Australia’s new Nature Repair Market

Abstract

In December 2023, the Australian government passed landmark legislation, the Nature Repair Act 2023 (Cth) (Act), which established the Nature Repair Market (Market), creating a national market to incentivise biodiversity enhancement and protection. Ecosystem restoration has become a global movement in the past decade, and the Market represents one of Australia’s first major legal initiatives to address this.

The “nuts and bolts” of the Market are contained in its regulations, the Nature Repair Rules 2024 (Cth) (Rules), the project methodologies—of which one has already been adopted, for replanting native forest and woodland ecosystems—and the Biodiversity Assessment Instrument (BAI). The Market is set to expand, with several further methodologies in the pipeline. The first project was registered under the scheme in August 2025.

Property, planning and environmental lawyers need to consider the impact and opportunities of the Market, because it creates novel contractual and property law considerations for landholders and investors. In addition to helping clients transacting to create, sell or purchase biodiversity certificates, lawyers will also need to consider due diligence in various situations, such as property conveyancing, leasing, mortgage financing and planning approval applications where land may be subject to obligations associated with the Market.

Citation

Brugler, S. (2025). Australia’s new Nature Repair Market (Doctoral dissertation, The Nature Conservancy Australia). https://www.liv.asn.au/web/law_institute_journal_and_news/web/lij/year/2025/12december/australias-new-nature-repair-market.aspx