GUNGAHLIN STRATEGIC
ASSESSMENT
Biodiversity Plan
CONSULTATION DRAFT
March 2013
Disclaimer
In preparing this report, Umwelt has relied on third
party data provided by various sources to the ACT
Government and in no way warrants the accuracy or
precision of information upon which this report has
been prepared. While care has been taken to ensure
that information contained in this report is true and
correct at the time of publication, subsequent
changes to legislation, policy and available
information may impact on the accuracy of this
information.
This document may only be used for the purpose for
which it was commissioned and in accordance with
the contract between Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited
(Umwelt) and the ACT Government.
© Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited, 2013
Acknowledgements
This report has benefited from the input of many ACT Government officers across Economic Development (EDD), Environment
and Sustainable Development (ESDD) and Territory and Municipal Services (TaMS) directorates in addition to support and
advice from officers of the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
(SEWPaC).
GUNGAHLIN STRATEGIC
ASSESSMENT
Biodiversity Plan
CONSULTATION DRAFT
March 2013
Prepared by
Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited
on behalf of
ACT Economic Development Directorate and
ACT Environment and Sustainable Development
Directorate
Project Director:
Peter Cowper
Project Manager:
Karina Carwardine
Report No.
8024/R01/V4
Date:
March 2013
Canberra
PO Box 6135
56 Bluebell Street
O’Connor ACT 2602
Ph. 02 6262 9484
www.umwelt.com.au
Gungahlin Biodiversity Plan
CONSULTATION DRAFT
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Introduction
In October 2012, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Commonwealth governments
commenced a Strategic Assessment under Part 10 of the Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The focus of this agreement is to assess the
potential impacts from development of the remaining identified greenfield sites in Gungahlin,
the northern-most district in the ACT, on Matters of National Environmental Significance
(MNES) protected under the EPBC Act.
The Gungahlin development was commenced in 1991 as a consequence of consideration of
the development through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the Environment
Protection (Impacts of Proposals) Act 1974 (EPIP Act). More recently, land releases have
also been approved under the provisions of Part 9 of the EPBC Act. Completion of the
Gungahlin development is described by this report (the Plan) and seeks to establish a
balance of residential, employment and conservation areas within the district, and to
streamline the planning and development process for the remaining urban areas.
Strategic Assessment
Strategic Assessments (under Part 10 of the EPBC Act) provide an opportunity to assess
proposed actions at a larger scale and longer timeframe than traditional site-by-site
assessments.
A Strategic Assessment has a number of key benefits:
1) The ability to achieve conservation outcomes at a large, landscape scale is superior
to the establishment of ad hoc site by site small scale offsets.
2) The Strategic Assessment process promotes the identification and assessment of
Matters of National Environmental Significance early in the planning process, and the
consideration and commitment to significant and real conservation outcomes.
3) Cumulative impacts of development are able to be considered and mitigated in a
coordinated and cohesive manner.
4) Finally, if approved, the Strategic Assessment Plan will help to streamline the
development application process and reduce costs and delays associated with land
release and housing supply by removing the need for site by site assessment of
Matters of National Environmental Significance.
The Plan
The Plan (the actions described by this report) applies to the future urban areas of Gungahlin
Town Centre (east), Jacka (north), Kenny, Kinlyside1, Moncrieff, Taylor and Throsby as
identified in the ACT Territory Plan.
Note: Kinlyside and Gungahlin Town Centre (east) are not zoned as ‘Future Urban Area’. Kinlyside is
zoned Suburban (RZ1) and Gungahlin Town Centre (east) is zoned Commercial (CZ2) and Mixed Use
(CZ5); however for the purposes of this assessment, have been included under the broad term ‘future
urban’ for consistency.
1
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Executive Summary
The Gungahlin Plan will provide for urban development and conservation, including:

construction of residential, commercial, community and open space land uses and
related infrastructure within the district of Gungahlin over the next 20+ years subject to
approval under the ACT Planning and Development Act 2007;

variation to the Territory Plan to reflect changes in land use identified in this document;

a biodiversity offsets package which will place an additional 781 hectares of land
supporting threatened species and communities into protected areas within the district;

a financial contribution for:
o
direct offsets in habitat enhancement in areas identified as being of strategic
importance for the persistence of MNES in the Gungahlin District; and
o
indirect offset actions for the benefit of the MNES affected by the Gungahlin
development and biodiversity in general in the ACT.
Summary of Outcomes for MNES
The following actions have been proposed to minimise impact to MNES and to result in
overall positive outcomes for the biodiversity of Gungahlin:

creation of Kenny Nature Reserve (160 hectares) from the south western part of the
suburb of Kenny in recognition of significant box-gum woodland and striped legless lizard
habitat. This action will avoid any potentially significant impact to striped legless lizard
and retain most (90%) of Kenny’s box gum woodland and the majority of the 300 old,
large trees;

addition of 300 hectares to the Mulligan’s Flat – Goorooyarroo nature reserve complex
from the Throsby and Kenny broadacre area. This action will retain core habitat to habitat
for golden sun moth and breeding habitat for superb parrot, and consolidate large areas
of box-gum woodland;

creation of Kinlyside Nature Reserve (201 hectares), eliminating any likelihood of urban
development from the Kinlyside area. This action will avoid impacts to Kinlyside’s boxgum woodland and habitat for golden sun moth and pink-tail worm-lizard;

addition of 120 hectares to the north-western Hills, Ridges and buffers zone from the
urban areas of Taylor and Jacka in addition to the entire area of the north Horse Park
broadacre area. This action will avoid impacts to some areas of box-gum woodland and
golden sun moth habitat; and

funding for ongoing management of the reserve system, research, monitoring and
conservation planning, and improvement of regional connectivity
Evaluating, monitoring and reporting
There are four main conservation outcomes from implementation of the Plan:
1) Avoidance of impacts to significant parts of Gungahlin supporting MNES currently
designated as Future Urban Area;
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Executive Summary
2) Effective mitigation of indirect and facilitated impacts to MNES adjacent to areas to be
developed for urban purposes;
3) Targeted investment in direct offsets for the affected matters in Gungahlin; and
4) Investment in indirect offsets to enhance the outcomes of items 1 and 2 above in
addition to providing for improvement in management of biodiversity in general in the
ACT.
In order to measure the efficacy of the Plan, it is necessary to establish a framework for
monitoring and reporting on the process of implementation of each of the main actions and
the results or outcomes, against a set of relevant biodiversity measures. This framework will
be adapted to include the EPBC Act reporting and evaluation requirements for the Program.
There are two main elements to the reporting framework:
1) A public annual report highlighting where relevant:
a.
the progress of the implementation of each of the actions;
b.
any conservation outcomes achieved in the previous year, assessed against the
relevant biodiversity measures; and
c.
the consistency of each Precinct Code2 with the requirements of the Plan.
2) A detailed review of the Plan every four years for the life of the Plan to assess
progress in achieving the objectives of the Plan and ensuring investments remain
targeted to the affected matters in the most effective manner.
Under the Planning and Development Act 2007 – ‘a code that sets out the requirements that apply to
stated areas, or places, or states that it is a precinct code, is a precinct code.’
A precinct code in the Territory Plan guides—
(i) the preparation and assessment of development in future urban areas to which the concept
plan relates; and
(ii) assessment of development when the areas cease to be future urban areas.
2
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Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary ............................................................................... i
Introduction .................................................................................................... i
Strategic Assessment ................................................................................... i
The Plan .......................................................................................................... i
Summary of Outcomes for MNES................................................................ ii
Evaluating, monitoring and reporting ......................................................... ii
1.0
Introduction ................................................................................ 1
1.1 Purpose of this Document ................................................................... 2
1.2 Definition of the Plan............................................................................ 2
1.3 Summary of Commitments for MNES ................................................. 5
2.0
Overview ..................................................................................... 6
2.1 Description of the Plan ........................................................................ 6
2.1.1
2.1.2
2.1.3
2.1.4
2.1.5
2.1.6
Location ................................................................................................ 6
History of the Plan ................................................................................ 6
Rationale .............................................................................................. 7
Key Components .................................................................................. 7
Alternatives ........................................................................................... 8
Key Milestones ................................................................................... 10
2.2 Summary of Actions under the Plan ................................................. 10
3.0
Implementation of the Plan ...................................................... 12
3.1 Construction Stages .......................................................................... 12
3.2 Legislation and Policy ........................................................................ 13
3.2.1 Conservation Planning in Gungahlin and the ACT .............................. 13
3.2.2 Context, Planning Framework and ACT Government Requirements... 13
3.2.3 Planning and Policy Tools................................................................... 17
3.3 Actions in accordance with the Plan ................................................ 22
3.3.1
3.3.2
3.3.3
3.3.4
4.0
Avoidance .......................................................................................... 22
Direct Actions ..................................................................................... 23
Facilitated Impacts .............................................................................. 26
Indirect Offsets ................................................................................... 26
Conservation Actions .............................................................. 29
4.1 Matters of National Environmental Significance ............................. 29
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3
4.1.4
4.1.5
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World Heritage Properties................................................................... 29
National Heritage Places .................................................................... 29
Wetlands of International Importance.................................................. 29
Listed Threatened Species and Ecological Communities .................... 29
Listed Migratory Species..................................................................... 35
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4.1.6
4.1.7
4.1.8
4.1.9
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Contents
Commonwealth Marine Area .............................................................. 35
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park ................................................... 35
Nuclear Actions .................................................................................. 35
Other Matters...................................................................................... 36
4.2 Avoidance and Mitigation Measures................................................. 36
4.2.1 Avoidance ........................................................................................... 36
4.2.2 Mitigation ............................................................................................ 39
4.3 Offset Strategy .................................................................................... 41
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3
4.3.4
Offset Concepts .................................................................................. 41
Previous Conservation Measures ....................................................... 44
Direct Offsets ...................................................................................... 46
Indirect Offsets ................................................................................... 48
4.4 Performance of the package ............................................................. 52
4.4.1 Offset Policy ....................................................................................... 52
4.4.2 Strategic Performance ........................................................................ 53
5.0
Evaluation and Monitoring ...................................................... 54
5.1 Monitoring and Reporting Plan Outcomes ....................................... 54
5.1.1 Annual Report ..................................................................................... 54
5.1.2 Plan Review Report ............................................................................ 55
5.2 Adaptive Management ....................................................................... 56
5.3 Dealing with Uncertainty .................................................................... 57
5.4 Compliance and Enforcement ........................................................... 58
6.0
References ................................................................................ 59
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Contents
List of Figures
Figure 1.1 – Overview of the Plan .............................................................................. 4
Figure 2.1 - Conceptual plan for development of Gungahlin in 1989 .......................... 9
Figure 4.1 – Proposed Reserve System ................................................................... 38
Figure 4.2 – Flowchart for the identification and establishment of offsets ................ 43
Figure 5.1 – Adaptive Management Process ............................................................ 56
List of Tables
Table 3.1 – Residential blocks to be released under the ACT indicative Land Release
Program in Gungahlin .................................................................................. 12
Table 3.2 – Summary of Area Impacted by the Plan ................................................ 24
Table 3.3 – Summary of Significant Impacts to MNES ............................................. 24
Table 4.1 – Conservation Actions that Target Threatened Species and Ecological
Communities ................................................................................................ 31
Table 4.2 - Summary of proposed avoidance and known values ............................. 37
Table 4.3 – Summary of Direct Offsets ..................................................................... 46
Table 4.4 – Mandatory Indirect Actions .................................................................... 49
Table 4.5 – Summary of Additional Indirect Actions ................................................. 50
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Introduction
1.0 Introduction
In October 2012, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Commonwealth governments
commenced a Strategic Assessment under Part 10 of the Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The focus of this agreement is to assess the
potential impacts from development of the remaining identified greenfield sites in Gungahlin,
the northern-most district in the ACT, on Matters of National Environmental Significance
(MNES) protected under the EPBC Act.
The Gungahlin development was commenced in 1991 as a consequence of consideration of
the development through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the now repealed
Environment Protection (Impacts of Proposals) Act 1974 (EPIP Act). More recently, land
releases have also been approved under the provisions of Part 9 of the EPBC Act.
Completion of the Gungahlin development is described by this report (the Plan) and seeks to
establish a balance of residential, employment and conservation areas within the district, and
to streamline the planning and development process for the remaining urban areas.
A Strategic Assessment has a number of key benefits:
1) The ability to achieve conservation outcomes at a large, landscape scale is superior
to the establishment of ad hoc site by site small scale offsets.
2) The Strategic Assessment process promotes the identification and assessment of
Matters of National Environmental Significance early in the planning process, and the
consideration and commitment to significant and real conservation outcomes.
3) Cumulative impacts of development are able to be considered and mitigated in a
coordinated and cohesive manner.
4) Finally, if approved, the Strategic Assessment Plan will help to streamline the
development application process and reduce costs and delays associated with land
release and housing supply by removing the need for site by site assessment of
Matters of National Environmental Significance.
This Strategic Environmental Assessment comprises three documents as follows:

The Biodiversity Plan (this document) which describes the elements of the proposal and
commitments of the ACT Government for the protection and ongoing management of
Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES);

The Strategic Assessment Report (Umwelt, 2013a)3 (the Assessment Report), which
provides a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of the Plan on matters of national
environmental significance; and

A Preliminary Risk Assessment (PRA) (Umwelt, 2013b)4, which is a document prepared
to meet ACT Government requirements for scoping impacts under the Planning and
Development Act 2007. This document is provided as an appendix to the Assessment
Report.
3
Umwelt (2013a) Gungahlin Strategic Assessment Report: Consultation Draft, prepared for ACT
Economic Development Directorate and ACT Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate,
Canberra (March, 2013)
4 Umwelt (2013b) Preliminary Risk Assessment, Gungahlin Strategic Environmental Assessment:
Consultation Draft, prepared for ACT Economic Development Directorate and ACT Environment and
Sustainable Development Directorate, Canberra (March, 2013)
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1.1
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Introduction
Purpose of this Document
The primary purpose of this document is to demonstrate to the Commonwealth Government
that the likely impacts of implementing the Plan on Matters of National Environmental
Significance (MNES) are fully understood, and will be satisfactorily addressed through a suite
of avoidance, mitigation and offset measures. The secondary purpose is to satisfy the
requirements of the ACT Government to enable assessment and approval of the Plan under
Territory legislation.
The Plan will be in place for the next 20 years, and the legislative environment and names of
ACT and Commonwealth Departments are likely to change during this period. The
information referenced in this document is current at the time of publishing, and is provided
for contextual purposes. Any changes to government structure or legislation would not
impact on the outcomes of the Plan.
The Plan is structured as follows:
Section 1 is an introduction to the Gungahlin area and the purpose of this document.
Section 2 is an overview of the Plan, providing context and history of planning and
development in Gungahlin.
Section 3 includes an overview of legislation, and outlines the implementation of the Plan
including proposed actions and construction staging.
Section 4 provides the ACT Government’s commitments to conservation actions for the
relevant matters of national environmental significance.
Section 5 provides details of the monitoring, evaluation and reporting elements that will
monitor the progress of the Plan.
1.2
Definition of the Plan
The Plan is the subject of the strategic assessment under the EPBC Act and generally
describes the activities required to complete the urban development of the Gungahlin district.
Accordingly, the Plan is defined as the establishment and implementation of measures to
effect urban development and biodiversity conservation within the District of Gungahlin in the
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for the areas identified in the Agreement. The Plan is
relevant to the following areas:

