NSW Compliance Context — AHIMS, BioNet & Heritage Act

This article explains the key NSW government registers and legislative obligations relevant to ecological and heritage consultants, and how TerraSitu is configured to support compliance.

AHIMS — Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System

What it is: AHIMS is the NSW register of Aboriginal heritage sites, objects, and places, maintained by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). It records the location and significance of Aboriginal cultural heritage identified across the state.

When you need to submit data: After completing a survey under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act), you are required to submit your heritage survey findings to AHIMS if new sites or objects are identified. Submissions are reviewed by the Aboriginal Heritage Office.

How TerraSitu helps: Cultural heritage observations captured in TerraSitu include the fields required for AHIMS submission: site type (artefact scatter, rock art, midden, scarred tree, etc.), condition, significance assessment, GPS coordinates, and photographic evidence. When you export a heritage survey report, the register table includes columns in AHIMS-compatible order. Use Reports → Export → AHIMS CSV to generate a submission-ready file.

NSW State Heritage Register (SHR)

What it is: The SHR is maintained by the NSW Heritage Office and lists items of State heritage significance under the Heritage Act 1977. Listed items include buildings, landscapes, archaeological sites, and moveable heritage.

When it's relevant: If your survey area is near or overlaps an SHR-listed place, you may be working in a heritage-sensitive zone that requires additional consultation or approval. Surveys within a heritage curtilage may require a Heritage Impact Statement.

How TerraSitu helps: The NSW SHR reference layer is available under Settings → Reference Layers. When enabled on a project, the map displays SHR boundaries and triggers a proximity alert when observations are recorded within a configurable buffer distance of a listed item.

BioNet — NSW Biodiversity and Conservation Atlas

What it is: BioNet is DCCEEW's biodiversity database that records flora and fauna survey data across NSW. It is the primary repository for validated species occurrence records used in biodiversity assessments and planning decisions.

What BioNet requires for valid submissions: Surveys must include survey method, survey effort (hours and person-hours), observer names and qualifications, survey date and conditions, and GPS-verified coordinates for each record. Without effort data, records cannot be validated.

How TerraSitu helps: The survey record stores method, start/end time, and assigned researchers — effort hours are calculated automatically. Observer credentials are linked to user profiles. When you export from TerraSitu in BioNet-compatible format (Reports → Export → BioNet CSV), these fields are mapped to the BioNet submission template columns. Species records include ALA-sourced names, conservation status, and coordinate precision.

NSW Heritage Act 1977 and Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016

Heritage Act 1977: Governs the conservation of NSW's environmental heritage. Relevant obligations for consultants include the requirement to obtain approval before disturbing State Heritage Register items and the obligation to report chance finds of potential heritage significance.

Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Replaced the former threatened species legislation. It establishes the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (BOS), requires Biodiversity Assessment Reports (BARs) for many development proposals, and mandates survey standards (the Biodiversity Assessment Method, or BAM) for species and ecological community assessments.

How TerraSitu helps with the BC Act: Form templates for NSW ecology surveys include the BAM survey fields (vegetation community type, structural class, floristic quality). The species autocomplete draws from the NSW Threatened Species list. Conservation status alerts fire when a record is identified at Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable status under the BC Act.

Enabling NSW Reference Layers

To enable NSW-specific reference layers on a project:

1. Open the project and go to the Map tab
2. Click Layers → Reference Layers
3. Enable: AHIMS Sites, NSW SHR Curtilages, BioNet Threatened Species Ranges, and any other relevant layers
4. Layers can also be set as project defaults under Settings → Reference Layers → NSW Defaults