Native vegetation is critical for maintaining biodiversity, preventing land degradation and reducing Queensland’s carbon emissions.
Clearing in Queensland is regulated through the vegetation management framework. It applies to most land tenures, including freehold land, Indigenous land, leasehold land and occupational licences under the Land Act 1994.
This guide explains:
We regulate the clearing of native vegetation to:
Under the vegetation management framework, 'clearing' and 'vegetation' have the following meanings:
Clearing includes:
Clearing does not include destroying standing vegetation by stock, or lopping a tree.
Note: Lopping a tree means cutting or pruning its branches, but does not include removing its trunk; or cutting or pruning its branches so severely that it is likely to die.
Vegetation is a native tree or plant other than:
Learn how to determine what a native plant is (PDF, 891KB) for the purpose of the vegetation management framework.
The Department of Resources maintains up-to-date vegetation maps showing the extent and condition of vegetation across Queensland.
The vegetation management framework consists of the Vegetation Management Act 1999, the Planning Act 2016, and the associated regulations, policies and codes, including the State Policy for Vegetation Management (PDF, 281KB).
The framework allows the clearing of remnant vegetation and regulated regrowth vegetation where clearing is:
To ensure the framework is followed, we:
Remnant vegetation and regulated regrowth vegetation can only be cleared under an assessment category.
The table below shows the requirements that may apply to your proposed clearing activity. The assessment category that applies to your situation will depend on the purpose of the clearing, the tenure of the land, and what the vegetation is mapped as.
To determine which assessment category applies to your proposed clearing activity, request a property report and vegetation map to understand the type of vegetation on your property. These are free and can be requested online.
| Assessment category | Description | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Exempt clearing work | A range of routine property management activities. | There is no requirement to notify us or apply for approval. |
| Accepted development vegetation clearing codes | Codes apply to a range of low-risk clearing activities such as fodder harvesting and weed control. | To use a code, you’ll need to notify us before starting to clear then follow the requirements listed in the code. |
| Area management plans (AMPs) | AMPs are generally used to manage issues not addressed by an accepted development vegetation clearing code. They can also provide for a coordinated regional approach to a clearing activity (e.g. weed control) rather than a property by property approach. | To use an AMP, you’ll need to notify us before starting to clear then follow the requirements listed in the AMP. |
| Development approvals | If other assessment categories aren’t suitable, you might be able to apply for a development approval for operational works, material change of use or reconfiguring a lot. A development approval is a regulatory approval that must be obtained prior to commencing a development. | The framework only allows development applications to be made for certain purposes. You can seek a development approval by lodging a development application. |
If you have any doubt or wish to discuss options, contact us.
The Department of Resources monitors landholder compliance with the vegetation management framework using a range of measures including satellite imagery, audits and information provided by members of the community.
We use satellite imagery via the Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) and the Early Detection System (EDS) to identify changes in vegetation cover.
This allows us to proactively respond to address potentially unlawful clearing events and provide landholders with information around their vegetation management requirements.
Read more about SLATS and EDS.
We periodically undertake audits to promote compliance. We will always work with the landholder to seek their consent and negotiate access to their property if an on-site audit is proposed. Properties may be audited if, for example:
Clearing that is unexplained may be further investigated by authorised officers, and may result in a compliance or enforcement action.
To help ensure that your clearing activities comply with the vegetation management laws, you should always keep a record of any clearing activity on your property.
This could include a diary note of clearing operations, and, where relevant, completed self-assessment sheets, supported by before-and-after photographs from recorded locations, which clearly illustrate what has been cleared and when this was done. You should also document your instructions to operators and supervise any clearing activity undertaken by contractors.
Our compliance approach for natural resources seeks to support communities and industries, while also helping protect our environment.
We do this through:
We are continually strengthening and enhancing our compliance approach to help landholders comply with the vegetation management laws.
We may issue fines for unlawful clearing of native vegetation and/or require that the vegetation in those areas be restored. We may also investigate and prosecute more serious vegetation clearing offences and seek restoration of the vegetation in those areas. The court may also require offenders to pay court costs for both parties, where appropriate.
In some cases, an enforceable undertaking may be entered into as an alternative to prosecution or as a tool to require remedial action.
An enforceable undertaking is a voluntary binding agreement between the Department of Resources and a person to address a contravention of the Vegetation Management Act 1999 or the Planning Act 2016 relating to clearing of vegetation.
Although an enforceable undertaking is not an admission of guilt, it does commit the person to deliver on agreed environmental outcomes.
An enforceable undertaking is designed to secure timely and effective penalties and remedies in a non-adversarial way, providing constructive solutions with environmental benefits.
We will only accept an enforceable undertaking where we consider that the undertaking will:
Accepted enforceable undertakings will be added to a register and published on this page.
In addition to the vegetation management framework, clearing activities may also be regulated under other Queensland Government legislation, Australian Government legislation and local government requirements.
Under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, you may need a clearing permit before clearing protected native plants.
Exemptions may apply if your clearing:
See protected plants for more information.
Koala habitat protections only apply to lots in the South East Queensland Regional Plan area that contain mapped koala habitat areas. You can see if your property is affected by downloading a vegetation management property report.
If your property is in a koala habitat area, under the Planning Act 2016, you may need a development approval before interfering with koala habitat.
Exemptions may apply if your clearing:
Visit the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation's website for more information.
If the area you want to clear is on leasehold land, or land subject to a forest consent area, you should contact the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to ensure the state has no commercial interest in the timber.
You may need to obtain approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 if your proposed clearing has a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance, such as threatened species or ecological communities.
Some local governments have local laws or planning scheme requirements that also regulate clearing.
The main federal, state and local government requirements are listed above, but other legislation may have an impact on your proposed clearing. Ensure you contact the relevant agency to check requirements.
Understanding Queensland's native vegetation clearing laws, 28 Aug 2023, [https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/management/vegetation/clearing-laws]
This document is uncontrolled when printed. Before using the information in this document you should verify the current content on https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/management/vegetation/clearing-laws.