Environmental offsets

Environmental offsets are designed to counterbalance the significant residual impacts of proposals and clearing regulated under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 on biodiversity.
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Offsets Register

The Government of Western Australia Environmental Offsets Register website provides a central public record of offset agreements in Western Australia, contributing to the broader objectives of transparency and accountability.

The aim of the WA Environmental Offsets Register is to:

  • facilitate transparency and accountability of offsets
  • provide a single cross-Government record for environmental offsets
  • monitor offset implementation and outcomes
  • improve auditing and quality control of offsets
  • provide for efficient retrieval of offset information in flexible ways to meet Government, industry and community needs.

Policy

The WA Environmental Offsets Policy, released in September 2011, provides a framework for consistent application of environmental offsets to protect and conserve environmental and biodiversity values.

Guidelines

The WA Environmental Offsets Guidelines, released in August 2014, complement the WA Environmental Offsets Policy (2011) and ensure that the basis for decision-making on environmental offsets is understood and consistently applied. The guidelines apply to all biodiversity offsets required as a condition of Western Australian environmental approval processes.

We have completed a review of WA’s environmental offsets framework. The review report contains recommendations for improvements. 

In consultation with stakeholders, we have developed an implementation plan for the review’s recommendations. We have also prepared a fact sheet which sets out the timelines, milestones and stakeholder engagement related to the review. 

WA environmental offsets metric

An environmental offsets metric has been developed to help quantify offsets in WA.

The metric comprises a calculator and guideline on its use. The WA metric helps to provide consistency in quantifying offsets under Parts IV and V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

Additional guidance on metric inputs was released for public consultation from 12 May to 8 July 2022. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is currently analysing submissions and feedback received during the public consultation period.