Urban development areas (currently zoned Residential – RZ1 – Suburban):
o
Kenny;
o
Kinlyside;
o
Throsby;
o
Moncrieff;
o
Jacka (north);
o
Taylor; and
o
Kinlyside.
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
Introduction
Urban development areas (currently zoned Commercial (CZ2) and Mixed Use (CZ5)):
o

CONSULTATION DRAFT
Gungahlin Town Centre (east);
Broadacre Areas (currently zoned Non Urban – NUZ1 – Broadacre):
o
Horse Park north broadacre; and
o
Kenny broadacre.
A figure showing the assessment area is included in Figure 1.1 below.
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Introduction
Figure 1.1 – Overview of the Plan
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1.3
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Introduction
Summary of Commitments for MNES
The District of Gungahlin supports numerous Territory listed threatened species and
Commonwealth Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES). MNES in the
Gungahlin District or potentially affected by the proposed action include:

threatened ecological communities;

threatened flora and fauna species;

international migratory species; and

heritage items.
The Plan identifies a range of commitments for the MNES affected by urban development in
the Gungahlin district on the basis of analysis presented in the Assessment Report.
Commitments in the Plan build upon the long history of forward and strategic environmental
planning in the ACT around the avoidance and mitigation of environmental impacts resulting
from development.
The commitments in the Plan are targeted to the affected MNES however also consider
broader biodiversity and conservation management objectives which are important not only
to the ACT under Territory legislation but also matters of significance at other scales. To this
effect, implementation of the Plan would not only serve to maintain or enhance the
conservation status of affected MNES in the ACT but also result in a beneficial effect to
biodiversity in general.
In summary, the commitments include:

further avoidance of areas that support habitat for MNES on land presently designated as
developable (either RZ1 – Suburban (including Future Urban Area) or NUZ1 - broadacre)
(see Section 3.2.2 for land use descriptions);

increased investment in habitat enhancement beyond the minimum level required under
the Territory’s statutory duty of care5; and

increased investment in research targeted at the affected MNES and guided by action
planning objectives.
Direct impacts on MNES have either been avoided (pink-tailed worm-lizard, superb parrot
breeding sites, important migratory bird habitat) or minimised through protecting core, well
connected endangered woodland, golden sun moth or striped legless lizard habitat.
5
The minimum statutory duty of care is considered to be defined by the land use objectives under the
various zones of the Territory Plan in addition to the obligations on land holders as established
through approved policy and legislation relevant to the ACT whether under Territory or Commonwealth
jurisdictions.
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Overview
2.0 Overview
This section broadly describes the Plan. Further detail on the implementation of the Plan is
included in Section 3.
2.1
Description of the Plan
2.1.1
Location
The Gungahlin District is the northern-most district in the ACT. It is bounded by the Federal
Highway to the south-east, the Barton Highway to the south-west and the ACT/NSW border
to the north. The district comprises approximately 9,255 hectares of land which generally
supports the following land uses (refer to Figure 1.1):

Nature reserves totalling 2,185 hectares across six (6) gazetted reserves:
o
Mulligan’s Flat;
o
Goorooyarroo;
o
Mulanggari Grasslands;
o
Gungaderra Grasslands;
o
Crace Grasslands; and
o
Percival Hill.

Environmental protection areas zoned as ‘Hills, Ridges and Buffers’ totalling 1,566
hectares, managed either under rural tenure or by the Territory for conservation
purposes;

Urban areas comprised of open space and recreational areas (passive and active), the
rural village of Hall, community facilities, residential, commercial and light industrial
development totalling 3,418 hectares;

Future urban areas and land planned for development (i.e. Kinlyside) comprising 1,597
hectares;

Miscellaneous other land uses including land zoned as broadacre; land subject to
heritage management; roads; Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) and similar such land
uses comprising the remaining 489 hectares; and

Designated Land overlay under the National Capital Plan, located along the major
approach routes of the Barton and Federal Highways.
Elevation within Gungahlin district ranges from the lowest point on Ginninderra Creek at
about 588 metres to the highest point at over 800 metres along the north eastern border with
NSW.
2.1.2
History of the Plan
The planning of Gungahlin commenced in the 1970s with the first surveys commissioned for
the area. The location and details of future urban areas as identified in 1989 have been
refined over the past 2 decades, including the addition of significant areas of land into nature
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Overview
reserve. Section 2.2 of the Assessment Report summarises the major stages in
development and planning of Gungahlin.
2.1.3
Rationale
There are two main drivers for this strategic approach to environmental assessment and
management for the development of Gungahlin. These are discussed in detail in Section
2.3.2 of the Assessment Report, and summarised below.
Firstly, the Plan, if approved, will streamline the process for the rest of development in
Gungahlin, by removing the requirements for further assessment of individual developments
under the EPBC Act. Development would be able to proceed without further assessment,
streamlining the process and improving land supply and affordability.
Secondly, the Plan would result in the establishment and management of a consolidated
offset package rather than numerous small offsets which would typically be the result of
multiple assessments through the referral process and possible subsequent approval under
Part 9 of the EPBC Act. The establishment of small offsets on an ‘as required’ basis does not
guarantee results or improvement to values at a landscape scale. Smaller scale offsets are
also accompanied by greater administrative costs. The establishment of a large,
consolidated addition to the existing reserve system, with a large financial component aimed
at improving values within the offset and in surrounding areas would help to achieve
environmental outcomes at a landscape scale while minimising the inefficiencies
experienced through the smaller scale, site-by-site approach.
In summary, the strategic assessment of development has clear benefits over the alternative
of numerous smaller release areas including the potential to:

minimise delays of individual referrals and economic impacts of delaying land release;

reduce inefficiencies caused by site-by-site implementation of offsets;

achieve environmental outcomes at a landscape scale; and

enable consideration of the ACT’s history of protecting MNES, as relevant to Gungahlin
where significant areas have been withdrawn from potential development and
permanently protected for conservation.
2.1.4
Key Components
The Plan, as defined in Section 1.2, includes a combination of urban development and
infrastructure, and establishment of protected areas. These components are summarised
below and in Figure 1.1, and described in detail in Section 2.4 of the Assessment Report.
Urban Development
Urban development of north Gungahlin will complete the planned district. Once complete,
Gungahlin would provide residential and employment lands for a population of around 90,000
to 100,000 people (ACT Gov’t, 2010).
Infrastructure
The development of the remainder of Gungahlin will require development of supporting
infrastructure in the suburbs. However, the majority of arterial roads proposed to service the
new suburbs have already been built, and will only require extension or duplication to meet
the new urban areas.
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Overview
Protected Areas6
The Gungahlin Region contains areas of important biodiversity value. The Plan identifies
those areas which have already been protected by the ACT Government during the course of
development in Gungahlin, including Mulligan’s Flat, Goorooyarroo, Mulanggari, Gungaderra
and Crace nature reserves; and also provides for the incorporation of significant additional
areas of value into the reserve system and the enhancement of these areas with
management commitments and funding.
The Plan will protect the areas of highest conservation value within the development area;
and improve the landscape function of the existing reserve system. In total, within the
Gungahlin Strategic Assessment Area, an additional 781 hectares of land supporting
threatened species and communities will be incorporated into protected areas (see Section
2.4.1 of the Assessment Report for the process of incorporating land into protected areas).
2.1.5
Alternatives
The Plan presents an alternative to the proposed staged development of the District of
Gungahlin as proposed in the 1989 Gungahlin Environmental Impact Statement (NCDC,
1989), and as currently shown in the Territory Plan (ACT Gov’t 2008a).
Figure 2.1 illustrates the concept for development posed in 1989 for Gungahlin as presented
in the EIS (NCDC, 1989). It also depicts in white dashed lines the extent of the land subject
to future urban area overlays as shown in the Territory Plan. These outlines present two
alternatives to the Plan. Both would impact on a significantly larger amount of land for urban
development, and result in less land preserved in conservation areas.
6
See World Conservation Union (IUCN) protected areas categories http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/iucn.html
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Overview
Figure 2.1 - Conceptual plan for development of Gungahlin in 1989
In regards to alternatives to the actions described by the Plan, future urban areas covered by
the Plan were considered in terms of the potential benefit of their inclusion into a
conservation network. Considerations included:

optimal reserve design in order minimise operational costs;

inclusion of the areas most likely to positively contribute to effective conservation of
biodiversity while avoiding areas that were either isolated, significantly modified or of
limited value given other attributes including configuration.
The avoidance and mitigation measures proposed under the Plan in addition to the
associated offsets would result in a feasible balance between the imperative of biodiversity
conservation and development of sustainable communities.
The alternatives considered are discussed in detail in Section 2.5 of the Assessment Report.
In summary the alternatives are as follows:
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Overview

Development as shown in 1989 EIS: Unacceptable impact to MNES, particularly in
areas now designated as Mulligan’s Flat and Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve;

Development as shown in Territory Plan: Unacceptable impacts to MNES, particularly
in Throsby, Kinlyside and Kenny. Would require site by site offsetting and associated
increased costs and time;

Do Nothing: Unacceptable. Would not allow the ACT Government to meet its
responsibilities to supply land for urban development and population growth.

The Plan: Optimal and preferred solution in seeking to satisfy the Territory’s
responsibilities under ACT and Commonwealth legislation in addition to meeting demand
for sustainable communities and affordable housing.
2.1.6
Key Milestones
Key milestones in development of the Plan are summarised below. These are considered
further in the following sections.
1) Preparation of the Plan;
2) Endorsement of the Plan by the ACT Government;
3) Release of the Biodiversity Plan and Assessment Report for public comment;
4) Endorsement of the Plan by the Commonwealth;
5) Approval of actions by the Commonwealth;
6) Territory Plan Variations to add additional land to the NUZ3 – Hills, Ridges and
Buffers land use zone, with or without the PC - Nature Reserve overlay (see Section
2.4.1 of Assessment Report);
7) On-ground establishment of offset areas; and
8) Development of urban land.
2.2
Summary of Actions under the Plan
The Gungahlin Plan will provide for urban development and conservation, including:

construction of residential, commercial, community and open space land uses and
related infrastructure within the district of Gungahlin over the next 20 years subject to
approval under the ACT Planning and Development Act 2007;

variation to the Territory Plan to reflect changes in land use identified in this document
(see Section 2.4.1 of Assessment Report);

a biodiversity offsets package which will place an additional 781 hectares of land
supporting threatened species and communities into protected areas within the district;
and

a financial contribution for:
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o
direct offsets in habitat enhancement in areas identified as being of strategic
importance for the persistence of MNES in the Gungahlin District; and
o
indirect offset actions for the benefit of the MNES affected by the Gungahlin
development and biodiversity in general in the ACT.
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3.0 Implementation of the Plan
The following sections describe the key elements of the Plan. This specifies ACT
Government commitments for implementing the Plan in Gungahlin.
3.1
Construction Stages
Construction in general will be typified by a suite of activities undertaken by the ACT
Government prior to disposal of the land as either joint venture developments or as direct
sales which may occur as sales to private individuals or englobo7 sales to developers. The
ACT Government’s indicative land release program (ACT Gov’t, 2012b) identifies several
future urban areas in Gungahlin subject to the Plan as being intended for release over the
next four years, this is reproduced in Table 3.1 below.
Table 3.1 – Residential blocks to be released under the ACT indicative Land Release
Program in Gungahlin
Estate / Release Area
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
Englobo / Private Sector
Throsby
-
750
-
-
Moncrieff
-
500
600
500
Kenny
TOTAL
-
300
1550
600
1200
600
1100
LDA Estates
Note: These land release timings may require revision based on the timeframe of the outcome to this Strategic Assessment.
Other residential release areas such as north Jacka and Taylor do not yet appear on the
indicative land release program, however as other development in more central suburbs
progresses, planning will consider servicing and engineering requirements and lead to an
understanding of when land release might occur in these areas. Future stages of the
Gungahlin development would be undertaken on a suburb by suburb basis in response to a
preceding program of development and infrastructure provision. It is anticipated that
development on all land subject to the Plan would be commenced within a 1 year period from
endorsement subject to market influences with completion occurring within 20 years.
Activities during the construction stage would be subject to conditions of approval issued by
the ACT planning authority and implemented on site through a Construction Environment
Management Plan (CEMP). The CEMP would be prepared by the contractors and subject to
approval, monitoring, reporting and audit by relevant ACT Government authorities under the
requirements of the Development Application and assessment process, including:

ACT Planning and Land Authority as part of the Environment and Sustainable
Development Directorate (ESDD);

Environment Protection Authority; and

Conservation Planning and Research (ESDD).
7
Englobo: An undeveloped lot, group of lots or parcel of land that is zoned to allow for, and capable of
significant subdivision into smaller parcels under existing land use provisions
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Conservation Actions
Legislation and Policy
The Gungahlin Development Plan will be implemented in accordance with a statutory
planning and infrastructure contribution framework. This section of the report describes:

 the legislative framework that provides the legal basis for implementation; and

the policy and planning tools and processes for achieving the desired outcomes.
Details regarding actions to be undertaken in accordance with this plan are provided in
Section 2.4 of the Assessment Report, while particulars of the biodiversity offset program
and avoidance/mitigation measures to be employed within the Gungahlin district are provided
in Section 3.3 of this document.
3.2.1
Conservation Planning in Gungahlin and the ACT
There are three current key pieces of legislation pertinent to the planning and management
of conservation matters in the Territory:

The Commonwealth Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act
1988 (PALM Act) establishes the National Capital Plan to ensure that Canberra and the
Territory are planned and developed in accordance with their national significance;

The ACT Planning and Development Act 2007 (PD Act) which seeks to provide a
planning and land system that contributes to the orderly and sustainable development of
the ACT; and

The ACT Nature Conservation Act 1980 (NC Act) which establishes a framework for
conservation and protection of biodiversity through the listing of threatened species and
communities, establishment of Action Plans and management of reserved areas, among
other administrative functions.
The following sections consider the planning of Gungahlin within this dynamic legislative
context that has shaped the prevailing physical and legislative environments.
3.2.2
Context, Planning Framework and ACT Government Requirements
The following summarises the key commitments of the Plan, these are discussed in greater
detail in Section 2.4 of the Assessment Report.
Land Use Definitions
The Territory Plan, being the principal land use planning document of relevance to much of
Gungahlin, has been used as one of the bases for distinction between different areas of land
as discussed in the following sections. This is due to the statutory protections afforded to
land under different land use policies and the associated obligation by the Territory to
manage land appropriately. Land use policies of interest to this study include:

Hills, Ridges and Buffers This zone represents non-urban land for which there is a
mandate for management for environmental, cultural, recreational and aesthetic values.

