Overview
The Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2018 provide protection for biodiversity, particularly threatened species and threatened ecological communities (TECs).
The Minister for Environment may list a species or ecological community as threatened under the BC Act. This gives special protection to the threatened species or TEC.
You must not take or disturb a threatened species or modify an occurrence of a TEC unless you have an authorisation under the BC Act. Substantial penalties apply for impacts to threatened species and TECs without an authorisation (up to $500,000).
No exemptions apply under the BC Act. You must have the necessary BC Act authorisations in addition to any other approvals under any other legislation, including the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act).
You do not need to pay any fees to apply for an authorisation.
Timeline
The authorisation process does not have a statutory timeframe. Generally the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) will assess applications within 28 business days of it receiving all the relevant information.
Where the threatened species or TEC has been considered as part of another process (e.g. an EP Act assessment), DBCA would have been consulted during that process and the approval timeframe for the authorisation would be reduced.
Before you apply
Before you apply, you should determine whether the project will, or is likely to result in, an impact on a threatened species (being taken or disturbed) or a TEC (being modified).
What is taking a threatened species?
For threatened fauna this includes to kill, injure, harvest or capture by any means.
This may occur directly or indirectly, through any activity that has the potential to cause injury or kill an animal.
For threatened flora this includes to gather, pluck, cut, pull up, destroy, dig up, remove, harvest or damage flora by any means.
This may occur directly or indirectly, through any activity that has the potential to take any plant, including whole plants or plant parts.
What is disturbing a threatened species?
For threatened fauna this includes to chase, drive, follow, harass, herd or hunt threatened fauna; apply an identifier to threatened fauna; or alter the natural behaviour of threatened fauna.
For threatened flora this includes an activity that has the effect, whether directly or indirectly, of altering the long-term persistence of the flora in its habitat.
For the assessment, DBCA will consider whether disturbance activities may result in threatened species being taken, either directly or indirectly.
What is modifying a threatened ecological community?
To modify a TEC, includes an activity that results in changing or modification an occurrence of the TEC to such an extent that the occurrence is unlikely to recover its species composition and/or structure or results in the destruction of an occurrence of the TEC. This can be from indirect or direct impacts.
Stages of application
Prepare
Show moreFor your project you should gather information on any potential impacts on threatened species or TECs. You should consider direct, indirect, offsite and cumulative impacts, and give details of the impacts at the population/occurrence level. Indirect impacts include ‘downstream’ and ‘upstream’ impacts (e.g. alteration of drainage patterns that support the population/occurrence) and whether weeds, pests and diseases may be introduced to the area.
To determine the level of impact, you will usually need to conduct targeted flora, fauna and/or vegetation surveys to determine the full size and extent of the population or occurrence in the impact area and surrounding area. This puts the impacts into context at the population or occurrence level.
In your application you should describe what strategies you will apply to avoid, minimise or manage impacts. Your strategies must be specific to the activities/threat and to the species/ population or community/occurrence at risk.
Lodge and validate
Show moreTo obtain an authorisation you must send your application to DBCA. The department will assess the application. Go to DBCA’s website for the application forms:
You should know that authorisations to take threatened species only cover taking of the threatened species, not its habitat and other approvals to clear native vegetation may be required.
DBCA encourages you to submit your application while you wait on other approvals. DBCA seeks to work with other agencies for consistency of advice and conditions applied to the proposal, and to ensure the timing of approvals align wherever possible.
Assessment
Show moreWhen DBCA receives an application it will assess the impacts to the threatened species or TEC based on the intensity, duration and magnitude of the proposed activities, other information provided (e.g. results of surveys and proposed management and mitigation strategies) and the context of the threatened species or TEC. If you do not provide the necessary information, the assessing officer will contact you to obtain further details.
Decision
Show moreAfter considering the impact assessment, the Minister for Environment or delegate (DBCA) decides whether to authorise the action, and what conditions to impose. DBCA will contact you and tell you the outcome. If approved, you will be given a copy of the signed authorisation.
Post decision
Show moreYour authorisation will have conditions that you must monitor and report on the effectiveness of any proposed management or mitigation measures, and the impact(s) of the activity on the threatened species or TEC. Additional and more specific monitoring conditions may be applied under the authorisation where the risk or impacts require it.
