BushBroker®
BushBroker process – Permit holders
Information sheet number 20
Pricing native vegetation credits
To assist each landowner with developing a price for native
vegetation credits, information is provided by the field
assessor regarding the assessment scores and the
management actions that will generate the gain required to
market their native vegetation credits.
Landowners need to consider the long term costs of
managing of the native vegetation credit site as well as any
lost productivity resulting from entering into agreement with
the department. These factors will influence the price set
for the native vegetation credits. For example, often grassy
ecosystems are priced higher than forest ecosystems as
they have higher overall management costs.
Process
Permit holders seeking native vegetation credits need to
make contact with an accredited organisation listed on the
Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI)
BushBroker web page. They have been trained to assist in
facilitating the process of purchasing native vegetation
credits and can support permit holders through the
process. They will have their own fee schedule above the
fees charged by the department to process the trade.
Please ensure you discuss the fees with the organisation to
be clear on the administrative costs of purchasing a native
vegetation credit.
The accredited organisation will provide information on
what available credits may meet the planning requirements
and provide contact details for credit owners. Negotiations
(i.e. agreement of a price) are between the credit owner
and permit holder unless the credit owner has listed a fixed
price or entered into an ‘Over the Counter’ arrangement
with an accredited organisation.
Once a price has been agreed between the credit owner
and the purchaser, the accredited organisation will submit a
trade package to BushBroker for quality assurance
purposes. This package will include payment for the trade
registration documents, credit agreement advice form
signed by both parties detailing the price being paid for the
native vegetation credits exclusive of GST and the draft
credit agreement for quality assurance.
For further guidance previous trade prices please go to
(www.depi.vic.gov.au/nativevegetation) and click on “Native
vegetation offsets” Use this information with caution as
negotiations are conducted one-on-one between permit
holders and landowners and reflect those individual
circumstances.
The credit trading agreement is an agreement between a
landowner and a permit holder which formalises the
obligations of each party and details the number, type and
price of native vegetation credits that are to be recorded
against the name of the permit holder on the Native
Vegetation Credit Register (NVCR). The Secretary of DEPI,
on behalf of the State of Victoria will receive and hold in
trust the money for subsequent progress payments to the
landowner, as required by the Landowner Agreement.
Payment
Once the credit agreement has been signed by all parties,
BushBroker will raise an invoice for the total agreed price
and any relevant fees which must be paid within 30 days.
Allocation of native vegetation credits
Once payment is received, BushBroker will apply to the
NVCR for a Native Vegetation Allocated Credit Extract
(ACE). The ACE confirms your name has been recorded
against the specific native vegetation credits and that the
credits are recorded against a planning permit. Present the
ACE to the responsible (local council) or referral authority
(regional DEPI) as evidence the planning permit condition
has been satisfied. For more information please see the
native vegetation credit register web page.
Further information
For further information on BushBroker or NVCR, please
contact the DEPI Customer Service Centre on 136 186 or
visit the DEPI website at: www.depi.vic.gov.au/bushbroker
or www.depi.vic.gov.au/nativevegetation.
BushBroker process - Permit holders
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment and Primary Industries
Melbourne 2014
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia
licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that
you credit the State of Victoria as author. The licence does not apply to any
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Victorian Government logo and the Department of Environment and Primary
Industries logo. To view a copy of this licence, visit
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ISBN 978-1-74287-692-4 (online – set)
www.depi.vic.gov.au
Accessibility
If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please
telephone DEPI Customer Service Centre 136 186, email
customer.service@depi.vic.gov.au, via the National Relay Service on 133 677
www.relayservice.com.au. This document is also available on the internet at
www.depi.vic.gov.au
Disclaimer
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its
employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is
wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability
for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on
any information in this publication.