Nature Reserve overlay Land that is identified within the Nature Reserve overlay (Pc) is
also non-urban land within the broad NUZ3 zone but with the specific designation as
Public land that has been gazetted with the objectives (as defined by Schedule 3 of the
PD Act) to:
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o
Conserve the natural environment; and
o
Provide for public use of the area for recreation, education and research.

Broadacre Land zoned as broadacre (NUZ1) has a primarily agricultural purpose under
the Territory Plan and within the context of Gungahlin would represent areas potentially
available to be developed albeit at a lower intensity than the RZ1 – Suburban areas. This
would indicate broadacre areas are generally incompatible with purely conservation
oriented objectives and are a potential source of conflict between development interests
and Matters of national Environmental Significance.

Future Urban Land identified within the Future Urban overlay (FUA) is zoned RZ1 –
Suburban and is subject to the principles and policies for development of the land as set
out in separate documents referred to as a structure plan, which are part of the Territory
Plan. Within the existing scenario, lands within the Future Urban overlay are likely to
retain a range of natural values and are where the greatest conflict between conservation
and development occurs. Kinlyside is also zoned as RZ1 – Suburban however is not
presently subject to the FUA overlay.
These commitments are discussed in further detail in Section 7.3 of the Assessment Report.
Planning Framework
East Gungahlin (Throsby and Kenny)
The action is consistent with the EIS (NCDC, 1989) proposed in the context of the ACT’s
plan for development of the Territory. The action is consistent with the ACT Territory Plan
which identifies the affected land as ‘Future Urban Areas’, and with the Structure Plan for
East Gungahlin (Variation No. 231), which identifies the following planning policies and
principles for the suburbs:
1) Development should be sustainable in terms of ecological, cultural, social and
economic considerations.
2) To establish conservation areas and provide for management arrangements which
are sufficient to conserve threatened fauna, woodlands and grasslands.
3) To ensure land uses adjacent to conservation areas do not have significant adverse
impacts on threatened species.
4) The landscape setting and values of the site should be recognised and enhanced.
Existing significant landscape features will be retained.
5) The local neighbourhood should be based on a walkable radius of 400m from an
activity node, such as a local centre, park or community facility.
6) Residential areas should be arranged in a series of inter-connected suburbs, each
with their own local centre, typically adjoining a primary school site and open space
corridor.
7) Mixed uses will be permitted adjacent to commercial centres and other key locations.
8) Group centres serving larger populations should be well located on major roads in
order to serve a cluster of suburbs.
9) An integrated cycling route network should be created within and between
communities consistent with national standards.
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10) The open space network should connect key destinations such as local centres,
group centres, schools, parks, community facilities, ovals, ponds and hilltop lookouts.
11) The road hierarchy should be clearly legible and provide good and safe access to all
users.
12) The pattern of urban development should encourage high levels of public transport
usage.
13) The links between sustainable urban water management and downstream ecological
impacts on flora and fauna should be recognised. The potential for urban
development to alter flow rates and degraded water quality should be addressed and
appropriate sustainable urban water management measures adopted accordingly.
14) Aboriginal and European heritage places will be recognised and significant sites
conserved in public open space where appropriate. Land uses adjacent to places to
be conserved are not to have significant adverse impacts on the retention of the
place.
15) Conservation areas will be part of the overall landscape character of East Gungahlin.
Strategies will be developed at the detail planning stage to protect the interface of
conservation from urban development impacts.
The Structure Plan for East Gungahlin was supported by a Preliminary Assessment (PA)
under the now repealed Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 which examined the
potential impact of the proposed changes on the physical, natural and human environments.
An evaluation of the PA was on behalf of the Minister for the Environment concluded that the
PA was adequate and no further environmental impact assessment was required.
North Gungahlin (Jacka, Taylor and Kinlyside)
The action is consistent with a number of statutory planning documents that have been
developed since 1989.
The action was first detailed in the Environmental Impact Statement for Gungahlin (NCDC,
1989), which showed the general locations of Jacka and Taylor to the north of Gungahlin,
and Kinlyside to the west. The same configuration of the suburbs is shown in the National
Capital Plan, “General Policy Plan for Metropolitan Canberra” first published in 1984,
identifying the suburbs as urban areas.
More recently, the Canberra Spatial Plan’s (ACTPLA, 2004b)8 ‘Future Residential Areas
Map’ identified Jacka and Taylor in their current configuration as ‘Future Greenfield
Residential’ areas, and Kinlyside was identified as a combination of ‘Future Greenfield
Residential’, and ‘Rural Setting’.
The Structure Plan (Variation No. 130) for North Gungahlin (ACTPLA, 2003)9 provided
policies for the planning of Jacka and Taylor, and outlined plans for development of the
suburbs. The Structure Plan identified that Jacka and Taylor could support approximately
8
ACT Government (2004b) Canberra Spatial Plan. ACT Planning and Land Authority. March 2004.
Accessed online www.actpla.act.gov.au. November 2012.
9 ACT Government (2003). Variation to the Territory Plan No. 130 North Gungahlin (the suburbs of
Bonner, Casey, Forde, Jacka, Moncrieff, Taylor and Part of Amaroo and Ngunnawal), Land (Planning
and Environment) Act 1991. Accessed online: November 2012 www.actpla.act.gov.au
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2,500 dwellings each. This was followed by the Jacka Concept Plan (ACTPLA, 2008b)10,
which showed more detailed planning for Jacka, and revised this estimate to approximately
1500 dwellings, due to a reduction in developable area based on additional heritage and
environmental studies undertaken. The Structure Plan for North Gungahlin was supported by
a Preliminary Assessment (PA) under the now repealed Land (Planning and Environment)
Act 1991 which examined the potential impact of the proposed changes on the physical,
natural and human environments. An evaluation of the PA was on behalf of the Minister for
the Environment concluded that the PA was adequate and no further environmental impact
assessment was required.
The Territory Plan, which is the key statutory planning document in the ACT, shows the
current proposed configuration of the suburbs. The development of Greenfield sites in
Gungahlin is considered a priority to meet housing demand, in particular, affordable housing
in the ACT.
Environmental Impact Assessments under Commonwealth, State or Territory
Legislation
The proposed action was assessed as part of the overall development of Gungahlin in the
1989 Gungahlin Environmental Impact Statement (NCDC, 1989), which was completed
under the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 (EPIP Act).
The action as described in this report will also require approval under the ACT’s Planning
and Development Act 2007 (PD Act). The action will also trigger the ACT Nature
Conservation Act 1980 (NC Act) due to the clearing of more than five hectares of native
vegetation within a ‘Future Urban Area’ under the Territory Plan, as well as potentially
resulting in a ‘significant adverse impact’ under the PD Act on a species or ecological
community that is endangered Item 1, of Schedule 4. This would result in the requirement for
an Impact Track Assessment under the PD Act in the event that exemptions based on the
level of existing investigation and assessment, were not granted. It is considered that it could
be progressed using one of two approaches as prescribed by the PD Act:
1) Assessment under the ‘Impact Track’ process, where an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) would be required; or
2) Assessment under the ‘Impact Track’ following granting of an exemption under
Section 211 of the PD Act. For an exemption to be granted under S.211, an
application to the ACT Planning and Land Authority would need to be submitted
identifying the extent of work already undertaken, identifying management and
mitigation measures. Subsequently, the ACT Minister responsible for the PD Act
would determine whether a S.211 exemption should be granted.
If the action is assessed under an EIS, full community consultation will be required, as well
as consultation with stakeholders in the ACT Government, Heritage Council, Conservator of
Flora and Fauna, emergency services and utility providers. Regardless, the current strategic
assessment process under Part 10 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) also includes public consultation as a result of the
statutory process required for strategic assessments.
National Capital Plan
10
ACT Government (2008b). Jacka Concept Plan. ACT Planning and Land Authority. Accessed
online: November 2012. www.actpla.act.gov.au
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The National Capital Plan (NCP) is the strategic plan for Canberra and the Territory. It
ensures that 'Canberra and the Territory are planned and developed in accordance with their
national significance’. The Territory Plan must not be inconsistent with the NCP.
The Plan would result in some areas currently shown as urban spaces under the NCP
becoming hills, ridges and buffers (under the NCP land use definition). The NCP states that:
Hills, ridges and buffer spaces are to remain substantially undeveloped in order to protect
the symbolic role and Australian landscape character of the hills and ridges as the scenic
backdrop to the Parliamentary Zone, Civic and other National Capital precincts, to
maintain the visual definition and physical containment of the surrounding towns and to
ensure that their landscape, environmental and recreation values become an integral part
of the National Capital.
It is not intended that the hills and ridges serve only as public open space. They are
intended for multiple use appropriate to the location and character of each hill area. They
will be used as vantage points from which people can view the city and to provide a quiet
refuge from urban living. They will also serve as wildlife and access corridors linking
urban areas with other parts of the Territory’s open space system. Their continued use for
recreation, tourism and appropriate urban services must be in a manner consistent with
maintenance of their environmental qualities.
This description of the hills, ridges and buffers spaces provided by the NCP is not considered
to be inconsistent with the proposed land use of avoidance areas under the Plan.
The NCP states that hills, ridges and buffer spaces around Gungahlin would be more
precisely defined through the detailed planning of urban development. This would be
consistent with the current process being undertaken by the ACT Government. A variation to
the NCP will be requested by the ACT Government to ensure consistency between the NCP
and the Territory Plan as a result of implementing the Plan.
It is considered that the Plan, and future variation to the Territory Plan following approval and
endorsement, would not be inconsistent with the National Capital Plan.
3.2.3
Planning and Policy Tools
The planning framework that underpins the Plan for the Gungahlin area provides a legal
basis for a number of other key policies, strategies and plans that will guide decision making
at both the strategic planning and development assessment stages. These other policies and
strategies are discussed below in more detail.
Conservation Strategies
The National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia’s Biological Diversity (ANZECC,
1996)11 presented a nationally ratified strategy with the goal of protecting biological diversity
and maintaining ecological processes and systems. This Strategy included the identification
of nine principles upon which the overarching goal would be achieved, the eighth of which
was:
‘Central to the conservation of Australia's biological diversity is the establishment of a
comprehensive, representative and adequate system of ecologically viable protected
areas integrated with the sympathetic management of all other areas, including
agricultural and other resource production systems’.
11
ANZECC (1996) The National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity,
Report prepared by the Australian & New Zealand Environment & Conservation Council,
Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Sport & Territories. Canberra.
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In support of this principle were a series of objectives that considered conservation
objectives with associated actions for land both in formal reserves and outside protected
areas across freehold, leasehold and other Crown lands. These objectives and actions were
broadly directed to State and Territory governments in order to assist with the development
of policy and implementation programs.
Providing a greater level of understanding as to what a comprehensive, adequate and
representative (CAR) reserve system would be comprised of, the ‘Nationally Agreed Criteria
for the Establishment of a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative Reserve System
for Forests in Australia’ (Australian Gov’t, 1997)12 was prepared. While the purpose of this
document was to support the Regional Forest Agreement implementation of the National
Forest Policy, it does provide guidance on what the targets should be for forests in a CAR
reserve system. Criteria relating to biodiversity included:

As a general criterion, 15% of the pre-1750 distribution of each forest ecosystem should
be protected in the CAR reserve system with flexibility considerations applied according
to regional circumstances, and recognising that as far as possible and practicable, the
proportion of Dedicated Reserves should be maximised;

Where forest ecosystems are recognised as vulnerable, then at least 60 per cent of their
remaining extent should be reserved; and

All remaining occurrences of rare and endangered forest ecosystems should be reserved
or protected by other means as far as is practicable.
The list of criteria continues and also extends into specific considerations for old-growth,
wilderness and reserve design. However as a general guide, these three criteria provide
context for considering conservation planning in the ACT from regional (Fallding, 2002)13 and
bioregional (Australian Gov’t, 2011)14 perspectives.
In implementing the National Strategy (ANZECC, 1996), the ACT Government prepared ‘The
ACT Nature Conservation Strategy’ (ACT Gov’t, 1997)15. This document identified the need
to manage conservation both within a formal CAR reserve system and also on non reserve
land including:

leased rural lands;

urban areas with nature conservation assets;

