: www.griffith.nsw.gov.au
- nationaltribune.com.au
- 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: 29 Jul 2026
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