SEB credit
SEB credit is generated when an area of land is managed to protect and significantly improve native vegetation condition or extent. Any landholder may manage an area to gain SEB credit, if the site meets the eligibility criteria within the SEB Policy. Refer to the SEB Credit Guide for Landholders for more information about how SEB credit is generated and used.
Register a potential SEB credit site
If you are interested in setting up an SEB credit site, but you are unsure if your site is eligible, or you don’t know if anyone will buy your credit, you can initially apply to the Native Vegetation Council for recognition of a “potential credit site”. Use the Application to Register a Potential Credit Area. If the site is eligible, it will be listed on the Native Vegetation Credit Register at no cost.
If a clearance applicant is interested in the SEB credit your site may potentially generate, they will contact you. You (or the clearance applicant) can engage an accredited third party broker if you do not want to be involved in the negotiation or transaction process.
If you wish to proceed to sell SEB credits, you must first have the site assessed and gain approval for the credits by following the process in “Establish and assign SEB credit”.
Establish and assign SEB credit
Establishing an SEB credit site incurs a fee to apply. Additionally, you must enter into a 10-year management plan and be prepared to manage the site once it is approved (whether SEB credits are sold or not).
Refer to the section on “Register a potential SEB credit site” above if you are not yet ready to manage the site but would like the site listed on the Native Vegetation Credit Register. Registering a potential SEB credit site is optional and has no cost.
To gain approval from the Native Vegetation Council to establish an SEB credit site and sell credit, follow the steps below.
- Engage an Accredited Consultant to formally assess the vegetation at the site and help develop a draft management plan. The assessment and plan will determine the number of SEB credit points that the site is likely to generate. Submit the accredited consultant’s assessment and draft plan with an Application to Establish and/or Assign SEB Credit form, to the Native Vegetation Council.
- The Native Vegetation Council will assess the application and if approved, your contact details, site details and SEB credit points will be listed on the Native Vegetation Credit Register.
- If a clearance applicant, or other person, wishes to purchase your SEB credit, then you (as the credit holder) must submit an Application to Establish a SEB Area and Assign Credit to the Native Vegetation Council. The form must show how much SEB credit is to be ‘assigned’, to whom and for what purpose (noting that SEB credit may be used to offset clearance or be held for future use, or retired voluntarily to support conservation).
- If approved, you and the relevant clearance applicant (where relevant) will be informed by a Decision Notification; the credit transaction and reduction in SEB credit will be noted on the Native Vegetation Credit Register.
If an application for SEB credit is approved, the credit site owner will need to protect the site by entering into either a Management Agreement or Heritage Agreement with the Minister for Environment and Water (as determined by the Native Vegetation Council).
Once an SEB credit site is approved, the management actions outlined in the management plan for the SEB site must be implemented. An annual progress report is required to be sent to the Native Vegetation Council with photopoint photos to show vegetation condition. Other monitoring may be required for large sites.
