We’re the only bank in the world with a conservation reserve – it’s one way we’re using the business of banking to create a healthier planet. Our reserve is home to 225 native plant and 234 native animal species.
The reserve is a group of four properties in Western Victoria, outside Horsham. They’re under a conservation covenant with Trust for Nature, which means they’re protected from development forever.
The impact of colonisation and agriculture in Victoria’s western Wimmera region means the native ecology is particularly vulnerable to emerging threats, like climate change.
We’re working with our partners Greening Australia and Trust for Nature, plus Traditional Custodians Barengi Gadjin Land Council, our reserve neighbours and local CFAs to ensure the reserve is a thriving and collaborative example of science-based conservation in action.
We've expanded the Conservation Reserve
We’ve made an exciting major investment, a new conservation reserve. Salvana is 1190 hectares, taking the total amount of land we have under conservation to 2117 hectares – more than double the existing size of the reserve.
We’re significantly scaling up the impact we will make to protect these precious landscapes and the threatened plant and animal species that inhabit them.
Read why we purchased Salvana or 5 things you’ll discover at the new conservation reserve site.
Why a Conservation Reserve?
We bought the first property in 2008, to act on our customers’ concerns about climate change and to offset the impact of our lending for construction and motor vehicles. For example, we protect land on the reserve equal to the size of the building lots of all new home constructions we finance.
The Bank Australia Conservation Reserve has grown hugely since 2008, in size and scope. We’re making tangible steps towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through our relationships and actions on the reserve.
The reserve also supports our planet through:
- Protecting culturally significant sites
- Providing ecosystem services to the wider landscape
- Providing a buffer to the Little Desert National Park
- Providing food and habitat for endangered species
- Protecting significant Mallee and Wimmera ecosystems
- Storing biodiverse carbon
Our 10-year strategy
In 2017, after six months of working with our partners Trust for Nature and Greening Australia, we released Reimagining the Future, our 10-year strategy for the Bank Australia Conservation Reserve.
Our strategy outlines five action areas:
- Wildlife and land conservation
- Climate change resilience
- Engaging the community
- Demonstrating corporate environmental leadership
- Delivering value to Bank Australia and our customers
We also identified priority threatened plant and animal species to protect, to provide a clear focus for land management.
We report on our work in our annual Impact Report so you can see how we’re tracking.
History of our conservation reserve
August 2008
We purchased our first Conservation Reserve property at Minimay at 201 hectares.
May 2010
We bought the Ozenkadnook property, bringing us to 437 hectares.
April 2011
We bought the Minimay North property, making the reserve 657 hectares.
December 2011
The Minimay West property joined, bringing the total to 760 hectares.
August 2012
We added the Booroopki property, bringing us to our current total of 927 hectares.
Late 2012
We'd protected 590 hectares of remnant native vegetation (the type with the highest conservation value).
2016
We grew our focus from carbon sequestration towards restoring biodiversity. This changes the way we do conservation and how we measure success.
2016-17
We counted! And recorded a total of 274 plant species.
December 2016
We'd revegetated 350 hectares of native food sources and habitat for endangered species such as the South Eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoo.
July 2017
We partnered with Greening Australia to manage the reserve.
2017
We released our 10-year strategy, Reimagining the Future.
2018
We won the Banksia (Large Business) Award, in partnership with Greening Australia and Trust for Nature, for our reserve’s 10-year strategy.
Autumn 2019
We commissioned the Barenji Gadjin Land Council to conduct a Cultural Heritage Survey to reveal culturally significant sites across our properties.
July 2019
We commissioned the University of Melbourne to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment for protecting the reserve and our neighbours.
July 2019
We began our reserve’s Indigenous trainee programme to further integration Indigenous Land Management to the reserve.
October 2019
We began the process for our first Traditional cool burn – a gentle practice for reducing pests and fire risk, and for Traditional Custodians to reconnect with a key practice of caring for Country.
December 2019
We reached 100 hectares of land offset from our construction loans, which are currently growing at a bit over 10% per year in area.
December 2019
We got results from the eDNA testing of our wetlands and dams to help us restore these to their natural, healthy state.
January 2020
We had our first bushfire from a lightning strike. With the support of our local neighbours, the CFA responded to the fire before it caused significant damage.
2021
Bank Australia purchase Salvana, a new conservation reserve site. This purchase doubles the size of land under conservation.
