Clearing codes Guide

Queensland’s vegetation management laws allow you to carry out many routine and low-risk clearing activities without requiring a development approval under an accepted development vegetation clearing code.

First, consider whether your proposed clearing qualifies as exempt clearing work. If not, your activities may be eligible to be carried out without a development approval if the proposed clearing can be done in accordance with one of the following codes:

• managing encroachment
• clearing for an extractive industry
• managing fodder harvesting
• clearing to improve agricultural efficiency
• managing regulated regrowth vegetation
• managing a native forest practice
• necessary environmental clearing
• clearing for infrastructure
• managing weeds.

This General guide to the vegetation clearing codes (PDF, 1.7MB) provides information that applies to all codes, including the requirement to notify us of your intended vegetation clearing activities before you start any clearing.

If your proposed clearing doesn’t fall into the above categories, consider other options for clearing native vegetation.

• Step 1 – Choose the right code

  Request a property report and vegetation map

  Before you start any clearing activities, we recommend you request a free property report and vegetation maps to help you identify which vegetation you are allowed to clear on your property.

  Request a property report and maps

  Once you have your property report, scan the list below for a code that matches your clearing purpose. Click on the code title to show details and download the code.

  If you're not sure of which code matches your clearing purpose or activity, refer to the overview beneath each code and the supporting documents.

  Once you have determined which code to use, make sure you read the code carefully and understand all the requirements. You should also read the General guide to the vegetation clearing codes (PDF, 1.7MB) and any guide specific to the code you plan to use. You can also view ‘how to’ videos at the bottom of the page.

  Note: Clearing Category X areas on freehold, Indigenous and leasehold land is exempt clearing work under the vegetation management framework. This means you don’t need to use one of the following codes to clear this land.

  Download your code

  Managing encroachment

  Code: Managing encroachment accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 210KB)

  Overview: The encroachment code covers clearing to manage encroachment.

  Encroachment means a native woody species has invaded an area of a native grassland regional ecosystem - to an extent that the area is no longer consistent with the description of the regional ecosystem. The most common example of encroachment is gidgee invading Mitchell Grass Downs.

  Some grassland regional ecosystems are not regulated under Queensland’s vegetation management laws and you do not need to notify the Department of Resources or apply for approval to clear in these areas. These unregulated grassland regional ecosystems are identified in the vegetation management regional ecosystem description database (VM REDD) with a structure category of 'grassland'. Grassland regional ecosystems that are regulated are identified in the VM REDD with a structure category of 'woody grassland'. To find the structure category of a mapped regional ecosystem on your property, enter the codes shown in your property report into the VM REDD.

  The encroachment code covers clearing within some woody grassland regional ecosystems that are regulated under Queensland’s vegetation management laws. Check your property report to see what regional ecosystems are present on your property, and then check if those regional ecosystems are included within the encroachment code (see Table 1 in Section 4 of the code).

  To clear under the encroachment code, you must also be able to demonstrate that encroachment has occurred. For information on how to do this, refer to Section 4.1 of the code.

  Applies to: Certain woody grassland regional ecosystems in Category B, C and R areas across Queensland. Category areas are shown on the regulated vegetation management map.

  Date of effect: 22 November 2023

  Supporting documents:

  • Self-audit sheet for encroachment code (PDF, 482KB)
  • Guide to using the encroachment code (PDF, 925KB)

  Clearing for an extractive industry (pit or quarry)

  Code: Clearing for an extractive industry accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 248KB)

  Overview: The extractive industry code covers clearing for an extractive industry purpose. This includes:

  • dredging material from the bed of any waters
  • extracting, from a pit or quarry, rock, sand, clay, gravel, loam or other material
  • screening, washing, grinding, milling, sizing or separating material extracted from a pit or quarry
  • carrying out work that is the natural and ordinary consequence of dredging, extracting and processing quarry materials.

  Under this code, clearing limitations apply per lot in a category B area. Once the limit has been reached, no further notifications can be made and no further clearing can be undertaken in a category B area on the lot under this code.

  Applies to: Native vegetation in Category B, C and R areas across Queensland. The code also applies to clearing in a Category X area to allow for dredging material from the bed of any waters. Category areas are shown on the regulated vegetation management map.

  Date of effect: 22 November 2023

  Supporting documents:

  • Guide to using the extractive code (PDF, 682KB)

  Managing fodder harvesting

  Code: Managing fodder harvesting accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 406KB)

  Overview: The fodder code covers clearing of native fodder species such as mulga where it is necessary to provide fodder for stock. The fodder code only applies to certain regional ecosystems, listed in Appendix 1 of the code.

  Applies to: Fodder species in Category B, C and R areas within the following local government areas:

  • Balonne
  • Barcaldine
  • Barcoo
  • Blackall Tambo
  • Bulloo
  • Diamantina
  • Goondiwindi
  • Longreach
  • Maranoa
  • Murweh
  • Paroo
  • Quilpie
  • Western Downs
  • Winton

  Category areas are shown on the regulated vegetation management map.

  Date of effect: 22 November 2023

  Supporting documents:

  • Guide to the fodder code (PDF, 530KB)
  • Self-audit sheet for fodder code (PDF, 444KB)

  Clearing to improve agricultural efficiency

  Code: Clearing to improve agricultural efficiency accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 161KB)

  Overview: The agricultural efficiency code covers clearing vegetation to improve agricultural efficiency. This includes clearing to:

  • straighten edges or margins of an existing cropped area
  • provide for installation of irrigation systems or maximise efficiencies of existing irrigation systems, within or adjacent to an existing cropped area.

  Under this code, clearing limitations apply per lot in a category B area. Once the limit has been reached, no further notifications can be made and no further clearing can be undertaken in a category B area on the lot under this code.

  The agricultural efficiency code is not for:

  • expanding an existing agricultural area
  • removing fragments, patches or islands of native vegetation within a cropped area
  • clearing to establish a new agricultural area.

  Applies to: Native vegetation in Category B, C and R areas across Queensland, in areas of existing agriculture. Category areas are shown on the regulated vegetation management map.

  Date of effect: 22 November 2023

  Supporting documents:

  • Guide to using the agricultural efficiency code (PDF, 859KB)

  Managing regulated regrowth vegetation

  Code: Managing regulated regrowth vegetation accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 301KB)

  Overview: The regrowth code covers the clearing of regulated regrowth vegetation (Category C and Category R areas) for the following purposes:

  • managing regrowth density
  • coordinated projects as defined under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971
  • agriculture
  • to address a public safety risk.

  Category areas are shown on the regulated vegetation management map.

