2023–24 SLATS Clearing Report
Statewide breakdown
Key findings—clearing activity
- Clearing activity in Category X (unregulated) areas accounted for 75% (206,889ha) of the total clearing activity in Queensland, a 19% decrease from 2022–23 (254,647ha). Most of this resulted in full removal of the woody vegetation (190,480ha or 92% of all Category X clearing activity).
- About 22% (61,405ha) of the statewide clearing activity was in Category B (regulated remnant) areas—a 13% decrease from 2022–23 (70,799ha). About 62% (or 38,341ha) of the Category B clearing activity resulted in full removal of the woody vegetation.
- About 2% (4,876ha) of the statewide clearing activity was in Category C (high-value regrowth vegetation), a similar figure to 2022–23 (4,728ha). Less than 1% (1,249ha) was in Category R (regrowth watercourse area)—a 28% decrease from 2022–23 (1,725ha)
- About 1% (3,678ha) of the statewide clearing activity was in areas that have endangered regional ecosystems present, a 21% increase from 2022–23 (3,040ha). About 4% (10,075ha) of the clearing activity was in areas that have of concern regional ecosystems, and 20% (53,620ha) was in areas that have least concern regional ecosystems present, both decreases from 2022–23.
- Of the state’s 13 bioregions, the Brigalow Belt (53% or 145,844ha) and Mulga Lands (21% or 57,359ha) together accounted for nearly three-quarters (74%) of the state’s woody vegetation clearing activity. This is consistent with the past four SLATS reports.
- Clearing activity in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchment areas accounted for 43% (117,005ha) of the state’s total clearing. This is a decrease of 21% from 2022–23 (147,705ha). About 82% (95,707ha) of the clearing activity in GBR catchments resulted in the full removal of the woody vegetation.
- About 86% (235,935ha) of the statewide clearing activity was attributed to the pasture landcover replacement class. Of this, about 90% (213,154ha) was full clearing. A further 5% (14,759ha) of the clearing activity was attributed to forestry and about 60% (8,894ha) of this was partial clearing. Mine activity resulted in around 3% (7,025ha) of the state’s clearing activity, while infrastructure (3,178ha), crop (3,037ha) and settlement (994ha) landcover replacement classes each contributed 1% or less to the state’s total clearing activity.
On this page
Regulated vegetation management map categories
Clearing activity—regulated vegetation management map category 2023–24
Area of clearing activity in regulated vegetation management map categories in 2023–24.
Regulated vegetation management maps show the different vegetation categories that are present on a parcel of land. This information helps land managers determine the type of approval needed for vegetation clearing. The categories are as follows:
- Category A—vegetation that is subject to compliance notices, offsets and voluntary declarations
- Category B—remnant vegetation shown on a regional ecosystem or remnant map as an endangered regional ecosystem, an of concern regional ecosystem or a least concern regional ecosystem
- Category C—high-value regrowth vegetation
- Category R—regrowth watercourse area
- Category X—vegetation that is not generally regulated by the vegetation management laws.
For further information refer to General guide to the vegetation clearing codes (PDF).
Vegetation management class
Clearing activity—vegetation management class 2023–24
Area of clearing activity in vegetation management classes in 2023–24.
The vegetation management class refers to the current regulated extent of a regional ecosystem. The categories are endangered, of concern and least concern. No VM class refers to areas with no vegetation management class due to no regulated vegetation being present. For reporting here, the highest vegetation management class is used, regardless of the proportion present in regional ecosystem mapping. For example, where a mapped regional ecosystem contains least concern regional ecosystems as the dominant ecosystems, and an endangered regional ecosystem as subdominant, this will be reported as clearing in areas containing endangered regional ecosystems.
For further information refer to Biodiversity status and vegetation management class.
For further breakdowns of SLATS data in the context of the vegetation management framework, refer to the SLATS vegetation management analysis.
Bioregions
Clearing activity—bioregion 2023–24
Area of clearing activity in bioregions in 2023–24.
For further detailed breakdowns for each of the bioregions see breakdowns by bioregion.
Great Barrier Reef catchments
Clearing activity in Great Barrier Reef catchments 2018–19 to 2023–24
Area of clearing activity in Great Barrier Reef catchments from 2018–19 to 2023–24.
Landcover replacement class
Clearing activity—landcover replacement class 2023–24
Area of clearing activity in landcover replacement classes in 2023–24.
The landcover replacement class is determined as part of the SLATS mapping process. It provides an indication of the purpose for which the vegetation was cleared. Read more about this in SLATS methodology.
- Pasture is clearing activity associated with grazing and other general agricultural land management practices—this class includes clearing for pasture, internal property tracks, fence lines or fire breaks.
- Crop is clearing activity for cropping or horticulture.
- Forestry is clearing activity for timber harvesting in state or privately owned native or exotic (e.g. pine) forests or plantations (where it can be reliably attributed using authoritative data or other ancillary data sources).
- Mine is clearing activity for mining activities (including coal seam gas infrastructure).
- Infrastructure is clearing activity for utilities such as roads, railways, water storage, pipelines and powerlines.
- Settlement is clearing activity for urban development.
- Other refers to partial (minor) clearing activity that is not able to be reliably attributed to a landcover replacement class due to the low level of modification associated with these clearing events.