Recovery plan for the brush-tailed rock-wallaby - Department of ...

Approved NSW Recovery Plan Brush-tailed rock-wallaby
2 Legislative context
2.1 Legal status
The brush-tailed rock-wallaby (BTRW) is currently listed as endangered in the NSW Threatened
Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act) and vulnerable in the Commonwealth Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The BTRW is also listed as
vulnerable in Queensland, extinct in the Australian Capital Territory, and critically endangered
in Victoria.
Before this species was listed as endangered in the TSC Act, the population of BTRWs in the
Warrumbungle Ranges in the Coonabarabran District in central northern NSW was listed as an
endangered population in the Act. A recovery plan for that population has been prepared and is
being implemented (NPWS 2003).
2.2 Recovery plan preparation
The TSC Act provides a legislative framework to protect and encourage the recovery of
threatened species, populations and ecological communities in NSW. The Act includes specific
requirements for issues which must be addressed in recovery plans and the administrative
process for preparing them. This plan satisfies these requirements and sets the priorities for and
direction of BTRW conservation and management in NSW.
A draft recovery plan was prepared and publicly exhibited in August 2005. A report on the
submissions made regarding the draft recovery plan was prepared for the Minister for Climate
Change, the Environment and Water as required under section 62 of the TSC Act. Advice
received from the NSW Scientific Committee appears in Appendix 2 as required under section
66A of the TSC Act. The approved recovery plan has been amended in response to the public
submissions, new information and changes to natural resource management in NSW.
This recovery plan has been prepared with the assistance of a recovery team who represent a
non-statutory group of interested parties with relevant expertise. Components of the plan do not
necessarily represent the views or the official positions of all the individuals or agencies
represented on the recovery team. The information in this recovery plan was accurate to the best
of the knowledge of the recovery team on the date it was approved.
2.3 Recovery plan implementation
The TSC Act requires that a government agency must not undertake actions inconsistent with a
recovery plan. The NSW government agency responsible for implementing this plan is the
Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW (DECC). DECC will liaise with other
government agencies and authorities regarding assistance, and approval, for specific
implementation measures. Other parties relevant to this plan are the NSW Department of
Primary Industries (Forests NSW) and Rural Lands Protection Boards.
The TSC Act binds the Crown (section 142) and requires public authorities to implement any
recovery plan (section 69). Section 50 binds public authorities to have regard to any declared
critical habitat. The regulations may prohibit certain actions by any person or body on critical
habitat (section 51).
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