  Other codes cover clearing regulated regrowth for:

  • agricultural efficiency (PDF, 161KB)
  • an extractive industry (PDF, 248KB)
  • fodder harvesting (PDF, 406KB)
  • infrastructure (PDF, 271KB)
  • managing encroachment (PDF, 210KB)
  • a native forest practice (PDF, 2MB)
  • necessary environmental clearing (PDF, 274KB)
  • weed control (PDF, 241KB)

  Applies to: Native vegetation in Category C and R areas across Queensland

  Date of effect: 22 November 2023

  Supporting documents:

  • Self-audit sheet for managing regulated regrowth vegetation – managing regrowth density (PDF, 491KB)
  • Guide to using the managing regulated regrowth code (PDF, 837KB)
  Managing a native forest practice (harvesting to create timber products)

  Code: Managing a native forest practice accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 2MB)

  Overview: The native forest practice code covers selective harvesting of native timber to produce value-added products (other than woodchips for export) for an ongoing forestry business.

  A native forest practice does not include plantation forestry, or the harvesting of sandalwood (Santalum lanceolatum).

  Applies to: Native vegetation in Category B and C areas across Queensland on freehold and Indigenous land. Category areas are shown on the regulated vegetation management map.

  Date of effect: 8 August 2014

  Necessary environmental clearing (land restoration, flood preparation, contaminant removal, channel diversion)

  Code: Necessary environmental clearing accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 274KB)

  Overview: The necessary environmental clearing code covers clearing of vegetation for the following purposes (defined in detail below):

  • land restoration
  • flood preparation
  • contaminant removal
  • channel diversion (Category C areas and Category R areas only).

  The code also allows clearing to provide access for these purposes.

  Land restoration

  Land restoration means activities to prepare, stabilise and rehabilitate an area of land degraded by any of the following:

  • soil erosion or instability
  • a salinity expression area
  • acid sulfate soils.

  Flood preparation

  Flood preparation means activities to reduce the likelihood or impacts of a flood. This includes removing obstacles in a waterway prone to flooding that are likely to exacerbate the impacts of a flood by impeding water flow.

  Contaminant removal

  Contaminant removal means activities to remove a contaminant, including pre-removal preparation works and post-removal stabilisation works. For the purposes of the code, a contaminant includes a gas, liquid, solid or energy source, including radioactivity and electromagnetic radiation, located outside its area of origin.

  Channel diversion

  Channel diversion means clearing that is necessary to divert a section of an existing natural watercourse or drainage feature in a way that replicates the existing watercourse or drainage feature. The new diverted channel redirects the flow of water, until it rejoins the original channel at a point downstream.

  Applies to: Native vegetation in Category B, C and R areas across Queensland. Category areas are shown on the regulated vegetation management map.

  Date of effect: 22 November 2023

  Supporting documents:

  • Self-audit sheet for necessary environmental clearing – land restoration and flood preparation (PDF, 555KB)
  • Guide to using the necessary environmental clearing code (PDF, 244KB)

  Clearing for infrastructure

  Code: Clearing for infrastructure accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 271KB)

  Overview: The infrastructure code covers clearing native vegetation to establish or expand infrastructure. Under the code, infrastructure includes:

  • boundary fences
  • internal fences
  • tracks
  • contour banks
  • drainage and erosion control structures
  • irrigation channels
  • other linear infrastructure (for example, a pipeline, telecommunication line or power line)
  • airstrip or helipads
  • telecommunication towers
  • other non-linear infrastructure (for example, residential housing, a stock yard or a dam)
  • firebreaks
  • fire management lines.

  Applies to: Native vegetation in Category B, C and R areas across Queensland. On dedicated roads only, the code also applies to clearing in a Category X area in certain situations. Category areas are shown on the regulated vegetation management map.

  Date of effect: 22 November 2023

  Supporting documents:

  • Guide to using the infrastructure code (PDF, 486KB)

  Managing weeds

  Code: Managing weeds accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 241KB)

  Overview: The weeds code covers clearing native vegetation to allow for the removal of weeds. Weeds are generally non-native plants and restricted or prohibited matter declared under the Biosecurity Act 2014, such as lantana (Lantana camara) and prickly acacia (Vachellia nilotica). Weeds also include a 'native and naturalised' plant that is not native to the bioregion and can be determined by looking at the census of the Queensland flora and fungi (updated annually by the Queensland Herbarium).

  The weeds code also authorises clearing of native vegetation to provide access to an area requiring weed control, where no suitable access exists.

  Applies to: Native vegetation in Category B, C and R areas across Queensland. Category areas are shown on the regulated vegetation management map.

  Date of effect: 22 November 2023

  Supporting documents:

  • Self-audit sheet for managing weeds (PDF, 535KB)
  • Guide to using the weeds code (PDF, 1.1MB)

  Video resources

  Measuring tree density

  This video guides you through the process for estimating the density of mature and immature trees in the area to be cleared.

  Duration 5:41

  Show/hide Transcript

  My name is Seamus Batstone and this is Scott Devaney. Today we’re going to do a tree stem density measurement using a rectangular plot.

  The plot’s going to be 100 metres long and it’s going to be 4 metres wide. So we’re going to roll out a central line tape 100 metres long, and then we’re gonna use a 2 metre long stick to count trees either side of that line.

  The 100 metres by 4 metres wide is 400 square metres, which is 1/25th of a hectare. We’re going to multiply the number of trees we count in that plot by 25 to get our number per hectare.

  Okay so the first part of measuring our tree density is we’ve got to get a measuring stick. So this stick I’ve already cut it down to 2 metres long. We want a 2 metre long stick.

  The other thing that we need to know is diameter at breast height is measured at 1.3 metres above the ground. So as you can see, I’ve already put this mark 1.3 metres along this stick so when I hold it there, I know that I’m in the right place to measure diameter.

  In terms of diameter for the eucalypts, Corymbias, Lophostemons and Angophoras in coastal areas, they’ve got to be 40 centimetres or more diameter at breast height to be a mature tree. Under that, they’re immature.

  In non-coastal areas, out west, if they’re 30 centimetres or more diameter at breast height then they’re mature; below that, they’re immature.

  For all other species, if they’re over 20 centimetres diameter at breast height, then those trees are mature. I’ve actually put those graduations on my stick. I put a 20 centimetre graduation, a 30 centimetre graduation if I’m working in western areas and a 40 centimetre graduation for when I’m working in coastal areas.

  And we’ll use those shortly when we’re doing our transect.

  So we found a representative area. This is a perfect point for our transect. To do the transect the hundred metres long you’ll either need 100 metre long tape or 100 metre long piece of rope, as long as you’re pretty certain about how long it is.

  What we’re going to do is take a GPS point at the start of the transect and at the end of the transect. And the actual transect line we’re going to take using a compass. That’s to ensure that it stays straight.

  So I’ll take my transect now. So I’m going to tie this off to make it easy on myself. I’ll tie it off close to the ground. Now just remember I’ve got to go about 40 centimetres over 100 metres because of I’ve lost that bit in tying it off. It’s a good idea to look back and just make sure that your line’s straight.

