FAQs

The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale is the fastest growing local government in Western Australia, with the population expected to nearly double in the next decade. This rapid growth brings increased demand for roads, transport, community facilities, and recreational spaces, many of which have been identified by the community as needing improvement. While these developments are essential, they can place pressure on our natural environment, particularly roadside vegetation.  To ensure we grow responsibly, the Shire is developing an Environmental Offsets Strategy to better understand and manage the environmental impacts of future projects, and to protect the natural values that make our Shire unique.

The Shire applies the ‘mitigation hierarchy’ as its primary method for reducing the environmental impact of a project. This hierarchy involves first avoiding, minimising or revegetating and rehabilitating the environmental features and ecological systems affected. This process is informed by a range of local strategies, policies, and plans that support native vegetation protection and guide land use.

Environmental offsets are actions taken to compensate for environmental impacts that remain after avoidance, minimisation and rehabilitation measures are applied to a project.  Environmental offsets must maintain equivalent value to the specific environmental value being affected. This means any losses  should be balanced by actions that support the same or a closely related environmental value. 

The overarching goal of environmental offsets under both State and Commonwealth legislation is to achieve a net-benefit to the impacted environmental value/s.  Acceptable offset types recognised by State and Commonwealth agencies include direct offsets that deliver on-ground environmental improvements, such as rehabilitation and revegetation works, land acquisition for conservation purposes, and financial contributions to support native vegetation revegetation and management. 

The Shire has identified 22 major road infrastructure projects that may impact environmental values over the next decade and potentially require environmental offsets. Based on available broadscale data, these projects are anticipated to impact a range of environmental values covering approximately 7.35 ha of native vegetation. However, detailed studies will be required to determine the extent of actual impacts which will inform Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design measures and final offset requirements.

While the Strategy will focus on estimating the impacts from its projects, it will also assist in identifying the overall availability and limitations of environmental offsets which will be useful for smaller projects and external proponents seeking to offset their projects within the Shire.  

This Strategy presents an offset matrix which contains a list of potentially viable offsets (Shire reserves) from low to high against the 22 project sites and their relative compatibility against the key environmental values impacted. This Strategy helped to identify 36 potentially viable offset sites, of which 14 rated low, 16 rated medium and six rated high. All potential sites will be subject to further investigation, including consideration of planning intent and community engagement where necessary.

The final decision on the Environmental Offsets Strategy will be made by the Council of the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale. Community feedback gathered through this engagement process will be carefully considered and used to refine the Draft Strategy and its Implementation Plan. Once the engagement period is complete and updates are made, the final Strategy will be presented to Council for formal endorsement.