How do I get a Biodiversity and Vegetation Management and Monitoring Plan (VMP)?

A Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) in NSW and Victoria provides guidance to land holders and developers on how to manage and improve the condition of vegetation within an area. Based on the region and the context a VMP, it might also be called a property vegetation plan (PVP) or a native vegetation precinct plan (NVPP), or a Vegetation Rehabilitation Plan.

Biosis’ Vegetation Management Plans will provide concrete, quantifiable, and scheduled goals and strategies to mitigate any immediate impact on important vegetation along with ongoing conservation, restoration, and maintenance activities to allow for the long-term maintenance of native bushland and biodiversity on the site.

Vegetation Management Plans Vegetation Management Plan are often required as a condition of consent for development, with the VMP applying to vegetation to be retained within the development site.  A VMP helps to mitigate the impacts of a development site on bushland and habitat and in some contexts, helps protect and manage important native vegetation and habitats on a proposed development site.

A VMP is likely to be needed where development proposals impact, either directly or indirectly, on land identified for environmental protection or where an authority requires one as a condition of consent.

• In Victoria, a VMP will be required for a permit to remove, destroy, or lop native vegetation on all properties over 0.4 hectares.
• In NSW, local councils may require a VMP as part of a Development Application (DA) or Planning Application. If the development is within proximity to a waterway a VMP is also required for a Controlled Activity Permits under the NSW Water Management Act 2000.

The plan may include activities to be undertaken over several years, preceding, during, and following the development.

Step 1. Biosis ecologists will review background documents and public databases which contain information relevant to your area and its surrounds.
Step 2. Biosis ecologists will complete some investigations in the field to provide accurate details on any significant biodiversity (flora, fauna, and habitats) present within the property area and to establish a baseline for the current condition of vegetation within a site.
Step 3. Biosis and GIS spatial mapping teams and ecologists will identify, list, and create the relevant maps, showing site locations, footprints, and plant community types and threatened ecological communities.
Step 4. Biosis will write a VMP report on your behalf, responding to the mandatory requirements for the assessment of your project proposal.

Biosis’s reports are designed to provide you with concrete insights and recommendations while providing the consent authority with all the necessary details to assess your project’s proposal.

A Vegetation Management Plan developed by Biosis includes the following information, responding to all mandatory requirements:

• An introduction, presenting the proposal, the VMP scopes and objectives.
• A description of the methods used to develop the MVP from the desktop research to an on-site assessment.
• A site description, listing vegetation communities, their habitats, with a particular focus on threatened and priority species, present on the site or around.
• Methods to regenerate or rehabilitate vegetation. This section details specific and concrete management actions that the developer should engage in, including mitigation actions during construction or rehabilitation works.
• A detailing of costs arising from the plan.
• A schedule of work and reporting requirements.
• Note the VMP will be written to include proposed activities to be implemented over a specific period. Often this is between 3-5 years, however this may be dictated by the project specific requirements or in consultation with a proponent.

With decades of experience, Biosis has one of the most experienced ecology teams in Australia, with expertise across all fauna species and botanical eco-systems, and over 50 consultants working collaboratively across our Victorian and New South Wales offices.

In Victoria, Biosis botanists hold Vegetation Quality Assessment (VQA) method competency checks from the Victorian Government, and in NSW, Biosis consultants have Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM) accreditation. We have experience in a range of ecosystems from urban environments to remote alpine and semi-arid regions across all of Victoria and NSW.

Biosis also offers an integrated GIS service, thanks to an expert GIS team spread across our local offices.

This enables us to facilitate more efficient and accurate field data collection, quick review of existing Government data sets, and high-quality detailed maps, supporting the mandatory presentation requirements of your VMP to consent authorities.

How long does it take to create a Vegetation Management Plan?

The time and cost of developing a VMP is dependent on your project, the size of the project site, and its location.  The process from data collection, review and management planning can typically take at least 4-6 weeks. However, this can vary depending on the complexity and the scale of the site.

Who can implement the Vegetation Management Plan?

Typically, you as the developer, or whoever inherits the reserved land (e.g. council) would engage a contractor or revegetation expert to implement the VMP that Biosis consultants have prepared.

Biosis consultants will write your plan with consideration of relevant legislation such as:

• NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
• NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
• Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
• NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.