Most clearing jobs in Gippsland are simple enough. A paddock has gone back to scrub, a fence line needs opening up, or a gully has filled with blackberry. Victoria does regulate the removal of native vegetation, though, and if clearing goes ahead without the right approval, it's the landholder who's responsible.
This is what we'd check before any machine starts. It's general information and not legal advice. Your council's planning department has the final word on your property, and a quick call to them before work starts is always worth it.
Native vegetation needs a permit, unless an exemption applies
In Victoria you generally need a planning permit to remove, destroy or lop native vegetation. The rule is Clause 52.17, which sits in every council's planning scheme. "Native vegetation" covers more than most people expect. Trees count, and so do native shrubs, groundcover and grasses.
In Gippsland, these are the plants that catch people out:
- burgan and tea-tree, dense native regrowth that looks like scrub
- native grasses in old paddocks that haven't been cultivated for years
- paddock trees, including dead ones, which can be habitat
Weeds are a different story. Blackberry, gorse, hawthorn and other introduced species aren't native vegetation, so clearing them doesn't need a native vegetation permit. Where they're tangled through native scrub, though, the native plants in the mix still count.
The exemptions landholders rely on
Clause 52.17 lists situations where you don't need a permit. Each one comes with conditions, and on land with certain planning overlays some may not apply. On rural jobs, these come up most often.
Native regrowth less than 10 years old can be exempt, subject to the conditions in the clause. Paddocks that have only recently reverted often fit here, so dates and old aerial photos matter. Clearing to the minimum extent needed for fire protection, such as fire breaks and the 10/30 rule, is also covered, and so is limited clearing to maintain an existing fence or build a boundary fence, within set widths. Vegetation that you or a previous owner planted, like a windbreak or a plantation, is generally treated differently from remnant bush.
The 10/30 rule applies in designated bushfire prone areas. If your house was built, or approved, before 10 September 2009, you can clear any vegetation within 10 metres of it, and any vegetation except trees within 30 metres. It doesn't cover newer houses, it doesn't let you clear outside your own boundary (a roadside reserve, for example), and in a Bushfire Management Overlay different distances apply. Your council can confirm whether your house qualifies.
Overlays can add rules
A lot of Gippsland properties carry planning overlays. A Vegetation Protection Overlay, Environmental Significance Overlay or Significant Landscape Overlay can require a permit for clearing that the general exemptions would otherwise allow. To see which overlays apply to you, search your address on VicPlan, the state's free planning map.
Weeds you are required to control
For some plants, clearing is an obligation. Under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994, landowners must take all reasonable steps to prevent the growth and spread of declared noxious weeds on their land.
Blackberry is regionally controlled in both the West Gippsland and East Gippsland catchments, and it's a Weed of National Significance. Gorse is also a declared weed across Gippsland. Authorities can issue a directions notice requiring a landowner to deal with either of them. Our guide to blackberry control in Gippsland covers how to clear it and keep it from coming back.
Water, slopes and buried services
Work in or beside a waterway, including crossings, culverts and bank clearing, can need a works on waterways permit from the catchment management authority. Depending on where you are, that's West Gippsland CMA or East Gippsland CMA.
Bare soil on Gippsland's hills washes away quickly. On slopes, a clearing method that leaves the ground covered, such as mulching, is often the better choice. We compare the two main methods in forestry mulching vs dozer clearing.
Land near waterways, and some landforms, can be an area of Aboriginal cultural heritage sensitivity. If you need a permit, the council will tell you whether a cultural heritage management plan is required.
Rural blocks often have power, phone or water lines in places nobody remembers. Lodge a free Before You Dig Australia enquiry before any ground disturbance.
Burning off, or not
If the cleared material is going to be burnt, check your council's local laws. Once the Fire Danger Period is declared, you'll also need a permit to burn. Plenty of landholders skip burning altogether now. A mulcher processes the material on site and leaves it as ground cover, so there's nothing to cart away and no permit or smoke to worry about.
A simple checklist before you book
- Work out what you're actually clearing: weeds, native regrowth, remnant bush, or a mix.
- Search your address on VicPlan to see your zone and overlays.
- Call your council's planning department if any native vegetation is involved.
- Check for waterways and lodge a Before You Dig Australia enquiry.
- Decide what happens to the cleared material. It can be mulched on site, stacked, or burnt outside the Fire Danger Period.
We clear land right across Gippsland, and on a site visit we can usually tell you which parts of a job are simple and which need a call to council first. If you'd like us to take a look, get in touch.