  Scott’s gonna give me a hand with booking today. It’s much easier if you’ve got an offsider to book them down as you yell them out. Righto Scott we’ll get into it.

  Okay so that’s a that’s a eucalypt. Remember to yell out the genus as you go. That’s a eucalypt, that’s in, Scott, that’s an immature tree. That’s an acacia but it’s dead, we won’t count that one, Scott. That’s an acacia, that’s an immature tree and that’s in. There’s a Lophostemon, Scott – that’s an immature tree, it’s in. This little Lophostemon, we better see if he’s over 2 metres tall; 2 metres, so he’s counted as in.

  This one’s pretty close to being mature. First off, we’ll just work out where 1.3 metres is – so that’s 1.3 metres on this tree – and then we’ll check his diameter. There’s our 40 centimetre graduation, and I can see that he’s just over 40 centimetres so he’s counted as a mature tree.

  That’s an immature tree, he’s just in. We’ll just keep going like this until we get to the end of our 100 metre transect.

  Okay, Scott, we’ve come to the end of our transect. We’ll tally these figures up now.

  Rightio let’s have a look. We’ve got 3 mature trees there in that eucalypt, Corymbia, Angophora, Lophostemon genus. So that’s 3. We didn’t get any other mature trees from another genus so the total of mature trees is 3.

  We got 39 eucalypt, Corymbia, Angophora, Lophostemon that were immature, counted. And we got 13 other species. So that gives us a total immature trees of 52 in our transect. You multiply those by 25, so 52 times 25 gives us an estimated 1,300 immature trees per hectare and 75, well 3 times 25 gives us 75 mature trees per hectare. And that’s our tree density.

  Some of the key things to remember are:

  • use a compass when you’re rolling out your tape or your rope just so that you keep a straight line
  • take a GPS point at the start and at the finish to show where you were
  • take some photographs of the site
  • remember to look up what a mature tree means in your area using the code that you’re using.

  Identifying habitat trees

  Before starting to clear, you’ll need to identify any habitat trees in the area. This video explains the requirements for habitat trees.

  Duration 1:51

  Show/hide Transcript

  Accepted development vegetation clearing codes allow Queensland landholders to manage specific low-risk clearing activities without the need to apply for a development approval.

  When working under a code, landholders are required to follow specific practices and meet certain requirements – for example, identifying any habitat trees in the area – before commencing any clearing activities.

  All habitat trees must be retained.

  There are also requirements to:

  • not damage a habitat tree
  • not mechanically clear within 5 metres of a habitat tree
  • not spray herbicide within certain distances from a habitat tree
    and
  • not leave woody debris within 2 metres of a habitat tree.

  By definition under the accepted development vegetation clearing codes, habitat trees include:

  • living trees with one or more visible hollows of 10 centimetres or more in diameter and positioned at least 2 metres above the base of the tree
    and
  • any tree that contains an active bird’s nest or the nest of a raptor or other bird that uses the same nest each year.

  Habitat trees are an important component of our regional ecosystems. They provide breeding sites, shelter, refuge and living places for numerous native animals.

  When undertaking clearing on your property, be sure to identify and retain habitat trees, and adhere to any required buffer distances in the codes.

  For more information on vegetation management or the accepted development vegetation clearing codes, contact the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.

  ---

• Managing encroachment (draft ony)

  Glossary

  The following technical terms and their definitions are essential to understanding this accepted development vegetation clearing code (code). Where used in the text, the terms are italicised and bold. All other terms in the text that are italicised and bold, and are not included in the below table have the meaning provided for in the Vegetation Management Act 1999.

  A list of terms defined in the Vegetation Management Act 1999 is available in the General guide to the vegetation clearing codes: Accepted development vegetation clearing codes..

