You can undertake specified clearing to prepare for, or respond to, emergencies and natural disasters without notifying us or applying for a permit. The information on this page explains more about disaster and emergency situations (like severe weather events) and the types of clearing you may be able to undertake on your property.
Clearing native vegetation can be regulated by local, state and the federal governments. Before you start clearing, check with your local council to understand any by-laws that may apply to your land, as they are unique to each local council and are in addition to the regulations found here. This page outlines the Queensland Government native vegetation clearing regulations found in the Vegetation Management Act 1999 and Planning Act 2017.
Current disaster situation declaration areas and advice
To assist with the impacts of the severe flooding event in North Queensland, the Queensland Government is providing tree clearing exemptions to support clean up and recovery. This applies for 1 year following the disaster declaration made on 1 February 2025.
If you live in any area local government area where a disaster declaration has been made you won't need to get approval or notify us if the clearing is necessary to prevent or minimise any of the following:
loss of human life
property loss or damage
damage to the environment.
On freehold and leasehold land, you can also undertake clearing without a permit or notification:
to maintain existing infrastructure including buildings, fences, roads, stockyards and vehicular tracks – this includes removing fallen trees and woody debris
to create a necessary road or vehicular track up to a maximum 10 metres wide in a 'least concern' regional ecosystem (you can check the ecosystem of your property by requesting a vegetation management map).
Vegetation along and within watercourses in Great Barrier Reef catchments is generally regulated under the vegetation management framework and plays an important role in the protection of the health of the reef. The extent of any works or clearing in or near a watercourse should be minimised or avoided where practical. We recommend you contact us before commencing any works in or near a watercourse.
If the government has formally declared your district a disaster situation area under the Disaster Management Act 2003, you don’t need to get our approval or to notify us if the clearing is necessary to prevent or minimise any of the following:
loss of human life, or illness or injury
property loss or damage
damage to the environment.
This applies for 1 year following the disaster declaration.
You can also remove fallen woody debris from existing tracks, roads, fire management lines and firebreaks.
Clearing exemption dates in disaster declared areas
Severe flooding event in North Queensland—January and February 2025
Local government area
Date declared
Exemption valid to
Townsville and Innisfail districts Burdekin Shire Council, Charters Towers Regional Council, Flinders Shire Council, Hinchinbrook Shire Council, Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council, Richmond Shire Council, Townsville City Council, Cassowary Coast Regional Council
1 February 2025
1 February 2026
Cleaning-up after emergencies (e.g. severe weather events)
You are able to clear some vegetation and fallen trees on your property to support severe weather event clean-up and recovery.
You also do not need to notify us or seek approval for:
clearing that is necessary to remove or reduce the imminent risk that vegetation poses to serious personal injury
clearing that is necessary to remove or reduce damage and imminent risk to infrastructure.
On freehold and leasehold land, you can also undertake clearing:
to maintain existing infrastructure including buildings, fences, roads, stockyards and vehicular tracks – this includes removing fallen trees and woody debris
to create a necessary road or vehicular track up to a maximum 10 metres wide in a 'least concern' regional ecosystem (you can check the ecosystem of your property by requesting a vegetation management map).
Other clearing under a code or development approval
You may be able to undertake other clearing to mitigate the impact of natural disasters using an accepted development vegetation clearing code.
These codes are self-assessable. You must notify us before starting to clear, and make sure you follow the requirements listed in the code. The codes in the following table have relevant provisions.
For any clearing beyond this scope, you’ll need to apply for a development approval.
Clearing for natural disasters using a clearing code
