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Natural Heritage Trust

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PDF files

• Australian Capital Territory
  • Australian Capital Territory agreement (PDF - 56 KB)
  • Australian Capital Territory attachment A (PDF - 238 KB)
  • Australian Capital Territory attachment B (PDF - 626 KB)
  • Australian Capital Territory attachment C (PDF - 142 KB)
• New South Wales
  • New South Wales agreement (PDF - 56 KB)
  • New South Wales attachment A (PDF - 956 KB)
  • New South Wales attachment B (PDF - 627 KB)
  • New South Wales attachment C (PDF - 69 KB)
• Northern Territory
  • Northern Territory agreement (PDF - 56 KB)
  • Northern Territory attachment A (PDF - 884 KB)
  • Northern Territory attachment B (PDF - 628 KB)
  • Northern Territory attachment C (PDF - 118 KB)
• Queensland
  • Queensland agreement (PDF - 56 KB)
  • Queensland attachment A (PDF - 238 KB)
  • Queensland attachment B (PDF - 626 KB)
  • Queensland attachment C (PDF - 69 KB)
• South Australia
  • South Australia agreement (PDF - 56 KB)
  • South Australia attachment A (PDF - 238 KB)
  • South Australia attachment B (PDF - 626 KB)
  • South Australia attachment C (PDF - 831 KB)
• Tasmania
  • Tasmania agreement (PDF - 56 KB)
  • Tasmania attachment A (PDF - 238 KB)
  • Tasmania attachment B (PDF - 626 KB)
  • Tasmania attachment C (PDF - 76 KB)
• Victoria
  • Victoria agreement (PDF - 56 KB)
  • Victoria attachment A (PDF - 238 KB)
  • Victoria attachment B (PDF - 626 KB)
  • Victoria attachment C (PDF - 597 KB)
• Western Australia
  • Western Australia agreement (PDF - 56 KB)
  • Western Australia attachment A (PDF - 238 KB)
  • Western Australia attachment B (PDF - 626 KB)
  • Western Australia attachment C (PDF - 1234 KB)

About this document

The Natural Heritage Trust is the Government’s major environment and natural resource management initiative. The Trust funds a wide range of programs, each with its own goals and objectives, which put together, seek to reverse the decline in the quality of Australia’s natural environment. To establish a framework for the many different activities that are funded by the Trust, the Commonwealth entered into a partnership agreement with each state and territory government. These agreements meet a requirement of the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997. The Act was passed by Parliament in June 1997 and sets out the objectives of the Trust, what activities it encompasses and how the funds will be spent.

The partnership agreements set out the main purposes of the Trust, outline who is responsible for what, and provide details about the way in which the Trust will be delivered. The agreements are the foundations on which the activities of the Trust are built. An understanding of the partnership agreements will help anyone who is interested in the Trust to see how their own activities fit into the Trust as a whole.

The partnership agreements have four parts:

The agreement

sets out the principles of partnership, the roles of the Commonwealth and state governments, the financial arrangements which allow funds to flow for projects, the principles of delivery of Trust programs and other formal contractual points such as conflict resolution and review procedures. The agreement is almost identical for each and every state and territory. The agreement implements a requirement of the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997.

Attachment A

sets out details of the actual programs which are covered by the Agreement. Their goals, objectives, outcomes and performance indicators are all stated as well as more procedural things like administration and reporting. These are reflected in the Guidelines which are prepared each year. These are generally the same nationally although there are some differences state by state.

Attachment B

is a standard contract which will be used whenever Trust funds are paid by the Commonwealth to the state. It meets the legal requirements to ensure that the funds are well spent and can be accounted for. All states have the same contract.

Attachment C

varies state by state. This is where the state sets out the context in which Trust-funded activities fit within the state. The states each have their own priorities which reflect the state of their environments and their natural resource management challenges. In Western Australia for instance, salinity is the dominant issue and this is reflected in this part of the agreement.