  Term	Definition
  Aerial application	Is the application of herbicide from an aircraft or drone.
  Defining bank	Is the bank that confines the seasonal flows, but which may be inundated by flooding from time to time, and can be either: the bank or terrace that confines the water before   the point of flooding or where there is no bank, the seasonal high water line that represents the point of flooding.
  Diameter	Is the width of a tree trunk measured at 1.3 metres above the ground.
  Ecological processes	Is the range of natural processes which maintain an ecosystem, including but not limited to: hydrological processes soil development nutrient cycling chemical processes including storage of nutrients decomposition and cycling of organic matter pollination and seed production seed dispersal predator-prey relationships germination and recruitment of species the carbon cycle and stability of atmospheric carbon habitats for flora and fauna (such as particular   regional ecosystems, logs, rocks, debris, leaf litter, nectar, hollow bearing trees, food and shelter).
  Encroachment management burn	Is a burn that is planned and undertaken for the purpose of managing encroachment, and which restores the range of plant species, size classes, and vegetation densities typical of the regional ecosystem. Note: An encroachment management burn is not for the purpose of reducing hazardous fuel loads. Reducing hazardous fuel loads by fire under the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990, is exempt clearing work.
  Exempt clearing work	Has the meaning given in Schedule 24 (Dictionary) of the Planning Regulation 2017. Note: A list of exempt clearing work is available at: www.qld.gov.au.
  Grove	Is a patch of native woody vegetation present in historical imagery.
  Habitat tree	Is a living or dead standing native tree that contains either: one or more visible hollows positioned at least two metres above the base of the tree ( Habitat trees are used, or potentially used, by hollow-dwelling fauna) or an active bird's nest or the nest of a raptor or   other bird that uses the same nest   each year.
  Historical imagery	Is an aerial photograph or satellite image used to demonstrate encroachment that was taken more than 15 years ago.
  Landholder	Is (where relevant): the registered proprietor of freehold land a lessee of freehold   land, subject to the consent of the   freehold owner to make a notification a lessee of a lease under the Land Act 1994provided that the clearing is consistent with the purposes of the lease a sub-lessee of a lease under the Land Act 1994 subject to the consent   of the lessee to make a notification and provided that the clearing is consistent with the   purposes of the lease a licensee or   permittee under the Land Act 1994 provided   that the clearing is consistent with the conditions of the licence or permit the holder of the title or tenure to the land. Note: For the purposes of section 3 of this code, a reference to a landholder includes a reference to a third party who has notified to clear under this code in accordance with section 2 of this code.
  Landholder consent	Is any of the following: A written agreement between a third party and a landholder   to enter, access and undertake clearing or other works on the land. Another power or permit provided under a State, Commonwealth or Local law for an   officer or an entity to enter, access and undertake clearing or other works   on the land (for example section 102 of the Electricity Act 1994).
  Land zones	Are categories that describe the major geologies, associated landforms and geomorphic processes in Queensland. The land zone can be identified by the middle number in the three digit regional ecosystem identification code. For example, the regional ecosystem identified by the code 12.3.4 is in land zone 3.
  Mature tree	Is a native tree that is: a Eucalyptus,   Corymbia, Lophostemon or Angophora species   (‘gum’ or ‘box’ trees) with a single trunk or several trunks with a diameter of 30 centimetres or more another tree species such as a wattle, with─ a   single trunk with a diameter   of 20 centimetres or more; or several trunks with a diameter   of 25 centimetres or more. (If there are several trunks, add the diameters of the largest two trunks.)
  Mechanical clearing	Is the clearing of vegetation using any of the following methods: Slashing Brush cutting Machinery which disturbs the soil surface or   uproots woody vegetation.
  Pre-clearing photographs	Are photographs taken to document the presence of encroachment prior to clearing and retained as a record for auditing and compliance purposes.
  Recent imagery	Is an aerial photograph or satellite image used to demonstrate encroachment that was taken less than 15 years ago.
  Recognised best practice methods	Is a method recognised by a State or Federal government agency to prevent increased soil erosion and instability, stabilise soil erosion and instability and prevent increased sediment run-off. This includes a guide such as the Soil Conservation Guidelines for Queensland (3rd edition), a fact sheet or other advice published or provided by a State or Federal government agency.
  Regulated regrowth vegetation	Is vegetation contained in a category C area or category R area.
  Root-absorbed broad spectrum herbicides	Are broad spectrum herbicides that are primarily absorbed by the roots of plants, rather than the shoots. Examples of root-absorbed broad spectrum herbicides are hexazinone (Velpar) or tebuthiuron (Graslan). Glyphosate is not considered a root absorbed broad spectrum herbicide
  Salinity expression area	Is an area containing more than one of the following salinity indicators: Plant species tolerant of saline conditions, shallow water tables or poor   drainage (waterlogging) Wet areas in lower parts of the landscape or bare   soil (soil scalding) Dieback of larger trees in low, wetter parts of   the landscape (outside drought   conditions or the effects of fire) Salt accumulations on the surface (often white and powdery, sometimes crystalline) Areas of shallow   groundwater For example—Melaleuca spp. (in particular Melaleuca bracteata and Melaleuca quinquenervia), Sporobolus spp. (in particular saltwater or marine couch), Salsola kali (soft roly-poly), Sclerolaena spp. (in particular prickly roly-poly), Cyperus spp. (sedges), Juncus spp. (rushes), Atriplex spp. (saltbushes), Halosarcia spp. (samphires), Chloris spp. (Rhodes grasses), Cynodon dactylon (common couch), Enchylaena tomentose (ruby saltbush), Sesuvium portulacastrum (purslane), Tecticornia species (samphires), Phragmites spp. A water table less than five metres from the surface would generally be considered as shallow for this purpose. One mechanism to identify this is from a nearby bore.
  Seasonal high water line	Is the zone that represents the usual peak seasonal flow level, identifiable by deposition, debris or characteristic vegetation zonation.
  Self-audit	Is an assessment made either by the landholder, a person who cleared under the code on behalf of the landholder, or a third party to evaluate whether the clearing is consistent with this code, using the department’s self-audit form for Managing Encroachment, which is available at www.qld.gov.au.
  Soil erosion and instability	Is the occurrence of gully erosion greater than 30 centimetres in depth, landslips, a scarp, soil scalding or stream bank slumping.

  1 Introduction

  The Vegetation Management Act 1999 (the Vegetation Management Act), in conjunction with the Planning Act 2016 (the Planning Act) and subordinate legislation, regulates the clearing of remnant vegetation and regulated regrowth vegetation. This code, which was made by the Minister on

  5 June 2019 (effective 21 June 2019) in accordance with section 19O of the Vegetation Management Act and the State Policy for Vegetation Management, is approved as an accepted development vegetation clearing code under part 2, section 3 of the Vegetation Management Regulation 2012.

  Clearing in accordance with this code qualifies as exempt clearing work under schedule 21 of the Planning Regulation 2017.

  Note: Other legislation may also affect your intended vegetation management activities. Before you notify the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy (DNRME) of your intention to clear vegetation under this code, it is strongly recommended that you contact the relevant agencies listed in Appendix 1 to determine whether your proposed clearing activity is allowable under other local, state and federal laws.

  1.1 Purpose

  The purpose of this code is to regulate the clearing of remnant vegetation (category B areas) and regulated regrowth vegetation (category C areas and category R areas) to manage the encroachment of native woody vegetation into regulated grassland regional ecosystems, in accordance with requirements designed to meet the objectives outlined in section 1.3.

  Encroachment means a woody species that has invaded an area of a grassland regional ecosystem to an extent the area is no longer consistent with the description of the regional ecosystem.

  If clearing to manage encroachment does not comply with all of the requirements of this code, it is classified as either assessable or prohibited development under the Planning Act and may be subject to the relevant offence provisions. DNRME uses satellite imagery to monitor compliance with vegetation management legislation.

  Note: All sections of this code are mandatory and to ensure you are compliant with this code, you must satisfy the requirements in all sections. If your intended clearing will not comply with this code, you may be able to apply for a development approval. Contact DNRME on 135 VEG (135 834) for further information.

  1.2 Scope

  This code applies to the clearing of vegetation in category B areas, category C areas or category R areas8 only.

  This code applies over land that is any of the following tenure:

  • Freehold land
  • State-owned leasehold land granted for agricultural or grazing purposes issued under the

  · Indigenous land

  Land Act 1994(the Land Act)

  • Land subject of an occupation licence under the Land Act.

  This code only applies to the regional ecosystems listed in Table 1, section 4. This code does not apply to:

  · clearing in a category B area, category C area or category R area on:

  - a stock route

  - a road

  - state-owned leasehold land granted under the Land Act for purposes other than agriculture or grazing

  - other state land tenures such as a state lease, licence (other than occupation licenses under the Land Act), permit to occupy, trustee lease or trustee permit issued under the Land Act.

  • clearing that is inconsistent with a condition of a development approval that remains enforceable.

  Clearing of encroachment in exempt grassland regional ecosystems9 is not regulated by the Vegetation Management Act and can be undertaken without notifying under this code.

  1.3 Objective

  The objective of this code is that clearing to manage encroachment achieves the following environmental outcomes:

  • Restores and maintains regional ecosystems to their typical floristic composition
  • Prevents land degradation

  8 Any areas cleared under this code to manage encroachment will remain mapped as a category B area, category C area or category R area, as relevant, on the regulated vegetation management map.

  9 Exempt grassland regional ecosystems are those listed in Schedule 5 of the Vegetation Management Regulation 2012.

  • Restores and maintains ecological processes and biodiversity
  • Maintains of bank stability, water quality and habitat of wetlands, watercourses and
  • Maintains regional ecosystems.

