ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ACT 1999 - SECT 305 Minister may enter into conservation agreements

Commonwealth Numbered Acts

Minister may enter into conservation agreements

(1): Subject to subsection (2) the Minister may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, enter into an agreement, expressed to be a conservation agreement, with a person for the protection and conservation of biodiversity in the Australian jurisdiction, including:

(a): the protection, conservation and management of any listed species or ecological communities, or their habitats; and
(b): the abatement of processes, and the mitigation or avoidance of actions that might adversely affect biodiversity.

: Note: When the Minister is considering entering into a conservation agreement, the Minister must take into account any responsibilities of other Commonwealth Ministers that may be affected by the agreement.

(2): The Minister must not enter into a conservation agreement unless satisfied that:

(a): the proposed agreement will result in a net benefit to the conservation of biodiversity; and
(b): the proposed agreement is not inconsistent with a recovery plan, threat abatement plan or wildlife conservation plan.

(3): For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), in deciding whether a proposed agreement will result in a net benefit to biodiversity conservation, the Minister must have regard to the prescribed matters (if any).
(4): A conservation agreement must not cover all or part of a Commonwealth reserve.
(5): Under subsection (1), the Minister may enter into a conservation agreement covering land with one of the following persons who has a usage right relating to the land:

(a): an indigenous person;
(b): a body corporate wholly owned by indigenous persons;
(c): a body corporate established by or under an Act for the purposes of holding for the benefit of indigenous persons land vested in it by or under that Act;
(d): the trustee of a trust that holds land for the benefit of indigenous persons.

This does not limit subsection (1).

(6): The Minister must take account of the following when entering into a conservation agreement as described in subsection (5):

(a): paragraph (j) of Article 8 of the Biodiversity Convention;
(b): paragraph (c) of Article 10 of the Biodiversity Convention;
(c): paragraph 4 of Article 18 of the Biodiversity Convention;
(d): objective 1.8.2 of the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity, published by the Commonwealth in 1996.

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