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 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.
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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.
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 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
Code: Managing encroachment accepted development vegetation clearing code
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 Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development 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:
Code: Clearing for an extractive industry accepted development vegetation clearing code
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:
Code: Managing fodder harvesting accepted development vegetation clearing code
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:
Code: Clearing to improve agricultural efficiency accepted development vegetation clearing code
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:
Code: Managing regulated regrowth vegetation accepted development vegetation clearing code
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
- an extractive industry
- fodder harvesting
- infrastructure
- managing encroachment
- a native forest practice
- necessary environmental clearing
- weed control
Applies to: Native vegetation in Category C and R areas across Queensland
Date of effect: 22 November 2023
Supporting documents:
Code: Managing a native forest practice accepted development vegetation clearing code
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
Code: Necessary environmental clearing accepted development vegetation clearing code
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:
Code: Clearing for infrastructure accepted development vegetation clearing code
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:
Code: Managing weeds accepted development vegetation clearing code
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:
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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, a declared area may be a suitable way to secure the area on title. Read the code for requirements and fill in the application form. The guide has information on legally securing an exchange area.
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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.
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.
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
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@nrmmrrd.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 - Clearing for infrastructure
Notification of intention to clear under the Clearing for infrastructure accepted development vegetation clearing code - Clearing to improve agricultural efficiency
Notification of intention to clear under the Clearing to improve agricultural efficiency accepted development vegetation clearing code - Managing encroachment
Notification of intention to clear under the Managing encroachment accepted development vegetation clearing code - Managing fodder harvesting
Notification of intention to harvest under the Managing fodder harvesting accepted development vegetation clearing code - Managing a native forest practice
Notification of intention to harvest under the Managing a native forest practice accepted development vegetation clearing code - Managing necessary environmental clearing
Notification of intention to clear under the Managing necessary environmental works accepted development vegetation clearing code - Managing regulated regrowth vegetation (agriculture)
Notification of intention to clear for agriculture under the Managing regulated regrowth vegetation accepted development vegetation clearing code - 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 - 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 - 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 - Managing weeds
Notification of intention to clear under the Managing weeds accepted development vegetation clearing code
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.
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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.
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, 12 Jun 2025, [https://oss-uat.clients.squiz.net/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://oss-uat.clients.squiz.net/environment/land/management/vegetation/clearing-approvals/codes.