About the NCT

Who is the Nature Conservation Trust of New South Wales?

The Nature Conservation Trust of New South Wales is a not for profit organisation set up under the Nature Conservation Trust Act 2001 to promote nature conservation on private land in New South Wales.

We endeavour to establish tomorrow's private reserve managers through buying, selling and protecting properties of high conservation value, supporting the owners to maintain and enhance their land's ecological values.

Our programs provide a powerful combination to enable real gains for conservation and biodiversity in New South Wales.

Establishing tomorrow's private reserve managers

- buying, selling & protecting special places -

What does the Nature Conservation Trust of New South Wales do?

The Nature Conservation Trust protects properties with high conservation values through our Revolving Fund, Conservation Agreement, and Stewardship Programs.

A rigorous assessment process of the ecological values of a property is undertaken prior to purchase under our Revolving Fund or inclusion in our Conservation Agreement Programs.
Our Revolving Fund Programs are used to buy high conservation value properties. The Nature Conservation Trust manages the property to maintain and improve its conservation and agricultural assets and then sells it to a supportive new owner with a Conservation Agreement (also called a Trust Agreement or Conservation Covenant) attached. All sale proceeds are returned to the Revolving Fund for future acquisitions. This process allows us to get a much greater conservation return for the initial investment.
The Conservation Agreement unites the new landholder and the Nature Conservation Trust to protect the environmental integrity and biodiversity of a property. As the Agreement is registered on the property title, it ensures protection of the land forever.
In contrast to our Revolving Fund Programs, our Conservation Agreement Programs allow us to work with existing landholders who are already committed to nature conservation and are keen to protect their own properties.
After the Conservation Agreement has been registered, the Nature Conservation Trust provides on-going support to the landholder through our Stewardship Program. We see this as a partnership between the Nature Conservation Trust and the landholder to manage the conservation values of the property into the future.

The Nature Conservation Trust is the only organisation operating a Revolving Fund in New South Wales with conservation agreements attached to property titles.

How was the Nature Conservation Trust of New South Wales established?

The Nature Conservation Trust of New South Wales commenced operations in early 2002. The following year the organisation received $2 million from the Australian and State Governments, enabling it to establish its Revolving Fund, and gained tax deductible status through an associated entity, The Nature Trust.

In 2003, the Nature Conservation Trust purchased its first two Revolving Fund properties - Euroka on the western margin of the New England Tableland south west of Inverell and Sandy Wells on the northern edge of the Warrumbungles National Park.

Further gains were made following the appointment of the Nature Conservation Trust's first full-time CEO in September 2004. The establishment of the organisation's office at Southern Cross University and the appointment of three new part-time staff in Lismore followed soon after.

In 2005, the organisation completed its first covenant for an individual landowner at Urunga, which effectively launched the Conservation Agreement Program.

Since then the Nature Conservation Trust has dramatically evolved, with a total of 18 staff, the head office now located on the Charles Sturt University campus in Orange, and additional offices in Lismore, on Charles Sturt University's Thurgoona campus, near Albury, and in Sydney.