How to request a biodiversity credit price estimate

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust offers a paid biodiversity credits price estimation service.

What the service provides

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust uses a Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator to provide a predicted credit price for the credits you are interested in.   

For developers: the service is useful to understand potential future payments into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF).  

For Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement landholders and credit owners: the service offers guidance only, and not an actual market price. Information on prices being paid for credits can be found at the Market Sales Dashboard.

Eligibility

The service is available to those:

  • seeking to obtain a credit price from the Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator (BOPC)
  • with an actual or potential credit obligation, or landholders who have, or are seeking to enter into, a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement (BSA).

Request price estimation

Supporting documentation

To receive a biodiversity credits price estimate, evidence of a potential credit obligation or ownership will be required. 

This may include:

  • Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM) Credit Summary Report
  • BAM Biodiversity Credit Report (Like for like)
  • A copy of the Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR)
  • A copy of the Biodiversity Stewardship Site Assessment Report (BSSAR)
  • Feasibility or business case assessment for a BSA or development proposal that identifies likely biodiversity credit types.

If the credits were calculated using the BioBanking Assessment Methodology (BBAM) or Framework for Biodiversity Assessment (FBA), then a ‘statement of reasonable equivalence of biodiversity credits’ may be helpful in identifying the offset trading group

Biodiversity Conservation Fund Charge Report

This report lists quotes issued by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust between October 2022 and February 2023.

BCF Charge report [.PDF]

Frequently asked questions

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust will issue a Predicted Credit Price, per credit, per Ecosystem and Species Credit type requested using the Biodiversity Offset Payment Calculator. These estimates will not include a Risk Premium or Delivery Fee associated with payment to the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF). 

No. The biodiversity credits price estimate is indicative and useful for planning purposes. It should not be used as a final price for biodiversity credits.

For developers: it is useful to understand potential future payments into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF). If you choose to pay into the BCF, additional costs will include a 5 per cent delivery fee and 11.1 per cent to 16.7 per cent risk premium charge on top of the credit price, as well as monthly indexation. The predicted credit price, delivery fee and risk premium are subject to ongoing review. 

For Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement landholders and credit owners: the service offers guidance only, and not an actual market price.  Information on prices being paid for credits can be found at the Market Sales Dashboard.

Applicants should review other sources of market information when considering the likely value of biodiversity credits. The price estimate may not reflect the price of credits trading in the market.

The price estimate may not be the same as the price to pay into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF) under section 6.30 (1) of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. 

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust will prioritise Charge Quotes to the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF). For all other requests, the expected delivery date will be communicated with acknowledgment of receipt of each application request. For proponents, price estimates will only be actioned and supplied after the Application Fee has been confirmed.

For development proponents there will be an application fee of $200 per application and $100 for each Credit Type (each Offset Trading Group and Species) included in the application. This fee will be waived for existing and prospective BSA owners.

There is no fee for current and future Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement (BSA) holders to receive a price estimate.

There are other methods to estimate credit prices available. 

For more information

Please contact the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust on 1300 992 688 or email at [email protected]