Accepted development vegetation clearing codes

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

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.

Some new codes were introduced on 7 February 2020 as a result of the Queensland Government’s review of koala conservation measures in South East Queensland. If you have previously notified us of your clearing activities, please check to see whether the code you were clearing under has changed. If so, you will need to clear under the new code. Check the code description for details on the current code and when the code came into effect.