  1.4 Commencement date

  This code became effective on 21 June 2019, replacing the previous code for Managing encroachment dated 2 December 2013.

  From the commencement date of this code, notifications made under the superseded code are no longer valid.

  If you wish to manage encroachment on your property using an accepted development vegetation clearing code, you will need to lodge a new notification and meet the requirements of this code.

  Note: Even if you have been managing encroachment under the superseded Managing encroachment code, to continue to clear you will need to notify under this code and comply with the requirements of this code.

  1.5 Assistance

  Queensland Government staff are available to help landholders meet their obligations so if – after reading this code – you have questions or want to make sure you are doing the right thing, contact DNRME by calling 135 VEG (135 834) or emailing vegetation@dnrme.qld.gov.au.

  2 Notification requirements

  Before any clearing is undertaken under this code, DNRME must be notified of your intended

  clearing activity by either:

  1. the landholder. This includes a person authorised to notify on the landholder’s behalf, such as someone who holds a power of attorney or
  2. a third party. For example, a mining company seeking to clear a utility corridor on private land..

  10 This includes a person authorised to notify on the landholder’s behalf, such as someone who holds a power of attorney

  Note: If you are a third party making a notification over someone else’s land, you need landholder’s consent to enter, access and undertake clearing or other works on their land.

  2.1 Notification process

  1. Complete the online or hard copy notification form, which requires that you provide certain information, including:
     1. contact details
     2. the lot on plan on which the activity is proposed
     3. the tenure of the property (i.e. whether freehold, leasehold, or other)
     4. information that clearly identifies the location of the intended clearing
  2. Lodge the completed form with DNRME.
  3. Receive confirmation of your notification from DNRME before commencing clearing.

  Note: If you are notifying online, you should receive an email within 10 minutes that confirms receipt of your notification.

  2.2 Notification limitations

  1. A notification is limited to a single lot. Each notification is limited to 400 hectares.
  2. A notification remains in effect for two years from the date DNRME issues confirmation of your notification. Notifications do not transfer on title. If you have recently purchased the property and intend to undertake clearing activities in remnant vegetation or regulated regrowth vegetation, you must first notify DNRME.
  3. If your property consists of multiple lots, you may lodge a notification for each lot.
     For example: Your property is comprised of two lots, and both have regional ecosystems in which managing encroachment can occur. It is possible to notify DNRME that you intend to manage encroachment on each lot, up to a maximum of 400 hectares on each lot.
  4. You may make a subsequent notification to clear to manage encroachment. However, before lodging the notification, you must undertake a self-audit to ensure that the clearing already undertaken has satisfied the code requirements. If the results of the self-audit indicate that your clearing is consistent with the requirements in this code, you may renotify. Otherwise, you should contact DNRME.
     For example: You notified DNRME of your intention to manage encroachment across an area of 400 hectares on 17 June 2019. You cleared the 400 hectares over the months from July to November 2019. You undertook a self-audit, and the results indicate your clearing was consistent with the code requirements. In August 2020 you need to manage additional encroachment. Because you have undertaken a self-audit, and the results indicate the area cleared satisfies the code, you can notify DNRME of your intention to manage encroachment across another area of your lot.

  3 Compliance requirements

  To comply with this code, you must do all of the following:

  1. Notify DNRME in accordance with the notification requirements (section 2 of this code).
  2. Conduct your clearing in accordance with all of the requirements (section 4 of this code).
  3. Keep all of the following records and make them available to DNRME upon request:
     1. pre-clearing photographs required by section 4.1, noting the date and associated GPS coordinates
     2. historical imagery and recent imagery used to demonstrate encroachment
     3. the name of the invading native woody species causing the encroachment issue
     4. for chemical clearing methods, the herbicide used and details on how and where it was applied
     5. if you have contracted another person to undertake the clearing on your behalf:
        1. contractor details (name, address, contact details)
        2. instructions to contractors, detailing location, date, time and species
  4. Keep all self-audit results, where relevant, and make them available to DNRME upon request.

  Note: To monitor your compliance with the code, it is recommended that you undertake a self-audit after clearing a small portion of the total area. If the results indicate that there are compliance issues, discontinue the clearing activity and contact DNRME for assistance or advice on how to proceed.

  4 Clearing requirements

  1. Under a single notification, the total area of any lot that is cleared to manage encroachmen must not exceed 400 hectares.
  2. Clearing is only permitted where both of the following apply:
     1. The area is a regional ecosystem listed in Table 1.
     2. A native woody species has invaded the regional ecosystem, to an extent that it is no longer consistent with the description of the regional ecosystem.

  Table 1: Regional ecosystems to which this code applies

  3.3.56	4.3.20	4.9.9	6.7.17	10.3.7	11.4.11
  3.3.60	4.9.7	5.7.9	9.8.5	10.3.8	11.8.11
  3.3.61	4.9.8	5.7.10	9.12.42	11.3.31	11.9.3
  3.12.32

  3. Encroachment of the invading native woody species within the regional ecosystem must be demonstrated in accordance with section 4.1.
  4. Clearing to manage the invading native woody species must then comply with all of the following:
     1. General clearing limitations in section 4.2
     2. Clearing method restrictions in section 4.3 (mechanical clearing), section 4.4 (chemical clearing) and section 4.5 (controlled burning)
     3. Soil and water quality protections in section 4.6

  4.1 Demonstrating encroachment

  Before notifying DNRME of your intention to clear under this code, you must be able to demonstrate that encroachment has occurred using the following process:

  1. Compare historical imagery and recent imagery which cover the same area and are at the same scale. The historical imagery and the recent imagery must exhibit both of the following:
     1. Evidence of scale
     2. Identifiable areas of woody vegetation, grasses and/or bare earth
  2. Identify encroachment by locating the invading woody vegetation present in recent imagery, that is absent in historical imagery.
  3. Locate four sites around the perimeter of the encroachment area on the ground representing each cardinal direction and record GPS coordinates at each site, noting the site and coordinates on the recent imagery.
  4. Take two pre-clearing photographs at each site in the following sequence:
     1. Photo one—taken facing away from the encroachment
     2. Photo two—taken facing towards the encroachment

  4.2 General clearing limitations

  When clearing, all of the following applies:

  1. Clearing must target the invading native woody species causing the encroachment.
  2. Clearing must retain both:
     1. habitat trees unless it is necessary to remove a dead habitat tree that poses a safety risk
  3. Clearing must not result in debris pushed up against any mature tree or habitat tree.
  4. Clearing must not occur within a grove, unless it is undertaken by controlled burning methods in accordance with section 4.5.

