Vegetation Offsets: a means of generating additional income while effectively managing your land.

All too often these days, landowners are being approached by resource companies seeking access to conduct activities that may disturb the landholder's grazing or farming enterprise possibly having a lasting negative impact on the land.  Recently, however, we have been assisting some landowners to enter into a new type of arrangement with resource and infrastructure companies that compensate landholders for managing the vegetation on their land. The companies engage landowners to manage the vegetation on their land in accordance with a vegetation management plan.

If your land contains quality regrowth or remnant vegetation, offsets may prove beneficial to your enterprise. Generally, areas suitable for offsets need to:

1. be larger than two hectares in size;
2. adjoin existing remnant vegetation; and
3. contain minimal weeds.

Under the Law, companies undertaking an offset project are required to secure their offset.  To do so, they will seek to enter into a legal agreement with the owner of the land on which suitable vegetation is to be preserved and managed.   In order to establish an offset area, a resource company will require security for the offset, usually by way of registration of a voluntary declaration on title. Furthermore, for the term of the agreement there will be restrictions on how you use your land.

For advice or information on vegetation offsets or for the review of any documentation, please contact Sarah Bell or Andrew Palmer at Rees R & Sydney Jones Solicitors on (07) 4927 6333.