road easements and other unleased land; and

Commonwealth land.
12
Australian Government (1997) Nationally Agreed Criteria for the Establishment of a Comprehensive,
Adequate and Representative Reserve System for Forests in Australia, a report by the joint ANZECC /
MCFFA National Forest Policy Statement Implementation Sub-committee, Commonwealth of
Australia. Canberra.
13 Fallding, M (2002) Planning Framework for Natural Ecosystems of the ACT and NSW Southern
Tablelands. Natural Heritage Trust, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Land & Environment
Planning.
14 Australian Gov’t (2011) Interim Bioregionalisation for Australia
http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/nrs/science/bioregion-framework/ibra/index.html [accessed 12
Aug 2011]
15 ACT Government (1997) The A.C.T. Nature Conservation Strategy, Environment ACT, Canberra
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The framework established by the ACT Strategy has guided the conservation planning
activities of the Territory and Gungahlin subsequent to the completion of the Gungahlin EIS.
Together with subsequent policy documents such as the ACT Lowland Woodland (Action
Plan 27) and Grassland (Action Plan 28) strategies (ACT Gov’t, 2004; ACT Gov’t 2005)16, the
extent of Gungahlin’s reserved areas has increased with improved understanding of the
area’s ecological values and likely impact of implementing the plan of development as
considered in the Gungahlin EIS. This increase in reserve area, particularly relevant to
Gungahlin was foreshadowed by the Nature Conservation Strategy (ACT Gov’t, 1997) in
noting:
‘While the nature conservation estate is impressive in areal terms, it should not be
assumed that the biological diversity of the ACT is comprehensively represented.
Grassland and woodland ecosystems are poorly represented in the reserve system and
riverine systems are also an area of concern. Habitat critical to the continued survival of
some threatened species and communities occurs in these ecosystems and a special
conservation effort is warranted’.
Since publication of the Strategy, protection of the grassland and woodland communities has
increased with the gazettal of additional nature reserves. This has in places, significantly
reduced the area that had been identified originally under the Gungahlin EIS or Territory Plan
for urban development of one form or another. Additional to the formally gazetted nature
reserves, substantial parts of north-west Gungahlin also fall under the Hills, Ridges and
Buffers zone in the Territory Plan that effectively provides for the protection of natural
features including visual amenity and ecological function.
Notwithstanding the current extent of nature reserves and land zoned for environmental
protection in Gungahlin, it would still be argued that the ACT has not achieved a CAR
reserve system under the criteria proposed by the Australian Government (1997). This is
particularly due to the fact that the communities and a number of species of concern are
considered to be either endangered or critically endangered under both Territory and
Commonwealth legislation. This is inconsistent with the conclusions of Rutherford (2011a)17,
however, does not detract from the fact that the ACT has a solid history in commitment to
biodiversity conservation as demonstrated above, that affords due recognition to the
importance of ensuring environmental issues are appropriately managed from a strategic
perspective.
Future Reserve Establishment
With the National Strategy (ANZECC, 1996) in place for about 14 years, the Commonwealth
published ‘Australia’s Strategy for the National Reserve System 2009–2030’ (Australian
Gov’t, 2009)18 which builds on the momentum resulting from the 1996 strategy. This has
been further supported by the publication of ‘Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy
2010-2030’ (NRMC, 2010)19. Actions identified in these documents will continue to influence
16
ACT Government (2005) A Vision Splendid of the Grassy Plains Extended: ACT Lowland Native
Grassland Conservation Strategy. Action Plan No. 28, Act Department of the Arts, Heritage and
Environment, Canberra.
17 Rutherford P (2011a) Strategic Biodiversity Conservation – Gungahlin District, ACT, unpublished
report to the ACT Department of Land and Property Services (April 2011).
18 Australian Government (2009) Australia’s Strategy for the National Reserve System 2009–2030,
prepared by the National Reserve System Task Group convened under the Natural Resource Policies
and Program Committee; endorsed by The Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council.
Canberra (May 2009)
19 NRMC (2010) Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030, Australian Government,
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Natural Resource
Management Ministerial Council, Canberra.
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conservation planning in the ACT and specifically Gungahlin with consistent objectives for
building a national CAR reserve system.
Offset Policy
Currently, the ACT Government has not adopted a policy for the use of offset arrangements
under the Territory legislation. Despite this, the ACT Government has delivered significant
voluntary offsets in a way that has been broadly in line with contemporary policies from other
jurisdictions relating to offsets.
A new policy on the use of offsets under the EPBC Act was released by the Commonwealth
(Australian Gov’t, 2012a)20. The new policy adopts the majority of concepts that were
established in the original draft policy and further develops them through clarification of risk
and security considerations in addition to a range of other factors. Much of the policy adopts
approaches and concepts in the application of offsets that have developed as a result of
recent experience both with the application of offsets under the EPBC Act but also through
experience with State-based systems such as the BioBanking process in NSW, Bush Broker
scheme in Victoria and the various offset and compensatory policies of Queensland.
The policy is accompanied by an interactive tool described as the offset assessment guide in
the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Completion of the spreadsheet for each affected
matter of national environmental significance provides an indication of the quantum of offset
or additional compensatory measures required to meet policy’s objectives.
The EPBC Act environmental offsets policy has five key aims, including to:
1) ensure the efficient, effective, timely, transparent, proportionate, scientifically robust
and reasonable use of offsets under the EPBC Act:
2) provide proponents, the community and other stakeholders with greater certainty and
guidance on how offsets are determined and when they may be considered under the
EPBC Act:
3) deliver improved environmental outcomes by consistently applying the policy;
4) outline the appropriate nature and scale of offsets and how they are determined; and
5) provide guidance on acceptable delivery mechanisms for offsets.
In addition, characteristics of a suitable offset are identified. It is described that a suitable
offset must:
1) deliver an overall conservation outcome that improves or maintains the viability of the
aspect of the environment that is protected by national environment law and affected
by the proposed action;
2) be built around direct offsets but may include other compensatory measures;
3) be in proportion to the level of statutory protection that applies to the protected matter;
4) be of a size and scale proportionate to the residual impacts on the protected matter;
20
Australian Government (2012a) Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Environmental Offsets Policy, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and
Communities (October 2012)
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5) effectively account for and manage the risks of the offset not succeeding;
6) be additional to what is already required, determined by law or planning regulations or
agreed to under other schemes or programs (this does not preclude the recognition of
state or territory offsets that may be suitable as offsets under the EPBC Act for the
same action);
7) be efficient, effective, timely, transparent, scientifically robust and reasonable; and
8) have transparent governance arrangements including being able to be readily
measured, monitored, audited and enforced.
The offset policy notes that it applies to both project-by-project assessments and approvals
under Parts 8 and 9 of the EPBC Act and to strategic assessments under part 10 of the
EPBC Act. It is also noted by the policy that ‘strategic assessments may consider alternative
metrics other than the offset assessment guide provided the principles of the policy are met’.
The actions described in the Plan have been tested against the current policy for the use of
offsets under the EPBC Act and have been found to be generally consistent (see Section 7
of Assessment Report). Where there is a discrepancy, the broader, strategic benefits of the
Plan are discussed in terms of metrics appropriate to landscape scale biodiversity
conservation. This is entirely consistent with the current policy’s approach to strategic
assessments. The Plan also considers conservation measures that have been implemented
in Gungahlin since commencement of the EPBC Act. Despite this limited timeframe, the ACT
Government has been involved in proactive environmental management and through the
continual review of environmental conditions has been delivering improved environmental
outcomes for Gungahlin (refer to Table 2.1 in the Assessment Report). Most recently, the
ACT Government has undertaken further investment in ecosystem restoration with the
construction of the Mulligan’s Flat Woodland Sanctuary in 2008 and re-introduction of 43
brown treecreepers (Climacteris picumnus) in 2009 and eastern (syn. Tasmanian) bettong
(Bettongia gaimardi) into the sanctuary in 2012.
Recent Offsets in the ACT
Some of the recent opportunities for adding to the ACT reserve system in Gungahlin have
been demonstrated through actions associated with proposals that result in the development
of offset packages under the EPBC Act. The use of offsets in these earlier examples under
the EPBC Act was guided by the draft policy Australian Government (2007)21 and its eight
criteria for consideration of offsets. While this document has now been superseded
(Australian Gov’t, 2012a) it was used throughout Australia in conjunction with various Statebased offset schemes. The over-riding principle behind the outcome that is expected from
any offset is that it must demonstrate it maintains or enhances the health, diversity and
productivity of the environment (Australian Gov’t, 2007). Accordingly ratios that vary
according to the scale, intensity and significance of a proposed action are applied in
determining the magnitude of the offset.
Direct and indirect offsets have been used in the ACT as a means to contribute to the
‘maintain or enhance’ objective of the Commonwealth’s approach to offsets at that time
(Australian Gov’t, 2007). The nature of offsets has included:

Direct actions:
21
Australian Government (2007) Draft Policy Statement: Use of environmental offsets under the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of the Environment and
Water Resources. Canberra.
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
CONSULTATION DRAFT
Conservation Actions
o
Transfer of land supporting appropriate habitat into formal nature reserve;
o
Rehabilitation of ground-storey diversity in degraded ecological communities; and
o
Management of generally threatening processes such as weeds and grazing
pressure.
Indirect actions:
o
Provision of funding to improve knowledge of specific MNES. This has included
funds to support PhD and Masters research projects both in-full and in-part; and
o
Funding for development of recovery plans and/or action plans.
Prior to the publication of the EPBC Act offset policy, offsets under the EPBC Act for recent
ACT Government projects were developed using an approach that recognises the relative
importance of conservation status for affected MNES in addition to providing a baseline for
the financial contribution in instances where direct offsets are not available. The approach
also included consultation across Territory and Commonwealth agencies. The result was a
series of offset packages which were not inconsistent with the criteria for offsets under the
current policy in seeking to meet conservation and action plan objectives for the relevant
MNES.
3.3
Actions in accordance with the Plan
Actions in accordance with the Plan will include both those required to facilitate development
in addition to those required to avoid, mitigate and offset those development actions. The
following sections provide a summary of the actions proposed to mitigate potential impacts to
Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) identified in Section 5 of the
Assessment Report, as well as providing a comparison of the performance of these actions
with other examples and outlining some alternatives to actions proposed.
Further detail on the Offset Strategy, and avoidance and mitigation measures are provided in
Section 4.2 and 4.3.
3.3.1
Avoidance
The ACT Government will avoid development of 678 hectares of RZ1 – Suburban land and a
further 97 hectares of NUZ1 – Broadacre land as identified in Figure 1.1. Land that will be
avoided in this manner will be incorporated into nature reserves and in selected instances,
added to the Hills, Ridges and Buffers zone. The distribution of land will be as follows:

Dedication of land to nature reserve (NUZ3 – Hills Ridges and Buffers with ‘Pc – Nature
Reserve’ overlay):
o
creation of Kenny Nature Reserve (160 hectares) from the south western part of
the suburb of Kenny in recognition of significant box-gum woodland and striped
legless lizard habitat. This action will avoid a potentially significant impact to
striped legless lizard and retain most (90%) of Kenny’s box gum woodland and
the majority of the 300 old, large trees;
o
addition of 298 hectares to the Mulligan’s Flat – Goorooyarroo nature reserve
complex from the Throsby and Kenny broadacre area. This action will retain core
habitat to habitat for golden sun moth and breeding habitat for superb parrot, and
consolidate large areas of box-gum woodland; and
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o


Conservation Actions
creation of Kinlyside Nature Reserve (199 hectares), eliminating any likelihood of
urban development from the Kinlyside area. This action will avoid impacts to
Kinlyside’s box-gum woodland and habitat for golden sun moth and pink-tailed
worm-lizard.
Dedication of land to NUZ3 – Hills, Ridges and Buffers:
o
addition of 118 hectares to the north-western Hills, Ridges and buffers zone from
the urban areas of Taylor and Jacka in addition to the entire area of the north
Horse Park broadacre area. This action will avoid impacts to box-gum woodland
and golden sun moth habitat; and
o
all avoided areas within the NUZ3 – Hills, Ridges and Buffers zone that are not
subject to the ‘Pc – nature reserve’ overlay, will be subject to Land Management
Agreements22 with stated objectives consistent with the Plan.
Management of bushfire hazard:
o

CONSULTATION DRAFT
All Inner Asset Protection Zones (IAPZ) required for bushfire hazard protection
associated with development will not be established within reserved and avoided
areas;
Outer Asset Protection Zones (OAPZ) will be established where possible outside avoided
and reserved areas. OAPZs will only occur within these areas where no other alternatives
exist. Asset protection zones would be implemented in accordance with the ‘Planning for
Bushfire Risk Mitigation General Code’23 (see Section 5.4.2 of the Assessment Report
for detail on APZs).
3.3.2
Direct Actions
Development Actions
Development of Gungahlin will be preceded by a range of activities that will result in the
removal of native vegetation and impact to matters of conservation significance under the
EPBC Act and NC Act in addition to constituting impacts that would trigger ‘impact track’
development under the Planning and Development Act 2007. Actions that would affect
Matters of National Environmental Significance and other matters specifically relevant to the
ACT would occur primarily in the construction stage of these developments. Activities
relevant to the construction stage would include:

earth moving and clearing of vegetation;

installation of infrastructure including storm water drainage and attenuation structures,
potable water, sewers, utilities and roads;

construction works associated with dwellings, commercial premises, community facilities;
and

construction of open space and recreational areas.
22
Land Management Agreements are a mandatory component of all new rural lease arrangements
under the PD Act. They are an agreement between the leaseholder and the Territory which identify
features and areas having special conservation value and set out management measures required to
achieve agreed conservation outcomes.
23 http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/ni/2008-27/copy/56033/pdf/2008-27.pdf
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The following Table 3.2 summarises the total area affected within each suburb as a result of
direct actions under the Plan.
Table 3.2 – Summary of Area Impacted by the Plan
Suburb
Area impacted (Ha)
Gungahlin Town Centre (East)
36
Horse Park north broadacre
-
Jacka
150
Kenny
173
Kenny broadacre
-
Kinlyside
-
Moncrieff
191
Taylor
280
Throsby
132
TOTAL
926
In terms of impacts to Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES), the direct
actions would result in the areas of habitat identified in Table 3.3 as being removed or
modified.
Table 3.3 – Summary of Significant Impacts to MNES
Protected matter (MNES)
Total Impact (Ha)*
Box gum woodland
212
Golden sun moth
179
Superb parrot
0 (direct)
Striped legless lizard
16
Pink-tailed worm-lizard
0
* - Note that habitat for different MNES often overlaps
In addition to the direct impacts there would be the requirement for disturbance to certain
areas adjacent to the urban areas for the purpose of bushfire hazard management. The
issues around bushfire hazard management are discussed further in Section 4.2 in relation
to opportunities that might exist to strategically coordinate habitat restoration activities with
bushfire hazard management such that indirect impacts of development do not result in
significant adverse impacts to Matters of National Environmental Significance. Establishment
of a variable width zone along the periphery of future urban areas according to the
requirements of bushfire hazard management prescriptions will primarily involve the
management of biomass to ensure bushfire hazards are maintained at acceptable levels. In
many of the areas where these prescriptions would apply, the vegetation presently exists as
derived native grassland, which is known or potential habitat for golden sun moth or striped
legless lizard. The specific requirements for bushfire hazard measures would be determined
on a case by case basis, in consultation with the Fire Management Unit and in accordance
with the ‘Planning for Bushfire Risk Mitigation General Code’, subject to preparation of an
Estate Development Plan to guide development. Care would be taken to meet both fire
safety and habitat requirements, but fire safety would take precedent at all times.
Other indirect impacts would result for increased levels of noise, light, human activity, weeds
and other invasive species and potentially also from predation by domestic animals. Such
indirect impacts would be relevant to superb parrot and other woodland birds, in particular
species that breed in areas likely to be susceptible to these effects.
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The avoidance and mitigation strategy in Section 4.2 discusses strategies to minimise
indirect impacts.
Offset Actions
Direct offsets are described by the EPBC offset policy as those actions that provide a
measurable conservation gain for an impacted protected matter. Such actions could
potentially comprise a range of measures provided they target the matter of national
environmental significance affected. The policy describes the following means as potential
pathways to achieving a conservation gain that would be considered a direct offset as
follows:
Conservation gain as defined by Gibbons (2011)24 is the benefit that a direct offset delivers
to the protected matter, which maintains or increases its viability or reduces any threats of
damage, destruction or extinction. A conservation gain may be achieved by:

improving existing habitat for the protected matter;

creating new habitat for the protected matter;

reducing threats to the protected matter;

increasing the values of a heritage place; and/or

averting the loss of a protected matter or its habitat that is under threat.
Gibbons (2011) identifies a suite of management actions that could be implemented
according to the tenure and context of the offset. This report adopts those recommendations
and principles for offsetting in suggesting that while there are substantial gains to be realised
from the land offset or avoidance component, it needs to be supported by strategic and
targeted investment in management actions that enhance vegetation community resilience
against the threatening processes that are known to lead to species and community decline.
Funding of the direct actions is based on the combined requirements to:

implement recommendations of Gibbons (2011);

provide for additional staff to support the program; and

ensure sufficient seed funding for in-perpetuity management.
Implementation of the investment would generally follow the rate at which development
progresses. This would limit the potentially adverse financial impacts to the Territory from
implementing the entire plan for avoidance and offset from the outset and provide for future
revenue to contribute to establishment of the funding base. This would also allow for a
staged implementation of financial contributions. Innovative methods of generating funds,
beyond simply passing the cost on to land purchasers, could also be considered where
applicable provided the outcome with regard to biodiversity was not compromised. Funding
24
Gibbons P (2011) Potential biodiversity offset actions and sites for the Australian Capital Territory,
unpublished report for the ACT Office of the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, Dr
Philip Gibbons, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University,
Canberra (March 2011)
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of offset and indirect actions would be generated through land sales and commitment of
discretional spending by ACT Finance.
Management of funds would be overseen by the Plan Implementation Team which will also
be responsible for financial reporting under the Plan.
Offset actions are discussed in greater detail in Section 4.3.
3.3.3
Facilitated Impacts
Section 3.3.2 identified the development actions that would constitute direct actions
adversely affecting MNES within Gungahlin. Further to these, there are a suite of impacts
facilitated by implementing the Plan which would also result in adverse effects to MNES. The
main facilitated impacts relate to habitat degradation.
Areas adjacent to future urban development and those which would be subject to increased
visitation would potentially experience a degradation of habitat values. Degradation in this
sense considers the potential for:

an increased incidence of exotic flora and fauna species leading to competition for
resources;

increased human presence including a greater frequency of domestic animals such as
dogs. This may affect breeding success or visitation rates across a wide range of
species, in particular avifauna and mammals;

increased edge effects including noise, light and reduced air quality which may result in
impacts to occupation of the edge habitat by a wide range of fauna;

altered nutrient loads which may result in impacts to vegetation community structure and
floristics;

altered hydrological regimes which may affect vegetation community structure and
floristics, and potentially also increase the likelihood of increased erosion and
sedimentation;

increased incidence of litter;

compaction of soil;

increased turbidity and degradation of aquatic habitats; and

higher intensity bushfire as a result of regeneration of woodland within areas that are
presently secondary grassland.
Facilitated impacts would be mitigated through a rage of measures as described in
Section 4.2.2.
3.3.4
Indirect Offsets
Indirect offsets (actions) can be considered to be those which result in an overall
improvement in biodiversity conservation in general. The difference between direct and
indirect actions is that a direct action is targeted at the specific matter affected whereas the
indirect action targets a broader environmental improvement which in turn effects a net
improvement in conservation of the affected matter. Given the strategic approach adopted by
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this report, the application of indirect actions as offsets is appropriate. Actions that will occur
include:

Funding to provide for a land manager / Plan Implementation Team charged with
offset implementation. Given the scale and duration of the Plan in addition to the fact
that it is intended to go beyond the statutory duty of care required of the ACT
Government in management of reserved lands including ‘offsets’, the funding of one of
more roles to support this commitment would be warranted. The ACT Government
commits to funding the Plan Implementation Team in relation to Gungahlin for the Plan’s
operational life as determined by the Minister’s approval. It is likely that through such an
action, an enhancement of the Government’s ability to respond to environmental threats
would be realised.
The Plan Implementation Team would be charged with managing all aspects of
implementation, reporting, monitoring and investment under the Plan. This would include
determining the most appropriate indirect actions based on a benefit – cost analysis in
order to determine which actions would result in the greatest return on investment for the
environment in general but also specifically for the MNES affected by the Plan’s
implementation. This will ensure that activities undertaken to meet the ACT
Government’s statutory obligations are enhanced by the offset measures.
Indirect actions would be targeted to several themes including knowledge, community
involvement, innovation and environmental management related to the conservation of
affected MNES. Indirect actions will also result in benefits to biodiversity in general despite
the focus on MNES. Examples of additional indirect actions that may be implemented subject
to assessment by the Plan Implementation Team include:

Landscape scale research, conservation planning and species-specific research.
Investment in the ‘knowledge’ theme would be complimentary to those being undertaken
by CPR into habitat connectivity in the ACT. This indirect action is a mechanism to
facilitate improvements in the understanding of environmental values, threats and
opportunities for enhancement. The results of such studies lead to peer-reviewed
literature, improvements in policy and management practices and provide the basis for
further development of knowledge. While the application of knowledge from these studies
can be applied specifically to affected MNES, the general nature of much information will
mean that there are benefits that will flow through to biodiversity and nature conservation
in general.
The broad scale application of such information would have indirect benefits to not only
box gum woodland, superb parrot and golden sun moth, but also a host of other species
and communities protected, not only under the EPBC Act, but also the NC Act and the
NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act). Furthermore, species of
local significance and those in decline not yet afforded legal protection would also benefit
from such an action.
Example research projects might include:
o
how to effectively monitor golden sun moth populations;
o
preferred biomass levels for golden sun moth and striped legless lizard;
o
prescriptions for managing golden sun moth within woodland habitat;
o
translocation of golden sun moth and striped legless lizard;
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o
viability of the ACT superb parrot population and how it may be impacted by
proximity to urban development; and
o
recreational impacts on urban reserves and MNES.
Measures to improve habitat connectivity, resilience and structural diversity.
Investment in the ‘environmental management’ theme would seek to enhance aspects of
habitat connectivity, resilience and structural and diversity. Many of the strategic
environmental planning documents relevant to the ACT that have been reviewed as a
part of this study identify connectivity as a key issue to effective conservation of
biodiversity and environmental values. As a part of the Plan it is recommended that
opportunities to improve connectivity between existing reserves and other land of
potential conservation value in the Hills, Ridges and Buffers zone be investigated for their
strategic benefit and overall feasibility. Such measures might include:
o
addition of more land to the nature reserve system in areas that currently
represent either a narrowing in core habitat or a break in the continuity of habitat.
This would focus on areas identified in Action Plans 27 and 28 in addition to areas
highlighted by the work of Manning et al., (2010)25 and ACT Gov’t (2011c26 &
2012a);
o
consideration as to the construction of underpasses or land bridges in association
either with retro-fitting existing transport corridors or incorporation into new
infrastructure projects.
o
control programs of ruderal species (those encouraged by urban development
which aren’t usually a focus of control) such as of European wasp (which may
prey on golden sun moth), common myna, noisy miner and stray cats;
o
declaration of further cat containment areas and a funded compliance program;
o
salvage and relocation of structural habitat elements such as fallen logs;
o
landscape scale co-ordinated cross tenure feral animal or weed control program;
and
o
plantings to improve connectivity and wildlife movement particularly along
Gungaderra and Sullivan’s creeks;
Greater detail and further examples of indirect offsets is presented in Section 4.3.4.
25
Manning AD, Shorthouse D J, Stein JL and Stein J A (2010) Technical Report 21: Ecological
Connectivity for Climate Change in the ACT and surrounding region. A report prepared for the ACT
Government.
26 ACT Government (2011c) ACT Woodland Restoration Implementation Plan, Territory and Municipal
Services, Canberra (January 2011)
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4.0 Conservation Actions
4.1
Matters of National Environmental Significance
The Plan includes a range of commitments for Matters of National Environmental
Significance (MNES) protected under the EPBC Act. This section describes those
commitments and the activities to achieve them for each of the key matters.
The commitments are drawn from the detailed analysis of each MNES provided in Section 5
of the accompanying Assessment Report. Reference should be made to the Assessment
Report for detail about each matter, which includes:

the values of the matter in relation to the proposed development areas identified in
Gungahlin (e.g. distribution, presence, important areas etc.);

potential impacts to the matter;

proposed avoidance measures to mitigate and manage potential impacts;

proposed offset measures; and

implementation details to achieve the conservation outcome for the matter.
The MNES discussed below are focused on those matters for which conservation activities
are considered necessary and/or for which the Plan will provide a benefit.
4.1.1
World Heritage Properties
The proposed action would not affect any World Heritage Properties.
4.1.2
National Heritage Places
No Commonwealth heritage places are likely to be affected by the Plan, however a number
of ACT listed heritage places are located in close proximity to the site. These are discussed
in Section 4 of the Assessment Report.
Nature and Extent of Likely Impact
The proposed action would not affect any national heritage places.
4.1.3
Wetlands of International Importance
The proposed action would not affect any Wetlands of International Importance.
4.1.4
Listed Threatened Species and Ecological Communities
Directly impacted listed threatened species and ecological communities are as follows:

golden sun moth (Synemon plana); and

white box – yellow box – Blakely’s red gum grassy woodlands and derived native
grasslands; and

striped legless lizard (Delma impar).
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Threatened species that may be indirectly impacted by the development include:

superb parrot.
Nature and Extent of Likely Impact
The Plan has avoided the majority of impacts on listed threatened species and communities.
Unavoidable impacts to golden sun moth, box gum woodland and striped legless lizard are
discussed in detail in Section 5 of the Assessment Report, and are subject to additional
offsets as described in Section 4.3 below.
The Plan has avoided impact on natural temperate grassland and populations of nationally
threatened plants (including button wrinklewort, hoary sunray and austral toadflax). No
indirect impacts to threatened flora species or natural temperate grassland are expected as a
result of the Plan. Potential indirect impacts to superb parrot due to land management
activities and adjacent site works are discussed in Section 4 and 5 of the Assessment
Report, and are considered able to be mitigated.
Conservation Actions
Conservation actions under the Plan which are targeted to listed threatened species and
ecological communities include those as described in Table 4.1. Outcomes are described in
detail under Section 4.3 below, and Section 7 of the Assessment Report.
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Table 4.1 – Conservation Actions that Target Threatened Species and Ecological Communities
Key to Abbreviations
ESA = Emergency Services Agency
EDD = Economic Development Directorate (inclusive of LDA – Land Development Agency)
ESDD = Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate (inclusive of CPR – Conservation, Planning and Research & EPA – Environment Protection Agency)
SEWPaC = Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
TaMS = Territory and Municipal Services
Action
Targeted MNES
Responsibility
Timing
Direct Actions
1.
Variation to the Territory Plan and amendment to the National Capital Plan for
all proposed land use changes.
2.
Creation and management of a nature reserve in Kenny (160 hectares).
Created by the excision of rural Block 775 Gungahlin from future development
potential;

box gum woodland;

striped legless lizard.
Creation and management of a nature reserve in Kinlyside (199 hectares)
from the current extent of land in the RZ1 – Suburban zone under the Territory
Plan in the location known as Kinlyside.

box gum woodland;

golden sun moth

pink-tailed
worm-lizard.
Addition of 298 hectares to the Mulligan’s Flat – Goorooyarroo nature reserve
complex. Land to be excised from the future urban area of Throsby and the
‘Kenny broadacre’ area and managed for the protection of MNES.

box gum woodland;

superb parrot;

golden sun moth.
Addition of 118 hectares to the north-western Hills, Ridges and buffers zone
from the urban areas of Taylor and Jacka in addition to the entire area of the
north Horse Park broadacre area.

box gum woodland;

golden sun moth.
3.
4.
5.
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EDD
Commence draft
variation to Territory
Plan within 6 months
of approval of
strategic assessment
EDD
Prior to
commencement of
construction in Kenny
EDD
Within 2 years of
Plan endorsement
EDD
Prior to
commencement of
construction in
Throsby
EDD
Prior to
commencement of
construction in Taylor
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Action
Targeted MNES
Conservation Actions
Responsibility
Timing
Indirect Actions
6.
Establishment of the ‘Plan Implementation Team’ and submission of initial /
indicative team membership and charter to SEWPaC for approval. This will
also include a description the governance arrangements pertaining to the
operation of the Team that will guide it in the discharge of its duties.
all
EDD, ESDD, ESA &
TaMS
Within 3 months of
Plan endorsement
7.
Develop and submit to SEWPaC for approval, the framework for investment
in offsets, monitoring, reporting, adaptive management, compliance and
enforcement (refer to Section 5.4). This will identify:
all
Plan Implementation
Team
Within 2 months of
establishment
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
Within 3 months of
establishment
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
Prior to completion of
PDF process for each
8.
9.

indicative monitoring program for:
o all MNES affected by the Plan;
o newly created nature reserves;
o Land Management Agreements for avoidance areas on
NUZ3 – Hills Ridges and Buffers;

reporting requirements and frequency for:
o standard activities including monitoring, financial
performance, measured outcomes;
o reporting requirements for unanticipated or unapproved
incidents.

process for review, improvement, approval and incorporation of new
procedures within an adaptive management framework;

compliance and enforcement procedures associated with design,
construction and operation phase activities.
Develop and submit to SEWPaC for approval, the framework for CEMPs for
areas directly or indirectly affecting MNES. This shall include the
monitoring, reporting and compliance requirements of:

contractors undertaking physical works; and

ACT Government officers or its representatives in auditing performance
under the CEMP.
Provide guidance on the development of Estate Development Planning
(EDP) documents where required for each urban release area to ensure
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Action
Targeted MNES
Conservation Actions
Responsibility
commitments and objectives of the Plan are implemented, particularly the
identification of sympathetic development types along the urban edge to
minimise impact to adjacent MNES
Timing
suburb
10.
Scope and assess the relative value of indirect actions including research
projects to be undertaken under the auspices of the Plan. This will include a
benefit – cost analysis of all research proposals to ensure the best return on
investment for affected MNES. This action will also require liaison with
relevant tertiary institutions and once finalised, submission of a costed
research proposal identifying key appointments, objectives, outcomes for
affected MNES, expected publications and application to the ongoing
management and enhancement of MNES within Gungahlin.
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
Prior to the
commitment of funds
on any indirect action
11.
Develop management plans for all new nature reserves which will provide
for adaptive management and condition improvement of the reserve.
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team and Steering
Committee for
Canberra Nature Park
Management Plan
Within 6 months of
reserve creation
12.
Review and update Land Management Agreements or management plans
for all avoided areas of NUZ3 – Hills, Ridges and Buffers to ensure
consistency with, and application of commitments of the Plan.
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
As required and in
line with development
timeframes
13.
Review and approve (subject to compliance with the Plan) CEMPs
submitted for all new construction projects within the area subject to the
Plan (Refer to Section 4.3.4)
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
Prior to
commencement of
construction
14.
Coordinate with TaMS – Asset Acceptance to ensure all obligations of
contractors with respect to management of MNES in accordance with the
Plan have been implemented prior to hand-over of assets to the Territory
(Refer to Section 4.3.4).
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
Prior to practical
completion of each
development contract
15.
Prepare and submit an annual report highlighting the implementation of the
actions and relevant conservation outcomes for MNES achieved in the
previous year and will be made publicly available (refer to Section 5.1.1).
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
Within 2 months of
the end of each
financial year
16.
Prepare and submit a Plan Review Report every four years from
endorsement of the Plan to analyse performance, compliance and
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
Within 6 months of
the end of financial
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Action
Targeted MNES
Conservation Actions
Responsibility
opportunities for improvement for MNES (refer to Section 5.1.2).
Timing
year in every fourth
year
17.
Engage a third party to undertake an annual audit of financial management
under the Plan. Findings of the audit are to be included in the annual report.
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
To coincide with
annual reporting
18.
Implement all investments in indirect offsets identified by the Plan to the
value determined by the Plan Implementation Team.
all (as appropriate)
Plan Implementation
Team
Within 20 years of
Plan endorsement
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4.1.5
CONSULTATION DRAFT
Conservation Actions
Listed Migratory Species
A number of listed migratory species are identified on the protected matters search for the
project area. All of these species are migratory birds following their listing on the various
international agreements that Australia is a signatory to including the Bonn Convention,
JAMBA, CAMBA and ROKAMBA agreements. The protected matters search tool identifies
the following species as having the potential to occur within the area:

fork-tailed swift;

white-bellied sea eagle;

white-throated needletail;

malleefowl;

rainbow bee-eater;

satin flycatcher;

rufous fantail;

regent honeyeater;

great egret/white egret;

cattle egret;