  4.3 Mechanical clearing

  Mechanical clearing is not permitted within any of the following areas:

  1. A riparian protection zone (Table 2)
  2. 10 metres from the trunk of a habitat tree
  3. 50 metres of an area of soil erosion or instability
  4. Slopes greater than five per cent
  5. A regional ecosystem that occurs on land zone 1

  4.5 Encroachment management burning

  For an encroachment management burn, all of the following applies:

  1. Prior to undertaking an encroachment management burn, all necessary fire permits must be obtained13.
  2. An encroachment management burn must be conducted in such a way (timing, weather, fuel load and lighting pattern) to limit the likelihood of damage to mature trees and habitat trees.
  3. An encroachment management burn must be undertaken in accordance with the fire guideline for the regional ecosystem, as outlined in the Regional Ecosystem Description Database (REDD) at www.qld.gov.au.

  Note: Burning to reduce hazardous fuel loads in accordance with a permit under the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 is exempt clearing work. You do not need to notify or conduct your burn in accordance with this accepted development vegetation clearing code when reducing hazardous fuel loads by fire under the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990.

  4.6 Soil and water quality protections

  When clearing, all of the following apply:

  1. Recognised best practice methods must be employed to:
     1. prevent increased soil erosion and instability resulting from the clearing
     2. stabilise soil erosion and instability which has resulted from the clearing
     3. prevent increased sediment run-off entering a wetland, watercourse or drainage feature as a result of the clearing
  2. Clearing must not occur within 100 metres of a salinity expression area.
  3. In land zone 3, where the elevation is less than five metres above sea level, top soil must not be mechanically disturbed to a depth greater than 30 centimetres.

  13 Fire permits can be obtained by contacting your local fire warden, Rural Fire Service Queensland.

  Appendix 1— Other relevant legislation

  Activity	Legislation	Agency	Contact details
  Interference with overland flow Earthworks, significant disturbance	Water Act 2000 Soil Conservation Act 1986	Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy (Queensland Government)	Ph: 13 QGOV (13 74 68) www.dnrme.qld.gov.au
  Indigenous cultural heritage	Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003	Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (Queensland Government)	Ph. 13 QGOV (13 74 68) www.datsip.qld.gov.au
  Mining and environmentally relevant activities Infrastructure development (coastal) Heritage issues Protected plants and protected areas Note: In Queensland, all plants that are native to Australia are protected plants under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, which endeavours to ensure that protected plants (whether whole plants or protected plants parts) are not illegally removed from the wild, or illegally traded. Prior to clearing, you should check the flora survey trigger map to determine if the clearing is within a high-risk area by visiting www.des.qld.gov.au. For further information or assistance on the protected plants flora survey trigger map for your property, please contact the Department of Environment and Science on 13QGOV (13 74 68) or email palm@des.qld.gov.au.	Environmental Protection Act 1994 Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995 Queensland Heritage Act 1992 Nature Conservation Act 1992	Department of Environment and Science (Queensland Government)	Ph: 13 QGOV (13 74 68) www.des.qld.gov.au
  Interference with fish passage in a watercourse, mangroves Forest activities Note: Contact the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries before clearing: any sandalwood on state-owned land (including leasehold land) on freehold land in a 'forest consent area' more than five hectares on state-owned land (including leasehold land) containing commercial timber species listed in parts 2 or 3 of Schedule 6 of the Vegetation Management Regulation 2012 and located within any of the following local government management areas-Banana, Bundaberg Regional, Fraser Coast Regional, Gladstone Regional, Isaac Regional, North Burnett Regional, Somerset Regional, South Burnett Regional, Southern Downs Regional, Tablelands Regional, Toowoomba Regional, Western Downs Regional.	Fisheries Act 1994 Forestry Act 1959	Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Queensland Government)	Ph: 13 25 23 www.daf.qld.gov.au
  Matters of National Environmental Significance including listed Threatened Species and Ecological Communities	Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999	Department of the Environment, (Australian Government)	Ph: 1800 803 772 www.environment.gov.au
  Development and planning processes	Planning Act 2016 State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971	Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning (Queensland Government)	Ph: 13 QGOV (13 74 68) www.dsdmip.qld.gov.au
  Road corridor permits	Transport Infrastructure Act 1994	Department of Transport and Main Roads (Queensland Government)	Ph: 13 QGOV (13 74 68) www.tmr.qld.gov.au
  Local government requirements	Local Government Act 2009 Planning Act 2016	Your relevant local government office

  ---

• Step 2 – Secure exchange areas for vegetation clearing

  Request a property report and vegetation maps

  Before you start any clearing activities, we recommend you request a free property report and vegetation maps to help you identify which vegetation you are allowed to clear on your property.

  Request a property report and maps

  The following accepted development vegetation clearing codes require you to legally secure an exchange area before clearing Category C and Category R vegetation above specified limits or in sensitive areas:

  • clearing for an extractive industry
  • clearing for infrastructure
  • managing fodder harvesting
  • managing regulated regrowth
  • necessary environmental clearing.

  If you are not using one of the codes listed above, go to step 3.

  If you need to secure an exchange area for your proposed activity, read the code for requirements and fill in the application form. The guides have information on legally securing an exchange area.

  • General guide to vegetation clearing codes (PDF, 1.7MB)
  • Guide to voluntary declarations under the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (PDF, 1.0MB)
  • Exchange area application form (PDF, 674KB)

  ---

• Step 3 – Notify us before clearing

  Request a property report and vegetation maps

  Before you start any clearing activities, we recommend you request a free property report and vegetation maps to help you identify which vegetation you are allowed to clear on your property.

  Request a property report and maps

  You must notify us before you start to clear under an accepted development vegetation clearing code. You can notify us online or using a hard-copy form.

  Do not start any clearing until you’ve received an email or letter from us confirming your notification.

  Who can submit a notification

  If you’re a landholder undertaking your own work, you can notify us yourself or have someone notify us on your behalf (with your written consent to do so).

  If you are making a notification to clear over someone else’s land, you need the landholder’s consent to enter, access and undertake clearing on their land.

  Information required for your notification

  When you notify us, you’ll need to provide the following information:

  • lot on plan of the land (from a rates notice, or the address checker)
  • tenure of the property (i.e. freehold, leasehold or other)
  • area to be cleared
    • for online notifications, you can draw the area using the online mapping tool, attach a scan of a map, or provide GPS coordinates
    • for hard-copy notifications, attach a map or provide GPS coordinates
  • the area (in hectares) to be cleared (the online mapping tool will measure area for you)
  • regional ecosystem(s) in which the clearing is proposed (from the property report).

  How to submit your notification

  You can notify us by either completing the online notification form or downloading a hard-copy version of the form and lodging it at one of our business centres.

  Online notification form

  Note: Not all clearing activities can be notified online. You will need to submit a hard-copy notification if you are clearing on a road or in a boundary watercourse under the codes for managing weeds, clearing for infrastructure, clearing for an extractive industry or necessary environmental clearing.

