FAQ's for Land Owners

Q1. What is a Trust Agreement?

A Trust Agreement is a voluntary conservation covenant provided by the Nature Conservation Trust of NSW. A Trust Agreement protects the natural values of the land in perpetuity.

Q2. What are some of the benefits to the environment of a property covered by a Trust Agreement?

All land conservation properties covered by a Trust Agreement help ensure a future for Australia's most treasured native animals, plants and landscapes. However the way they do so depends on the particular property.

Some rural properties protect the habitat of particular native animal and plant species threatened with extinction.

Others are contiguous with National Parks and boost their resilience by, in effect, increasing its size and ability to resist drought, climate change and other threats to biodiversity.

In other cases, conservation properties contribute to wildlife corridors so that, as the globe warms, species can survive by migrating.

And many properties form part of the National Reserve System, Australia's network of National Parks and other public and private "protected areas".

Q3. What are some of the benefits to the owner of a rural property covered by a Trust Agreement?

It depends on the particular rural conservation property but benefits can include:

§ Homes and home-offices;

§ Weekenders and city escapes;

§ Adventure playgrounds for horse-riding and mountain-biking;

§ Wilderness escapes for bushwalking and enjoying nature;

§ Sustainable farms and grazing properties;

§ Private "national parks".

Most properties covered by a Trust Agreement can be used for any sustainable/minimal environmental impact business activities such as health and meditation retreats or ecotourism.

In every case a property covered by a Trust Agreement helps ensure a future for Australia's most treasured native animals, plants and landscapes.

Q4. What are some of the features of conservation properties covered by Trust Agreements?

Each Nature Conservation Trust property comes with:

§ Dwelling entitlements and flexible land use zoning;

§ An easy-to-understand land title covenant Conservation Agreement and Plan of Management to help you look after the property;

§ Advice and support by Nature Conservation Trust experts based in Albury, Orange and Lismore;

§ Protection of the land in perpetuity so that your legacy is secure forever;

§ Opportunities for grants to enhance the natural values of the land.

Some properties have access to taxation concessions.

Q5. How many properties does the Nature Conservation Trust have for sale?

The NCT has acreage for sale throughout NSW, especially in the south of NSW around the Albury and in the north of NSW near Lismore.

At present, there are 13 properties including large sustainable farms, endangered box gum woodland bush blocks and wildlife-rich North Coast wetlands.

New rural land properties are being acquired and will be available for purchase soon.

Q6. How many properties has the Nature Conservation Trust sold?

Nine land title covenant conservation properties have been sold in NSW (with one more presently going to contract).

Q7. What type of people are owners of properties covered by Trust Agreements?

Owners include an expert in eBusiness and information infrastructure, a financier, ecologist, farmers, company directors, a doctor, an engineer, an accountant and a pilot.NCT rural properties are attractive to hobby farmers and city folk who like to have a bush block weekender within a few hours of home. Likewise people interested in sustainable agriculture and horiculture might be interested in a rural property with high conservation value as an investment property or simple as their own private nature reserve for camping, bushwalking and bird watching.

Q8. What is the cost impact of a Trust Agreement on property value?

Where the property is being sold by the NCT the cost impact has already been taken into account in setting the sale price. In other cases the impact of the Trust Agreement is very specific to the particular land in question. For example, a recent Queensland study indicated that the price impact of a statutory conservation land title covenant (which is similar to a Trust Agreement) was negligible in most cases but could have a significant negative impact on the resale value if the property lacked a residential dwelling envelope or curtailed agricultural or subdivision potential.

Q9. Is there a rates exemption for a property covered by a Trust Agreement?

There is no automatic exemption but local shires and councils can grant rates exemptions if they choose. The Nature Conservation Trust helps owners lobby shires and councils to obtain rates exemptions.

Q10. Can I get tax deductions for a property covered by a Trust Agreement?

There are some tax deductions available for land covered by Trust Agreements. Please speak to the Nature Conservation Trust for general information but you will need to speak to accountant before lodging a tax return/deduction.

Q11. Can I get funding for land covered by a Trust Agreement?

