This audit would assess whether the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts; Snowy Hydro Limited; WSA Co Limited; National Intermodal Corporation Limited; and the Australian Rail Track Corporation Limited are effectively, efficiently, economically and ethically meeting relevant biodiversity offset obligations for the major infrastructure projects they are delivering.

Biodiversity obligations exist under relevant Commonwealth and state legislation to compensate for the impacts on native vegetation, communities and habitats for threatened flora and fauna species through biodiversity offset schemes. Schemes may permit calculated offset obligations to be met in various ways, including market-based tools. Those obligations exist in relation to the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project, Western Sydney Airport construction project, construction of the Moorebank Intermodal facility and the Inland Rail project.