  Online notification form

  If you have any questions about completing the online notification form, you can watch our video below or contact us.

  Online notification form for vegetation clearing

  Duration 15:32

  Show/hide Transcript

  G’day. My name is Jake Maynard and I work in the vegetation management team for the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy.

  As you may be aware, in Queensland we have a range of accepted development vegetation clearing codes, which can be used by landholders to manage vegetation on their property through a quick, simple and free online notification process.

  There’s no application, no assessment and no fees involved. There’s a range of codes from fodder harvesting of Mulga, weed control, right through to clearing for property infrastructure.

  There’s been some myths doing the rounds recently that the notification process is long and complicated, but that’s actually not the case. So we’re here today to run you through the process and show you just how quick and simple it really is.

  We’ll use fodder harvesting as an example. So let’s find this online notification form you’ll need to fill out to use these codes.

  The online notification system can be found on the Queensland Government website. Once you’re on the website – that’s www.qld.gov.au – you can type some keywords in the search box. For example, ‘vegetation clearing notification’.

  Click ‘Search’ and you should get an option for accepted development vegetation clearing codes. Click on that, and on this page here you’ll find a link to the online notification system. – just here, the online form.

  You’ve also got the option of a hard-copy form, but the online form is a far quicker process. Click on that and we’re in.

  So this first stage of the notification process is just about pre-notification advice. It just lists out the key information that you need to speed up the process.

  Basically the first piece of information is your lot plan number. This will be available on your rates notice or on your property title or deed. You can then use this to download a vegetation property report from the Queensland Government website.

  This report will show you what type of vegetation is mapped on your property. Having this information on hand while you go through the notification process will drastically speed things up.

  So once we have that pre-notification information, we can get into it and click ‘Get started’.

  So the next step is entering your lot plan information. It’s a pretty simple one. You enter the lot on the left and the plan on the right and then click ‘Verify’. So the system will produce some information about your lot such as the area, the tenure, the local government area it occurs in, the vegetation categories on the lot and the bioregion.

  So after having a quick look at your lot plan information, click ‘Next’ and it’ll take you to the next stage of the process. This is a question asking you whether you’re the landholder of the property.

  So assuming you are, you can click ‘Yes’ and ‘Next’. Straight into the next step. After confirming that you’re the landholder in the previous step, you'll now be asked to enter relevant information.

  Once that’s all entered, hit ‘Next’. The system will then bring you to the next step in the process, which is selecting your vegetation category.

  The vegetation categories on your property will be shown on the property report that we recommended downloading before you start the process.

  There may be a range of categories on your property. For the notification I’m using, all we’ve got is Category B, so that’s the only one we can select. So we’ll select that one and then move ahead.

  The next step is selecting your clearing purpose. The list of clearing purposes you’ll get will depend on which vegetation categories you’ve selected in the previous step.

  Each clearing purpose corresponds to a clearing code. So in our example we’re notifying for fodder harvesting, which is authorised under the managing fodder harvesting code.

  At this point the system will tell you if you’ve made a previous notification on the same lot plan for the same clearing purpose. This comes into play in the next step as well.

  So in the next step it asks us whether we’ve done a self-audit of that previous notification which the system just brought up. If we have done a self-audit, all we need to do is click ‘Yes’ and then ‘Next’.

  If we haven’t done a self-audit, we’d have to click ‘No’ and the system wouldn’t let us proceed. So make sure if you have done a previous notification for the same clearing purpose, that you’ve done your self-audit for that, so you can click ‘Yes’.

  This next step is about selecting the regional ecosystems you’re proposing to operate in. You’ll have a drop-down list of regional ecosystems, which is generated by what’s mapped on your property. Again, what’s mapped on your property is found in the vegetation property report. Bear in mind that this list that’s provided here removes any regional ecosystems which cannot be cleared, managed or harvested for the clearing purpose you’ve elected to notify under. For example, because we’re notifying for fodder harvesting, endangered regional ecosystems have been removed from this list.

  So what we can select from these ones here – let’s select three for example and add them in. And let’s just say we added the last one by mistake – all you need to do is click ‘Remove’ and ‘Done’, then proceed to the next step.

  The next step you’ll get asked a couple of questions to ensure you’re able to clear for the purpose you’ve elected. For example, under the fodder code you can’t harvest the same area more than once in any 10-year period. So this screen, because we’re notifying for fodder harvesting, asks you to confirm that you will not be doing so. So let’s click ‘No’ here.

  The next step is providing an estimated harvesting area under the notification. If the code has a notification area limit, we can’t put a larger number than that in this field. The fodder harvesting code has a limit of 500 hectares, so let’s put that for now.

  Finally, you need to illustrate the location and extent of your proposed clearing area. This is where this online notification system comes in really handy. While you can also attach a scanned hardcopy map showing your proposed clearing area, you now have the option to draw your proposed clearing area on the online mapping tool.

  So out of these two options down here, if you click the top one it’ll produce a mapping tool, and highlighted in red is a lot plan that you entered earlier.

  First of all, try switching on ‘QLD Imagery’, which will bring up aerials or satellite imagery overlaying the property. This also helps you to identify the vegetation where you proposed your clearing to occur.

  So first of all, you’ve got two options to identify your proposed clearing area: there’s a polygon or a rectangle. So a rectangle just has 4 points to play with. A polygon is a bit more pliable, so let’s try that one.

  All you do is click wherever you want on the corner, and then click back on the first point to close it off. So in this one you can see that we’ve got a bit of the polygon outside the lot plan and the system will actually pull you up on this.

  So it mentions that your proposed clearing area needs to be completely within the lot plan. So to edit it, you click the ‘Edit’ button here and then you can pull these points back inside the lot plan. Then click ‘Save’ and that’s your proposed clearing area. So from this point you can click ‘Next’.

  The next step will ask you to acknowledge that you’ve read and are aware of your responsibilities under the code you’re notifying under. It also asks which records you’ve kept as part of this notification process. Make sure you read this page carefully and only click the acknowledgement box if you understand what is required of you.

  If you would like further clarification about that, check out the notification user guide or contact the Vegetation Management Hub on 135 VEG – that’s 135 834.

  But if you’re all good, you click acknowledge up here and you tick the records that you will have kept after this process.

  This next stage is the review stage. It gives you a chance to review all the information you’ve previously entered before submitting your notification. If required, you can easily correct any errors you find which were made throughout the process.

  If you’re happy with all the information you’ve entered, go to the bottom and hit ‘Next’.

  So here’s what we’ve all been waiting for. By clicking ‘Submit’ here, you’re confirming that all the details you’ve entered are true and correct and that you understand what’s required of you going forward. So all you need to do is click ‘Submit’ up here have a read of these statements here, and then submit your notification.