Grant funding is available from Catchment Management Authorities and other government agencies from time to time. Funding may also be available from the "Conservation Partners" small grants program run each year by the Nature Conservation Trust, National Parks Foundation, Paddy Pallin Foundation, Humane Society International and NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.

Q12. What responsibilities do owners of properties covered by Trust Agreement have?

Owners of properties have similar responsibilities to owners of any acreage or rural land including reasonable control of pests and weeds and the spread of wildfire. The Nature Conservation Trust can provide general advice on these environmental land management issues and contacts to experts in government.

Q13. Does a Trust Agreement affect property rights?

No. Trust Agreements are voluntary and only applied to the land with the agreement of the owner at the time. However, the Trust Agreement does bind all subsequent owners.

Q14. What is the Nature Conservation Trust?

The Nature Conservation Trust of NSW is a not-for-profit organisation committed to private land conservation. The Nature Conservation Trust uses a combination of the best science available and sound commercial skills to protect special places, forever.

Q15. How does the Nature Conservation Trust work?

The Nature Conservation Trust identifies important tracts of private land, buys them and covers them with Trust Agreements. The properties are then on-sold to like-minded private owners who want to protect and manage their acreage for its natural value. The Nature Conservation Trust uses the rural land sale proceeds to buy and protect more high conservation value land. This Revolving Fund helps drive the conservation dollar further.

The Nature Conservation Trust also provides Trust Agreements on private lands already being managed with conservation in mind through the Nature Conservation Trust Covenanting Program.

Q16. How is the Nature Conservation Trust different to other environmental NGOs? What is unique about the Nature Conservation Trust?

The Nature Conservation Trust is unique amongst conservation organisations in NSW because it is creating an ever-growing network of landowners and privately-owned properties that protects NSW's unique native animals and plants for future generations.

Q17. What has the Nature Conservation Trust achieved?

Trust Agreements now protect 25,000 hectares of private land providing habitat protection for:

§ 62 animals threatened with extinction in NSW, including the squirrel glider, gang-gang cockatoo and flame robin;

§ 38 plant species threatened with extinction in NSW, including the Coolamon and swamp foxglove; and

§ 11 ecological (vegetation) communities threatened with extinction in NSW, including box gum grassy woodlands.

Q18. As landclearing has been ended in NSW, does a Trust Agreement really have an environmental benefit?

Yes. Trust Agreements have a big environmental benefit because private land conservation helps to control other major forms of habitat loss like commercial firewood collection, unsustainable grazing, cultivation and fertiliser use, subdivision and incremental clearing, and groundcover loss. These forms of habitat loss have a major environmental impact and are largely unregulated under the Native Vegetation Act. Preventing these activities allows nature to regenerate, providing more habitat for native animals and plants.

Q19. Is the Nature Conservation Trust a government or semi-government agency?

The Nature Conservation Trust is a non-government organisation established by an Act of the NSW Parliament.

Q20. Where does the Nature Conservation Trust get its money from?

The Nature Conservation Trust receives funding from the NSW Government and Commonwealth Government. It has also received funding for work carried out by it for the Central West, Hawkesbury-Nepean, Lachlan, Murray and Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authorities and the Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW. The Nature Conservation Trust of NSW has charity status and raises donations from generous private individuals.

Q21. Is the Nature Conservation Trust efficient/does it provide value for money?

Yes. The Nature Conservation Trust's revolving fund is very efficient because properties are on-sold and the money is used to purchase more high conservation value land. There is no wastage of funds, every cent is put back into private land conservation and biodiversity protection.

Q22. How do I know that future property owners will comply with the Trust Agreement?

Each time a Trust Agreement is established the Nature Conservation Trust puts money in trust to pay for landowner assistance and rural property management & monitoring into the future.

Q23. What happens to the protected land if the Nature Conservation Trust goes out of business?

Each time a Trust Agreement is established the Nature Conservation Trust puts money in trust to pay for landowner assistance and property monitoring. If the Nature Conservation Trust went out of business it would transfer the money to another organisation which could carry on the work.

FAQ's for Land Owners

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