More than twenty years after the introduction of our national nature law, biodiversity continues to be destroyed at alarming rates in Australia.

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), the Federal Environment Minister routinely approves projects that will forever destroy threatened species and habitat with the justification that the developer will compensate for that destruction by conserving a similar place elsewhere – an offset site.

This practice has allowed big polluters and nature-wrecking industries to continue with business as usual across Australia, while our unique wildlife and landscapes pay the real price.

The purpose of this investigation was to find out whether there really is integrity in how offset sites are legally protected.

The authors also argue that more fundamentally, there needs to be a shift away from the emphasis on offsetting as a response to environmental impacts. New ‘nature positive’ reforms proposed by the Albanese Government must prioritise strong, up-front protection of habitat if we are to halt and reverse the decline of nature in Australia. Where offsets are used they should be a genuine last resort, and compliance with conditions should be a key priority for the proposed new national regulator, Environment Protection Australia.

The government must also commit to addressing the legacy of the failures exposed by this report - auditing current offsets, taking enforcement action and varying conditions to require adequately protected offsets to be delivered to compensate for harm already done are all essential.