Queensland laws have reduced the regulatory burden on airports in seeking to mitigate wildlife impacts

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Developing InSight
3 September 2020
Standing authorisation replaces need for damage mitigation permits for Queensland airports
Overview
Recognising that some wildlife, such as birds and bats,
although protected under Queensland legislation, may
adversely affect airport operations, recent changes to
Queensland laws have reduced the regulatory burden
on airports in seeking to mitigate these impacts.
Some specified airports now benefit from a standing
authorisation to take protected wildlife in particular
circumstances, under amended Queensland laws. The
authorisation is in the new Nature Conservation
(Animals) Regulation 2020 which commenced on
22 August 2020. This means damage mitigation
permits will no longer be required for the purpose of
the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld).
However, there are limitations to the authorisation.
These are discussed in this update.
Applies to strategic airports only
The standing authorisation applies only to the 26 strategic
airports identified in the State Planning Policy, These
include Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast,
Townsville, Cairns and Mackay airports.
Airports and aviation facilities that are not strategic
airports, eg. at Jacobs Well, Ipswich, Goondiwindi, and
Toowoomba, do not benefit from the standing
authorisation. The requirement to hold a current damage
mitigation permit continues to apply to these airports if the
take, removal or relocation of wildlife is proposed.
Pre-conditions must be satisfied
Five pre-conditions must be satisfied for a strategic
airport to be able to rely on the authorisation to lawfully
take wildlife without a damage mitigation permit.
The authorisation to ‘take’ a protected animal, remove or
otherwise deal with an animal breeding place or relocate
the animal will operate only if each of the following are
satisfied:
 The animal is causing, or may cause, damage at an
airport and/ or its presence at an airport is, or may
be, a threat to a person’s health or wellbeing;
 The airport owner or employee/agent has made a
reasonable attempt to prevent or minimise the threat
(eg.by installing a fence or an audio/visual
deterrence device);
 That action has failed;
 The taking will not adversely affect the survival of
the animal in the wild; and
 The proposed way of taking the animal is humane.
Practical implications
The standing authorisation took immediate effect on
22 August 2020. Any existing damage mitigation permits
are essentially redundant.
It will be important for strategic airports to implement
appropriate risk management arrangements to evidence
their compliance with the pre-conditions.
Obligations under Commonwealth legislation still need to
be satisfied.
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