Latham's snipe; and

Australian painted snipe.
Nature and Extent of Likely Impact
Horse Park Wetlands in Jacka is considered to provide important temporary habitat for
Latham’s snipe, and a number of other wetland birds. The proposed action avoids any direct
impact on the wetlands, and it will also protect the upstream area of the wetland by limiting
development to open space and playing fields within the catchment area.
While there may be some utilisation of the impact area by listed migratory species, it is
considered unlikely that the proposed action will have a significant impact on any of these
species. Refer to Section 4 and 5 of the accompanying Assessment Report for a detailed
assessment.
4.1.6
Commonwealth Marine Area
The proposed action would not affect any Commonwealth Marine Areas.
4.1.7
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
The proposed action would not affect the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
4.1.8
Nuclear Actions
The proposed action does not involve a nuclear action.
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Conservation Actions
Other Matters
The proposed action does not involve actions taken on Commonwealth land or actions taken
by the Commonwealth (or Commonwealth agencies).
4.2
Avoidance and Mitigation Measures
As detailed in Section 5 of the Assessment Report, the following MNES are likely to be
affected by the proposed action:

Listed Threatened Species and Ecological Communities.
The primary impacts relevant to this matter protected under the EPBC Act relate to the loss
of:

212 hectares of the critically endangered ecological community, white box – yellow box –
Blakely’s red gum woodlands and derived native grasslands;

180 hectares of habitat for the critically endangered golden sun moth. Impacted habitat
occurs in grassy woodland and exotic pasture, not natural temperate grassland;

development adjacent to potential and known breeding habitat of superb parrot; and

approximately 16 hectares of striped legless lizard habitat, including 13.6 hectares in
Gungahlin Town Centre (east) and potential impact to 2 to 3 hectares within Kenny.
4.2.1
Avoidance
The opportunity for retaining areas of habitat within urban areas as urban open space will be
considered in further planning. Regardless, substantial areas of the potentially developable
land as defined by the Territory Plan have been avoided (Kinlyside, west Kenny, north and
east Throsby, north-west Taylor and north-east Jacka). The Plan, as an alternative
development scenario to that proposed by the Territory Plan, would avoid large areas known
to support habitat for MNES including golden sun moth, superb parrot and box gum
woodland in Throsby, golden sun moth, pink-tailed worm-lizard and box gum woodland in
Kinlyside, striped legless lizard in Kenny, and box gum woodland in Jacka and Taylor.
In addition, potential impacts to migratory species such as Latham’s snipe have been
avoided through measures to minimise encroachment or other impacts from development on
the ACT Listed Horse Park Homestead Complex, Sedgeland & Surrounds. This area is being
avoided by development entirely, and low-impact development only will be allowed upstream
of the wetland in order to maintain the hydrological processes driving the wetland.
Golden sun moth has been found to persist within appropriately managed urban open space
which may present an option for the management of this species within these areas. This
includes locations where exotic weeds are present and bushfire hazard reduction results in
the need to manage biomass in locations where golden sun moth is known to occur.
The avoidance of the areas shown on Figure 1.1 and in Table 4.2 will significantly reduce
the potential impacts, in addition to significantly reducing the total area available to the
proponent to provide new and affordable housing.
A total of eight areas were identified as potential additions to the conservation reserve
network either as nature reserve (NR) or for inclusion in the Hills, Ridges and Buffers (HRB)
zone. These are summarised in Table 4.2 and Figure 4.1 below.
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Table 4.2 - Summary of proposed avoidance and known values
Name
Summary of Known Values
Target
Zone
Area
(ha)
Kenny
broadacre
Box gum woodland, striped legless lizard
NR
23
Throsby east
Golden sun moth, box-gum woodland, superb parrot
breeding habitat, EPBC migratory and other woodland birds
listed under the NC Act
NR
105
Throsby north
Golden sun moth, box-gum woodland, superb parrot
breeding habitat, EPBC migratory and other woodland birds
listed under the NC Act
NR
172
Jacka north
Box-gum woodland, golden sun moth
HRB
23
Horse Park
north
Box-gum woodland
HRB
76
Taylor
Box-gum woodland
HRB
21
Kinlyside
Box-gum woodland, golden sun moth, pink-tailed wormlizard, EPBC migratory and other woodland birds listed
under the NC Act
NR
201
Kenny
Striped legless lizard, box gum woodland
NR
160
NR
661
HRB
120
TOTAL
781
TOTALS in Summary
These areas are proposed to be added to the existing system of conservation lands in the
Gungahlin district as a means of mitigating the unavoidable impacts to MNES as a result of
proposed development of the areas of Jacka, Taylor, Throsby and Kenny. Details regarding
the justification of the offsets selected are provided in Section 7 of the accompanying
Assessment Report.
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Figure 4.1 – Proposed Reserve System
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4.2.2
CONSULTATION DRAFT
Conservation Actions
Mitigation
Mitigation activities will be necessary to minimise the indirect impacts of development,
particularly where that development occurs in the vicinity of areas that support threatened
communities, species or their habitats. Particular threats during the construction and
operational stages of the development include:

predation by domestic animals;

habitat modification by bushfire management;

habitat degradation by weed infestation, uncontrolled access, sediment and erosion and
litter; and

disruption of critical life-cycle stages by human activity and other effects such as noise
and light incursion.
Mitigation actions will be implemented in order to mitigate the indirect impacts likely as a
result of construction and occupation of the area. With regard to construction stage impacts,
these will be mitigated through the development of a Construction Environment Management
Plan (CEMP) while operational stage impacts will be managed through management plans
developed and implemented by various ACT Government agencies including the Territory
and Municipal Services Directorate (TaMS), Land Development Agency (LDA), Conservation
Planning and Research (CPR) and the Emergency Services Agency (ESA).
The ACT Government’s publication ‘Environmental Guidelines for Preparation of an
Environment Management Plan’ (ACT Gov’t, 2009)27 describes the objective, form and
content of an environment management plan (EMP) in order to satisfy the requirements of
the Environment Protection Act 1997.
Construction EMPs (CEMP) will be prepared for all construction contracts within the Plan
area. The requirement for a CEMP to be prepared is complementary to the existing
requirement, however under the Plan, would include a requirement for approval of the CEMP
by the Plan Implementation Team in addition to the existing requirement for approval from
the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Further to the requirements of ACT Gov’t (2009),
objectives for CEMPs during any stage of the development will include measures that target
the potential for indirect and facilitated impacts on MNES including (but not limited to) where
relevant:

containment of domestic animals to reduce the risk of predation and disturbance to
MNES such as striped legless lizard and superb parrot;

management of bushfire hazard and other activities requiring work in or adjacent to
reserved and retained natural areas so as to not (where fire safety requirements permit):
o
affect critical life-cycle stages (eg. golden sun moth and superb parrot breeding);
o
destroy habitat suitability for striped legless lizard; and
27
ACT Government (2009) Environmental Guidelines for Preparation of an Environment Management
Plan, ACT Environment Protection Authority (May 2009)
http://www.environment.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/153978/Environment_Management_Pl
an_WEB.pdf
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o
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reduce vegetation diversity such that areas which conform to the definition of a
listed ecological community are no longer recognised as the listed community.

measures to ensure containment, control and removal of invasive species including pest
plants and animals;

measures to avoid, contain and rehabilitate areas of erosion;

measures to avoid and control transportation of sediment;

measures to restrict uncontrolled access to reserved and retained natural areas;

actions to be taken in the event of unanticipated or unapproved incidents;

roles and responsibilities relating to construction activities;

management of sub-contractors with respect to meeting environmental obligations;

procedures to be followed during the post-construction maintenance period; and

monitoring and reporting against all aspects of the CEMP;
As part of the approach to mitigation of potential indirect impacts, master planning and
materials selection for construction will also be considered for the design stage of all
developments. Such considerations will include, master planning and design of estate
development plans to ensure appropriate uses adjacent to areas where there is the potential
to interact with important environmental values including Matters of National Environmental
Significance. This will include:

ensuring all developments are surrounded by an edge road to minimise the requirements
for bushfire hazard management, enhance passive surveillance and control invasive
species;

placement of low intensity land uses in areas that might otherwise result in disturbance to
species during critical life-cycle stages, eg. superb parrot breeding;

selection of materials so as to limit noise and light incursion into reserved or retained
natural areas;

placement of transport and utility infrastructure in a way that reduces or avoids ongoing
impacts to adjoining areas either from operation or periodic maintenance;

placement of recreational facilities including playgrounds and bike/pedestrian paths in
areas that do not lead to inappropriately increased human activity adjacent to sensitive
areas;

appropriate plant selection for landscaping including consideration of incorporating
landscaping species which will provide future foraging or shelter opportunities to wildlife.
Particular consideration to be given to enhancing connectivity and flight paths for species
such as superb parrot which disperse south to the Belconnen district and the Molonglo
Valley; and

liaison with appropriately qualified professionals, experienced in the biology and
management of the Matters of National Environmental Significance known to occur in
Gungahlin, during the design stages, prior to construction commencing, to ensure optimal
design solutions are prescribed. Liaison of this nature as directed and overseen by the
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Plan Implementation Team is also to occur in conjunction with design and implementation
of the direct and indirect offsets described in Section 4.3.
The overriding objective of design measures will be to ensure the design process seeks to
minimise all direct and indirect impacts to adjacent retained or reserved natural areas.
4.3
Offset Strategy
The offset strategy proposed to compensate for the residual adverse impacts to the
environment as a result of implementing the Plan is described in detail below.
4.3.1
Offset Concepts
The land tenure system in the Australian Capital Territory is such that virtually all land is
‘owned’ by the ACT Government, this is certainly the case in Gungahlin where there are no
Commonwealth properties. Given this, the concept of offsetting using land within the
leasehold system of the ACT does not work and cannot be compared to other Australian
jurisdictions where a freehold land tenure system prevails.
The following flow chart (Figure 4.2) is an illustration of general steps that would be taken in
the development of the majority of offset packages under a freehold tenure system. This
chart shows that a significant amount of time and money would be expended in eventually
arriving at a successful offset outcome. Success in this instance would be determined by
whether the stated management objectives had been met in relation to the protection of the
listed matters or through achieving stated improvements in habitat quality, connectivity,
diversity or other variables as considered appropriate when determining the composition of
the offset package.
By comparison, the offset process in the ACT under the leasehold system typically does not
include the step described as ‘3. Purchase / Secure land’. This is due to the leasehold
arrangements and withdrawal clauses which in effect limit the willingness of leaseholders to
invest in typical agricultural land management activities that would normally be undertaken
on freehold land or land under 99-year lease. As a consequence of the land release program
and a long, forward understanding of development pathways, shorter term leases and
withdrawal clauses are typical for land at or near the development front. This results in the
following effects:

Leaseholders do not invest in pasture improvement, fences, water points or other
infrastructure other than the minimum based on a rational approach to investment given
the remaining time on a lease. Notwithstanding this, rural leaseholders in any
circumstance are required to manage their land consistent with Land Management
Agreements and / or directions of the Conservator of Flora and Fauna;

Biodiversity values at or near the development front are generally higher as a result of the
lower intensity of agricultural management;

Leases expire or are withdrawn by the ACT Government as required, in-line with the land
release program and are either used as indicated in the Territory Plan or subjected to an
‘offset’ package in light of identified environmental values.

Where land is not developed in accordance with the Territory Plan, it is in effect an
avoidance strategy as opposed to being an offset given that the alternative would
typically be urban development under statutory approval. This is particularly the case
under the strategic environmental assessment approach and accordingly, also the case
for Gungahlin.
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The cost incurred by the ACT Government is primarily an opportunity cost through loss of
potential options for future development of the land identified as the ‘offset’ in addition to
other administrative costs resulting from the need to vary the Territory Plan. This opportunity
cost however is not unique to the ACT and would be experienced in other jurisdictions as a
consequence of the designation of land as a biodiversity offset.
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Figure 4.2 – Flowchart for the identification and establishment of offsets
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In addition to the proposed avoidance and mitigation measures outlined in preceding
sections, it is also proposed that the strategy be supported by targeted investment in
management actions that enhance vegetation community resilience against the threatening
processes that are known to lead to species and community decline. These actions comprise
the offset component of the Plan.
Details on specific management actions for each of the direct land offset areas identified as
Actions 1 - 4 in Table 4.1 are provided in Section 5 of the accompanying Assessment
Report. Management actions that will be implemented are:

Development of a management structure that facilitates “in-perpetuity” support of the
MNES at the Gungahlin offset sites;

Identification of and monitoring against specific performance indicators for each MNES.
This will be inclusive of offset and existing reserve networks in order to consider
integration and functional performance of the system at the landscape scale;

Development of an adaptive management system where results of monitoring will be
used to review and adapt management activities;

Establishment of a single (i.e. whole of government), reliable and maintained spatial
dataset for the ACT that represents the single point of truth and reliability for
environmental data in the Territory. This will be developed in a manner that facilitates
information gathering and validation from all sources including research by tertiary
institutions, consultants, community organisations, individuals and ACT government
officers; and

Management structures that support mandated management of offset sites in accordance
with the outcomes specified under the Plan. This would be inclusive of the financial and
governance structures to ensure the investments detailed in Tables 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 are
made efficiently and the ongoing management requirements set out in those tables are
met.
4.3.2
Previous Conservation Measures
In addition to the areas described in Section 4.2.1 under the avoidance strategy, the Plan
also considers the advanced avoidance and offset actions that resulted from Territory Plan
Variations No. 53, 182 and 231. These Territory Plan variations respectively resulted in:

Moving the location of the Gungahlin Town Centre to the north and creating Mulanggari
Grasslands Nature Reserve (148 hectares) to avoid impacts to striped legless lizards,
native grassland, and other features of cultural and heritage significance;

The addition of 19 hectares of box-gum woodland to Mulligan’s Flat Nature Reserve in
2002; and