  After clicking submit, you’ll come to a page confirming that you’ve submitted the notification and it will provide you with the reference number. Importantly, you must only consider your notification as 100% complete once you receive a confirmation email as well.

  Here’s an example of a confirmation email. It should shoot through quicker than you can make a cup of tea. It’ll confirm for you all the information you entered throughout that notification process and also which clearing purpose and code you’ve notified for.

  If you use the online mapping tool to draw your proposed clearing area, this confirmation email will also include a couple of KML file attachments: one called ‘lot plan’, which represents the lot plan you’ve notified for, and another called ‘lodgement’, which shows that proposed clearing area that you drew earlier.

  Importantly, once you receive this confirmation email, it means you can go ahead and start operating under the notification; there’s no other authorisations you have to wait for.

  Now I’ll show you how to view those KML file attachments in the email confirmation in the Queensland Globe. The Queensland Globe can be found on the Queensland Government website, but the fastest way is probably just to type it in Google.

  So here all you need to do is tick the relevant boxes and follow the prompts to get started. Once the Queensland Globe has loaded up, we can simply drag and drop those KML files on top of Queensland. So I’ve saved those files onto my desktop. I’ll just minimise the window and I’ll start with the lot plan.

  So we just dragged the lot plan on to Queensland. The globe will think a bit and it’ll show the lot plan over some imagery in an orange-peachy sort of colour. Then grab your other one – the proposed clearing area that you drew earlier – and dump that on top of the lot plan and it will pull up that proposed clearing area.

  So bringing up these layers on Queensland Globe isn’t a mandatory step in the notification process, but it can help to make vegetation management decisions on your property because you can manipulate the layers.

  You can also bring up relevant vegetation management mapping layers such as the regional ecosystem map or the regulated vegetation management map.

  Let’s have a look at how to do this now. So on the left-hand side here, you click on ‘Layers’. Click ‘Add layers’. In the scroll down, find ‘Biota’ in brackets for flora and fauna, and drop that down here. In the drop-down list, find ‘Vegetation management information’. Drop that down. And in that list, you’ll have a heap of mapping layer options.

  So the first one we’ll look at is the regulated vegetation management map. You just click that on, and as you can see it’s turned the screen blue, which means the whole area is mapped as Category B, so it’s most likely remnant vegetation. We click that off, and click on the vegetation management regional ecosystem map, it will bring up all the regional ecosystem mapping underneath those relevant layers. You should also click on the regional ecosystem labels layer as well, and it’ll tell us exactly what regional ecosystems are sitting behind those mapping layers.

  So if we turn your lot plan and proposed clearing area layers off, we can also get a better view at what’s behind it. For example, up here there’s regional ecosystem 6.7.9 and 6.9.4. Down here there’s 6.7.14 and 6.7.9.

  And one final note about Queensland Globe and using these layers: if you use a GPS, depending on the model and its software, you may be able to export these files to the GPS unit to use them on the ground. It can also be done with some smartphones if you have reception on the property.

  To find out more about that process, you’ll need to investigate the user guides for your GPS unit or your phone.

  So as you can see, the online notification process is really quite quick and simple. It's been designed to ensure that landholders can manage vegetation on their property with minimal administrative burden.

  If you’ve got any further questions about the process, contact the Vegetation Management Hub on 135 VEG – that’s 135 834.

  Printable notification forms

  To submit a hard-copy notification form, download and print the relevant form below. You can lodge the completed notification form in person or by mail to any of our business centres. You can also email the completed form to vegetation@resources.qld.gov.au. There is no lodgement fee.

  • Clearing for an extractive industry
    Notification of intention to clear under the Clearing for an extractive industry accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 283KB)
  • Clearing for infrastructure
    Notification of intention to clear under the Clearing for infrastructure accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 315KB)
  • Clearing to improve agricultural efficiency
    Notification of intention to clear under the Clearing to improve agricultural efficiency accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 372KB)
  • Managing encroachment
    Notification of intention to clear under the Managing encroachment accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 291KB)
  • Managing fodder harvesting
    Notification of intention to harvest under the Managing fodder harvesting accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 389KB)
  • Managing a native forest practice
    Notification of intention to harvest under the Managing a native forest practice accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 201KB)
  • Managing necessary environmental clearing
    Notification of intention to clear under the Managing necessary environmental works accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 407KB)
  • Managing regulated regrowth vegetation (agriculture)
    Notification of intention to clear for agriculture under the Managing regulated regrowth vegetation accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 372KB)
  • Managing regulated regrowth vegetation (coordinated projects)
    Notification of intention to clear for coordinated projects under the Managing regulated regrowth vegetation accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 248KB)
  • Managing regulated regrowth vegetation (managing regrowth density)
    Notification of intention to clear for managing regrowth density under the Managing regulated regrowth vegetation accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 290KB)
  • Managing regulated regrowth vegetation (public safety)
    Notification of intention to clear for public safety under the Managing regulated regrowth vegetation accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 254KB)
  • Managing weeds
    Notification of intention to clear under the Managing weeds accepted development vegetation clearing code (PDF, 286KB)

  Wait for confirmation

  If you’ve notified us online, you should receive confirmation by email shortly after. If you completed a hard-copy form, we will confirm receipt by email or post.

  Do not start any clearing until you’ve received confirmation of your notification.

  If you don’t receive a confirmation, please contact us.

  ---

• Step 4 – Code compliance and recordkeeping

  Request a property report and vegetation maps

  Before you start any clearing activities, we recommend you request a free property report and vegetation maps to help you identify which vegetation you are allowed to clear on your property.

  Request a property report and maps

  You must ensure clearing is within the scope of the relevant accepted development vegetation clearing code and follow the requirements specified in the code. We may audit your property to monitor compliance with the code.

  If you don’t comply with the code, you could be committing an offence under the Planning Act 2016 (section 163).

  If another person is undertaking clearing on your behalf, you should:

  • ensure they see the notification confirmation before starting to clear
  • document and retain the instructions you give them
  • supervise their clearing activities to ensure they comply with the code
  • keep a record of their contact details.

  Recordkeeping requirements

  The clearing codes detail any additional recordkeeping requirements. You don’t need to submit these records, but you must retain them and make them available to us on request.

  We strongly recommend that you keep copies of any invoices provided by agents – for example, clearing contractors.

  Self-auditing

  To help monitor your compliance with the codes, we recommend that you (or the person clearing on your behalf) undertake a self-audit after clearing a small portion of the total area that you propose to clear.

  Some codes require that you complete a self-audit before lodging a subsequent notification. You don’t need to submit these with your notification, but you need to keep the results and make them available if we request them.

  Check your selected clearing code to access a self-audit sheet and other resources to help you comply with the code.

Clearing codes, 02 Apr 2024, [https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/management/vegetation/clearing-approvals/codes]

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-approvals/codes.