The addition of 705 hectares of mixed woodland and derived native grasslands for the
creation of Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve in 2006.
Accordingly, the Plan recognises a total of 1,653 hectares of avoidance measures in
Gungahlin as a combination of previous conservation measures and new land to be
dedicated to nature reserve.
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Further to the land components of the previous conservation measures, the ACT
Government has invested significant funds into managing these areas since their gazettal.
On the basis of an estimated cost of $1,53028 per hectare per year to manage environmental
matters to the level of statutory duty of care, a total of $6,762,600 of previous conservation
funding29 for management of Matters of National Environmental Significance and biodiversity
in general has been invested to date. This cost estimate does not include the additional
investment in development of the Mulligan’s Flat Sanctuary, threatened species reintroductions or management associated with the sanctuary.
28
Based on cost estimates by the ACT Treasury for protection of Kinlyside and Throsby as nature
reserves in the 2012 election
http://www.treasury.act.gov.au/Electioncostings/documents/Greens/Completed%20Costings/GRN154
%20-%20Completed%20Costing.pdf
29 Not accounting for CPI
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4.3.3
CONSULTATION DRAFT
Conservation Actions
Direct Offsets
Direct offsets proposed under the Plan will be directed to the Matters of National Environmental Significance for which the residual is potentially
significant. As a consequence of the avoidance of the striped legless lizard population at Kenny, and previous avoidance of striped legless lizard
through the creation of Mulanggari Grassland (see Section 5 of the Assessment Report), offsets are proposed only for box gum woodland, golden
sun moth and superb parrot. The proposed conservation gains under the direct offsets would be delivered through the improvement of existing
habitat for the protected matters and in the case of golden sun moth, also creating new habitat for the protected matter. Table 4.3 below
summarises the key actions and outcomes. It will be the responsibility of the Plan Implementation Team to ensure these commitments are
delivered.
Table 4.3 – Summary of Direct Offsets
Protected Matter
White box – yellow
box – Blakely’s red
gum woodland and
derived native
grassland
Offset Description
Outcomes
Habitat improvement through assisted
natural regeneration of areas that
presently do not meet the definition of the
listed community. These areas are
currently mapped by ACTMAPi (ACT
Gov’t, 2012d)30 as ‘box gum woodland’
(as opposed to EPBC woodland) in the
areas of Kinlyside, Kenny and Throsby
(approximately 93 hectares) which under
this Plan would be transferred to nature
reserve.
Improvement in the understorey diversity
and hence overall quality of woodlands
that presently meet the definition of the
listed community. This action will focus on
woodland areas that are currently in a
moderate to poor condition for areas that
are presently in nature reserves in


Improvement in woodland quality for existing
reserves and additional areas added to nature
reserve as measured by:
o Increased diversity of understorey
species for vegetation conforming to
the community definition currently in
moderate to poor quality;
o Increased extent of vegetation that
conforms to the definition of the
listed community whether in the
woodland form or derived native
grassland form.
Mechanism for Implementation

Habitat improvement plan
developed by the PIT

Reserve management plan
developed by the PIT and
Steering Committee for
Canberra Nature Park
Management Plan
Management of regeneration in a way that does
not compromise the viability of populations of
protected matters which rely on derived native
grasslands (e.g. golden sun moth and striped
legless lizard).
30
ACT Government (2012d) ACTMAPi: ACT Government Online Interactive Maps, Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, Canberra.
http://www.actmapi.act.gov.au
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Protected Matter
Golden sun moth
Superb parrot
CONSULTATION DRAFT
Offset Description
addition to areas that will become nature
reserve as a result of implementing the
Plan.
Outcomes
Mechanism for Implementation
Habitat improvement of areas likely to be
suitable for golden sun moth in the long
term given likely regeneration of box gum
woodland in some locations where the
species also presently occurs.
Research into the potential compatibility
of bushfire hazard management
requirements with habitat requirements of
the species, particularly when managed in
a sympathetic manner. This measure will
take advantage of the management
regime requirements for bushfire hazard
purposes by ensuring derived native
grasslands in these locations do not
return to a woodland form while still
catering for golden sun moth.

Persistence of a viable local population of
golden sun moth in northern ACT.

Habitat improvement plan
developed by the PIT

No net reduction over the life of the Plan in
areas occupied by golden sun moth for retained
and reserved populations.


Management of secondary grassland where the
species occurs within a matrix of regenerating
box gum woodland.
Reserve management plan
developed by the PIT and
Steering Committee for
Canberra Nature Park
Management Plan

Encouragement of golden sun moth colonisation
of areas along the proposed unreserved urban
fringe where appropriate and practicable.
All known breeding locations within
Gungahlin will be reserved and are at
least 100 metres from the edge of urban
development. Some asset protection
activities may occur within this buffer
zone.
Research and monitoring on the nesting,
connectivity and foraging habitat
requirements of the superb parrot
population in the ACT, and how it reacts
to nearby urban development.
Applying this research to habitat
improvement for superb parrot in
Goorooyarroo and Mulligan’s Flat nature
reserves (including the new reserve areas
established under this plan).

Persistence of a breeding population in northern
ACT in the long term.

Habitat management plan
developed by the PIT

Improved management of potential habitat in
order to support recovery of superb parrots.

Focussed research on superb
parrot habitat requirements

Improved understanding of habitat requirements
for foraging and dispersing superb parrots within
peri-urban and urban environments.

Improved understanding of the superb parrot
population which occurs in the northern ACT in
terms of nest site fidelity and breeding success

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Protected Matter
Striped legless lizard
4.3.4
Offset Description
site selection, nest site fidelity,
fecundity, population dynamics and
and methods of reducing or
eliminating nest hollow competition
from aggressive native species or
exotic pests such as common myna
and European honeybee.

Assisted natural regeneration that
may eventually form hollow trees will
be undertaken in areas likely to be
suitable as future nesting sites.

Removal of stock leading to a
reduction in localised compaction and
concentration of nutrients, improving
long term tree survival.
Establishment of a nature reserve in west
Kenny to protect a fourth important
population of striped legless lizard in
Gungahlin.
Habitat improvement through
conservation grazing, weed control and
other measures.
Conservation Actions
Outcomes
Mechanism for Implementation

Persistence of a viable population at Kenny


No net reduction over the life of the Plan in
areas occupied by striped legless lizard in
reserved populations.
Habitat improvement plan
developed by the PIT

Reserve management plan
developed by the PIT and
Steering Committee for
Canberra Nature Park
Management Plan
Indirect Offsets
Indirect offsets are proposed as measures to not only target Matters of National Environmental Significance but also enhance general biodiversity
values, address priorities for management of other box gum woodland dependant species listed under the Nature Conservation Act 1988 and
provide support for locally significant but unlisted species. The indirect actions are intended to complement the direct actions and enhance the
ability of the ACT government to manage the existing nature reserve system. These measures will result in conservation gains for both affected
and unaffected protected matters in addition to biodiversity in general not only in Gungahlin but across the ACT. The indirect actions are targeted
to several themes including knowledge, community involvement, innovation and environmental management. Implementation of the Plan will be
pivotal on the establishment of a Plan Implementation Team; this is a mandatory action under the Plan. Table 4.4 describes the intent and
objectives of this team.
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Table 4.4 – Mandatory Indirect Actions
Theme(s)
Environmental
management
Offset Description
Establishment of a Gungahlin strategic ‘Plan Implementation Team’ to
oversee implementation of direct and indirect offsets measures with
responsibilities for implementation and procurement; monitoring,
reporting, application of the principles of adaptive management and
associated measures under the Plan.
The Plan Implementation Team will be responsible for all aspects of
implementing the Plan in addition to ensuring accurate records are
maintained of all activities that are conducted in relation to
implementation of the Plan.
The Plan Implementation Team will be established within three months of
the Plan’s endorsement. The team will be a multi-agency group either
drawn from existing staff within TaMS, ESDD and EDD or from a
targeted recruitment campaign. The team will be guided by expert input
from relevant agencies across the government to ensure consistency and
efficiency in implementation and investment (e.g. coordination of weed
management activities across reserve / offset areas).
The team will operate independently of the parent directorates however
will be charged with a mandate to ensure a whole-of-government
approach to implementation of the Plan.
The team will be established to have a concurrence role on the approval
of CEMPs (Construction Environment Management Plans) and also in
asset acceptance at the conclusion of a construction project where
MNES have been a consideration in order to meet the commitments
established under the Plan.
Outcomes

Dedication of resources to ensure management of existing
reserves and responsibilities is not compromised by the
imposition of additional reserve areas and other
commitments under the Plan;

Optimisation of environmental management actions
between government agencies;

Provision of resources to ensure transparency and
responsibility in implementing the Plan;

Assessment of options for investment in indirect actions to
ensure best return on investment;

Risk minimisation with respect to implementation of the
Plan.
Subject to assessment with regards to scope, duration and objectives by the Plan Implementation Team a further group of indirect actions would
be implemented as a means to enhance performance of environmental management in the ACT with a particular focus on the MNES affected by
the Plan. Table 4.5 presents a summary of the proposed additional indirect actions. Any research proposal to consider the management of MNES
would be subject to scoping and guidance by the Plan Implementation Team prior to approval by SEWPaC.
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Table 4.5 – Summary of Additional Indirect Actions
Theme(s)
Knowledge
Offset Description
Collection and collation of baseline ecological and biophysical
information for new reserve areas of Kenny and Kinlyside as identified in
the avoidance measures (Section 4.2.1). This will also include ongoing
collection of key ecological information to enable monitoring and
reporting of MNES for the life of the Plan.
Outcomes

Gathering of sufficiently detailed baseline ecological and
biophysical information pertaining to aspects relevant to
the MNES affected by the Plan in order to inform effective
management of environmental values, threats and
opportunities;

Maintenance of an effective source of data to demonstrate
transparency and accountability in implementation of the
Plan.
Knowledge
Contribution to knowledge regarding the management of golden sun
moth in proximity to urban development. This measure may also include
research into translocation of golden sun moths

Improved understanding of habitat maintenance and the
establishment of new populations where fragmentation or
disturbance has occurred.
Knowledge
Contribution to knowledge regarding the management of superb parrot in
proximity to urban development particularly in relation to producing a
population viability analysis.
This action will support a research project in order to better understand
factors such as nest site fidelity, annual breeding success and factors
which influence it, breeding strategies (eg. polygamy / monogamy),
fecundity and population dynamics over time.

Improved understanding of breeding requirements of
superb parrots;

Improved understanding of the superb parrot population
which occurs in the northern ACT in terms of nest site
fidelity and breeding success
Development of crowd-sourced biodiversity and weed information tools
including:

Encourage community involvement in environmental
management and biodiversity issues;

Smart phone, internet and conventional reporting of significant
species including invasive species and threatened species;


Online resources to assist with community identification of species of
concern (eg. new weeds, weed outbreaks, Protected matters,
species of local conservation significance, etc.)
Enable a more rapid response than what is presently
possible to new environmental threats by the land
managers in Territory and Municipal Services Directorate;

Alert ACT land managers to previously unknown
occurrences of significant species, whether threatened or
invasive.

Centralisation of biodiversity knowledge in the ACT;

Improved return on investment spent on consultant studies
in the ACT.

Improved knowledge, sharing of important biodiversity
Knowledge,
Innovation and
Community
involvement
Knowledge and
Innovation
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Development and implementation of an integrated knowledge
management system for the collection and storage of biodiversity
information relevant to the ACT. This would adopt a model similar in
concept to the NSW wildlife atlas which among other sources uses
biodiversity information collected from the work of consultants under a
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mandatory reporting scheme.
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Outcomes
information and decision support tools for regulators, the
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4.4
Performance of the package
4.4.1
Offset Policy
Evaluation and Monitoring
The performance of the package proposed by the Plan was considered against the guide to
the use of offsets under the EPBC Act which accompanies the Australian Government’s
offset policy (Australian Gov’t, 2012a). Information used as the basis for this assessment was
sourced from Mulvaney (2012) and the ACT Government’s online mapping application
‘ACTMAPi’ (ACT Gov’t, 2012d).
Additional direct offsets described in Section 4.3.3 are noted however they have not been
included in offset considerations under the offset assessment guide. Finally, only those
matters for which a significant impact is considered likely after the application of avoidance
and mitigation measures have been assessed under the guide. Accordingly, this assessment
has considered box gum woodland, golden sun moth and striped legless lizard.
Section 7.3 of the Assessment Report details the approach taken to assess the performance
of the Plan against the impacts to MNES including determining the strategic benefits of the
Plan at a landscape scale. The following summarises the impacts and offsets in the case of
both MNES.
Box gum woodland

212.2 hectares of the community with an average quality of ‘4’ impacted;

976.2 hectares (inclusive of 615 hectares in previous conservation areas) with an
average quality of ‘6’ as the initial offset;

predicted improvement by one to an average quality of ‘7’ for all ‘offset’ areas within a 5
year timeframe; and

additionally notes that an estimated $5,645,767 of investment in previous conservation
has also occurred.
Golden sun moth

179.7 hectares of habitat with an average quality of ‘3’ impacted;

310.8 hectares (inclusive of 167.7 hectares in previous conservation areas) with an
average quality of ‘5’ as the initial offset;

predicted improvement by one to an average quality of ‘6’ for all ‘offset’ areas within a 5
year timeframe; and

additionally notes that an estimated $1,539,621 of investment in previous conservation
has also occurred.
Striped legless lizard

16 hectares of habitat will an average quality of ‘5’ impacts;

111.7 hectares with an average quality of ‘7’ as the initial offset;

previous conservation of 148 hectares with an average quality of ‘7’ (Mulanggari
Grassland);
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predicted improvement by one to an average quality of ‘7’ for the ‘offset’ area within a 5
year timeframe.
4.4.2
Strategic Performance
Section 7.3.7 of the Assessment Report presents a more detailed discussion of the strategic
performance of the package, however this can be summarised by noting that all landscape
metrics respond in a manner indicative of an improvement in the landscape context of
vegetation remnants in Gungahlin. This is inclusive of:

modest increases in overall area of reserved and avoided vegetation;

significant improvements in shape complexity measured as a function of a patch’s
perimeter with respect to its area;

significant reduction in the proportion of reserved and avoided vegetation considered to
be on the edge or subjected to edge effects (including bushfire hazard management);

significant increases in the proportion of existing patches that would be considered as
‘core’ habitat, more than 100 metres beyond the edge of any non-conservation oriented
management regime (principally relating to bushfire hazard management); and

significant increase in the proportion of ‘core’ habitat with respect to ‘edge’ habitat
The overall effect of the Plan is to put in place a package that would significantly increase the
landscape value of existing and future vegetation remnants in addition to improving the
‘Comprehensiveness, Adequacy and Representativeness’ of the reserve system in
Gungahlin.
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5.0 Evaluation and Monitoring
5.1
Monitoring and Reporting Plan Outcomes
There are four main conservation outcomes from implementation of the Plan:
1) Avoidance of impacts to significant parts of Gungahlin supporting MNES currently
designated as Future Urban Area;
2) Effective mitigation of indirect and facilitated impacts to MNES adjacent to areas to be
developed for urban purposes;
3) Targeted investment in direct offsets for the affected matters in Gungahlin; and
4) Investment in indirect offsets to enhance the outcomes of items 1 and 2 above in
addition to providing for improvement in management of biodiversity in general in the
ACT.
In order to measure the efficacy of the Plan, it is necessary to establish a framework for
monitoring and reporting on the process of implementation of each of the main actions and
the results or outcomes, against a set of relevant biodiversity measures as outlined in
Section 4.3.3. This framework through further review and enhancement by the Plan
Implementation Team will encompass areas dedicated to nature reserve in addition to those
which would remain in the NUZ3 – Hills, Ridges and Buffers zone, and would be adapted to
include EPBC Act reporting and evaluation requirements for the Program.
There are two main elements to the reporting framework:
1) A public annual report highlighting where relevant the activities of the Plan
Implementation Team with respect to the charter as approved upon establishment
including but not limited to:
a. the progress of implementation of each of the actions;
b. conservation outcomes achieved in the previous year, assessed against the
relevant biodiversity measures; and
c. the consistency of each Precinct Plan with the requirements of the Plan.
2) A review of the Plan every four years for the life of the Plan to assess progress in
achieving the objectives of the Plan and ensuring investments remain targeted to the
affected matters in the most effective manner.
5.1.1
Annual Report
An annual report highlighting the implementation of the actions and relevant conservation
outcomes achieved in the reporting period (financial year) will be published by the ACT
Government and provided to SEWPaC. This report will be completed within two (2) months
of the end of the reporting period and will be made publicly available. The report will address
objectives described in the Plan with respect to listed matters under ACT and
Commonwealth legislation and provide an update on the status of investments, project
success or failure. The key aspects of the annual report will be to provide an understanding
where relevant of the:

progress in meeting commitments for the affected Matters of National Environmental
Significance as measured against objectives in Section 4.3.2 and Section 4.3.3;
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
lessons-learned from project implementation and opportunities for improvement;

changes with respect to management and resourcing of the Plan implementation team;

summary of findings from monitoring events associated with implementing the Plan;

findings of any internal audits into implementation and management of the Plan;

amount of investment in each of the direct and indirect actions; and

innovations or design adaptations that might have resulted from the design review and
assessment process described in Section 4.2.2 of the Plan. These will be implemented
through the adaptive management process described in Section 5.2.
This report will be published on the ACT Government website for public information and in
order to meet the criteria for suitable offsets under the EPBC Act offset policy. In particular,
the annual report will ensure the Plan provides for transparent governance arrangements
including being able to be readily measured, monitored, audited and enforced.
All investment, record keeping, reporting and monitoring under the Plan will be the
responsibility of the ‘Plan Implementation Team’.
5.1.2
Plan Review Report
The final element in the evaluation framework for the Plan will be a concurrent review of both
the relevant biodiversity measures and the Plan every four years. The purpose of the review
will be to summarise progress over the preceding four years in achieving the conservation
gains as defined by objectives outlined in the Plan. This will also allow for review of the
specific actions in light of knowledge gained through implementation of the Plan and consider
consistency with action plans, policy and legislation by allowing for flexibility in the event of
statutory review of these guiding documents. The Plan Review Report will be prepared within
six months of the end of the reporting period (four consecutive financial years) from
endorsement of the Plan. The report will be provided to SEWPaC and also be made
publically available. The preparation of the Plan Review Report will follow the preparation
and submission of the Annual Report for that year to allow incorporation of its findings into
the Plan review.
It is anticipated there will be five Plan Review Reports prepared over the 20 year life of the
Plan.
The review will be undertaken by the ‘Plan Implementation Team’ and will include:

a summary of matters reported including actions undertaken, improvements to MNES
habitat, research findings and other issues as relevant, over the preceding four years as
reported in the Annual Reports for that period;

legislative or policy changes during the period that potentially affect actions under the
Plan;

any change in focus the Plan needs to adopt in order to take into account knowledge
gained through the Plan implementation or new knowledge from other sources relevant to
the protected matters in the context of Gungahlin;

recommendations for amending programs under the Plan in order to achieve greater
efficiency and or effectiveness in meeting the Plan’s objectives.
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The Annual Report which coincides every four years with the Plan Review Report will be
incorporated into the review report in order to minimise duplication in reporting effort.
5.2
Adaptive Management
One of the proposed indirect offsets detailed in Section 4.3.4 involves establishment of a
team to be charged with implementation of the Plan. This team, referred to in this document
as the ‘Plan Implementation Team’ will be responsible for monitoring, review and reporting
against the objectives of the Plan with respect to each of the actions described in Section 4.
The ‘Plan Implementation Team’ will be established on a framework of adaptive
management. This is described by the guide to undertaking strategic assessments
(Australian Gov’t, 2012b)31 as a systematic process for continually improving management
practices through learning from the outcomes of previous management. Figure 5.1 is
reproduced from the guide and illustrates the process of adaptive management.
Figure 5.1 – Adaptive Management Process
Source: Figure 2 in Australian Gov’t (2012b)
The monitoring, review and reporting process described in Section 5.1 provides for adaptive
management in the Plan.
31
Australian Government (2012b) A Guide to Undertaking Strategic Assessments: Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population and Communities (November 2012)
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5.3
CONSULTATION DRAFT
Evaluation and Monitoring
Dealing with Uncertainty
The Gungahlin Plan will operate for a period of 20 years during which the objectives
specified in the Plan must be met. Beyond the 20 year timeframe, programs established
under the Plan will be continued subject to successfully meeting stated objectives and the
prevailing imperatives of the day. It is anticipated that the financial component of the Plan to
be developed by the Plan Implementation Team would allow for the creation of a perpetual
fund to continue to enhance environmental management in the ACT following conclusion of
the Plan. Accordingly, while the programs described in the Plan may come to a close at that
time it is expected that the resources under the Plan would continue to provide benefit to
effective management of the reserved areas of the ACT and biodiversity in general.
The Plan would be funded through land sales and commitment of discretional spending by
ACT Finance over the life of the Plan. Accordingly, delivery of actions under the Plan would
be subject to development and sale of land either as direct sales through LDA projects or
from englobo sales.
The critical function of the adaptive approach to effective implementation and management
of the offsets is to allow for a feed-back of knowledge into the decision making process. This
allows for the Plan to be responsive to changes that may not have been anticipated. This
process allows for uncertainty to be managed over time. Uncertainty with respect to the Plan
would be associated with:

timeframe for implementation;

unforeseen influences and factors for which the Plan has limited ability to respond to; and

direct and indirect offsets where success is dependent upon assumptions of practicability.
Examples of uncertainties that may arise in relation to the Plan are summarised below:


Implementation timeframe. The timeframe for implementation of the plan will exceed by
many years the life of the current and any subsequent political term either at the Territory
or Commonwealth level. Uncertainty in this aspect relates to change of political will,
priorities and policy. Further to this, delivery of the full package of avoidance and offsets
and the resultant conservation gains as described under the Plan is also subject to
development of the areas retained for urban development. It is a perversity of the process
that conservation gains cannot be made without the funds acquired through impacts to
areas identified for urban development. Despite this, as the avoidance and offset
measures are tied to progress of development, if in the event that Gungahlin is not
developed to the extent described by this Plan, the conservation gains will be in
accordance with the EPBC Act offset Policy (Australian Gov’t, 2012a) and hence be:
o
built around direct offsets and other compensatory measures (indirect offsets) as
described in the Plan;
o
in proportion to the level of statutory protection that applies to the protected
matters; and
o
of a size and scale proportionate to the residual impacts on the protected matter.
Achievement of objective gains in habitat quality. While there is research that has
been undertaken elsewhere in Australia with respect to improvement in understorey
diversity of grassy ecosystems, this has not been accomplished on the scale proposed
under this Plan to the extent that the resultant community complies with a listed
ecological community. Despite a relatively high level of confidence that the objectives of
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the Plan can be met, there is uncertainty as to the specific amount of improvement in
habitat quality that might be achieved. This uncertainty will be addressed through the
adaptive management framework described in the preceding section.

Climate change. There is a level of uncertainty about the extent that climate change may
affect the conservation outcomes envisaged under the Plan. Given the long time frames
involved and the uncertainty associated with climate change predictions, it is difficult to
determine how climate change may further impact (either positively or negatively) or
increase pressure on issues associated with enhancement of the preserved vegetation
communities or individual species/habitats.
Notwithstanding, the approach proposed in the Plan is to focus on the conservation of
larger (and hence more viable) remnants of vegetation by enhancing the existing reserve
network with resulting improvements in connectivity, edge:core ratios and structural
functionality. This approach will encourage the development robust ecosystems with
greater resilience to climate extremes and the uncertainties of climate change.
Regardless of the uncertainties, the adaptive management framework on which the ‘Plan
implementation team’ will be established will ensure uncertainty is managed in a way that
ensures the delivery of conservation gains that are efficient, effective, timely, transparent,
scientifically robust and reasonable.
5.4
Compliance and Enforcement
Commitments made in the Plan regarding the protection and management of MNES will be
achieved through development of a program of implementation. The program will be
developed by the Plan Implementation Team in consultation with the relevant ACT
Government agencies with reference to the specific objectives in the Plan. The program of
implementation will provide the basis upon which all actions under the Plan are undertaken.
This will be prepared and submitted to SEWPaC for approval within two months of
establishment of the Plan Implementation Team.
As detailed in Section 5.1, the implementation of commitments made in the Plan regarding
the protection and management of Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES)
will be reviewed and reported on an annual basis. The review shall be undertaken by the
Plan Implementation Team as a part of the annual reporting process.
Findings of the review will be incorporated into the Annual Report and/or Plan Review Report
as appropriate in order that relevant improvements to implementation of the Plan can be
incorporated through the adaptive management process.
Further to the review of annual performance, the Plan Implementation Team will also engage
a third party auditor to investigate the financial aspects of the Plan’s implementation and to
report on the investment in MNES commitments described in the Plan. This will be prepared
in order that it can be included in the annual report which is the responsibility of the Plan
Implementation Team.
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References
6.0 References
ACT Government (1997) The A.C.T. Nature Conservation Strategy, Environment ACT,
Canberra
ACT Government (2003) Variation to the Territory Plan No. 130 North Gungahlin (the
suburbs of Bonner, Casey, Forde, Jacka, Moncrieff, Taylor and Part of Amaroo and
Ngunnawal).Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991. Accessed online:
November 2012. www.actpla.act.gov.au
ACT Government (2004a) Woodlands for Wildlife: ACT Lowland Woodland Conservation
Strategy. Action Plan No. 27. (Environment ACT, Canberra).
ACT Government (2004b) Canberra Spatial Plan. ACT Planning and Land Authority. March
2004. Accessed online: November 2012. http://www.actpla.act.gov.au
ACT Government (2005) A Vision Splendid of the Grassy Plains Extended: ACT Lowland
Native Grassland Conservation Strategy. Action Plan No. 28, Act Department of the
Arts, Heritage and Environment, Canberra.
ACT Government (2006) Variation to the Territory Plan No. 231, ACT Planning and Land
Authority, Canberra (August, 2006)
ACT Government (2008a) Territory Plan – Current Version R96, ACT Government, Canberra
(September, 2012)
ACT Government (2008b) Jacka Concept Plan. ACT Planning and Land Authority. Accessed
online: November 2012. http://www.actpla.act.gov.au
ACT Government (2009) Environmental Guidelines for Preparation of an Environment
Management Plan, ACT Environment Protection Authority (May 2009)
http://www.environment.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/153978/Environment
_Management_Plan_WEB.pdf
ACT Government (2010) Gungahlin Town Centre Planning Report, ACT Planning and Land
Authority, Canberra (November, 2010)
ACT Government (2011a) Background Paper 7: Housing, Environment and Sustainable
Development, Canberra (October, 2011). Accessed online (5/10/12):
http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/25680/Planning_Backgrou
nd07_Housing.pdf
ACT Government (2011b) ACT Population Projections by Suburbs and Districts: 2009-2021:
Gungahlin, Chief Minister and Cabinet Directorate, Canberra (June, 2011)
ACT Government (2011c) ACT Woodland Restoration Implementation Plan, Territory and
Municipal Services, Canberra (January 2011)
ACT Government (2012a) ACT Planning Strategy: Planning for a Sustainable City,
Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, Canberra (July, 2012)
ACT Government (2012b) Australian Capital Territory Indicative Land Release Programs:
2012-13 to 2015-16, Economic Development Directorate, Canberra (June, 2012)
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References
ACT Government (2012c) Draft ACT Nature Conservation Strategy 2012-22, Environment
and Sustainable Development Directorate, Canberra (September, 2012). Accessed
online (9/10/12): http://timetotalk.act.gov.au/storage/NCS%202012_text_V7.pdf
ACT Government (2012d) ACTMAPi: ACT Government Online Interactive Maps,
Environment
and
Sustainable
Development
Directorate,
Canberra.
http://www.actmapi.act.gov.au
ANZECC (1996) The National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological
Diversity, Report prepared by the Australian & New Zealand Environment &
Conservation Council, Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Sport &
Territories. Canberra.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) Gungahlin (SA3), QuickStats, viewed 5 October 2012
http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickst
at/80104?opendocument&navpos=220
Australian Government (1997) Nationally Agreed Criteria for the Establishment of a
Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative Reserve System for Forests in
Australia, a report by the joint ANZECC / MCFFA National Forest Policy Statement
Implementation Sub-committee, Commonwealth of Australia. Canberra.
Australian Government (2007) Draft Policy Statement: Use of environmental offsets under
the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of
the Environment and Water Resources. Canberra.
Australian Government (2009) Australia’s Strategy for the National Reserve System 2009–
2030, prepared by the National Reserve System Task Group convened under the
Natural Resource Policies and Program Committee; endorsed by The Natural
Resource Management Ministerial Council. Canberra (May 2009)
Australian
Government
(2011)
Interim
Bioregionalisation
http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/nrs/science/bioregionframework/ibra/index.html [accessed 12 Aug 2011]
for
Australia
Australian Government (2012a) Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
1999 Environmental Offsets Policy, Department of Sustainability, Environment,
Water, Population and Communities (October 2012)
Australian Government (2012b) A Guide to Undertaking Strategic Assessments:
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of
Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (November 2012)
Fallding M (2002) Planning Framework for Natural Ecosystems of the ACT and NSW
Southern Tablelands. Natural Heritage Trust, NSW National Parks and Wildlife
Service and Land & Environment Planning.
Gibbons P (2011) Potential biodiversity offset actions and sites for the Australian Capital
Territory, unpublished report for the ACT Office of the Commissioner for
Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Philip Gibbons, The Fenner School of
Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra (March
2011)
Gibbons P and D B Lindenmayer (2007) “Offsets for land clearing: No net loss or the tail
wagging the dog?” Ecological Management and Restoration 8:26-31.
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References
MacroPlan (2009) ACT Eastern Broadacre Economic and Strategic Planning Direction Study,
unpublished report to the ACT Planning and Land Authority (March 2009)
Manning AD, Shorthouse D J, Stein JL and Stein J A (2010) Technical Report 21: Ecological
Connectivity for Climate Change in the ACT and surrounding region. A report
prepared for the ACT Government.
NCDC (1989) Gungahlin Environmental Impact Statement, Final Statement, Commonwealth
of Australia, Canberra (January 1989)
NRMC (2010) Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030, Australian
Government, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and
Communities, Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council, Canberra.
Rutherford P (2011a) Strategic Biodiversity Conservation – Gungahlin District, ACT,
unpublished report to the ACT Department of Land and Property Services (April
2011)
Umwelt (2013a) Gungahlin Strategic Assessment Report, prepared for ACT Economic
Development Directorate and ACT Environment and Sustainable Development
Directorate, Canberra (March, 2013)
Umwelt (2013b) Preliminary Risk Assessment, Gungahlin Strategic Environmental
Assessment, prepared for ACT Economic Development Directorate and ACT
Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, Canberra (March, 2013)
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