Pathways for clearance approval

The Native Vegetation Regulations 2017 outline four pathways for clearance for a range of activities as listed below.

1. Permitted clearance without conditions, where you self-assess to ensure your proposal fits within this pathway and Native Vegetation Council (NVC) approval is not required.

• Around an existing building or dwelling
• Collect firewood for personal use  
• Cultural activities  
• Dam: repair or maintain existing
• Electricity Act or Emergency Management Act
• Fences
• Grazing: ongoing practices
• Infrastructure: maintenance
• Natural resource management problems
• Plant and animal control
• Regrowth management
• Safety of persons or property
• Seed or specimen collection
• Tracks for walking or vehicles.

2. Fire hazard reduction, where Country Fire Service (CFS) approval is required.

• Fire prevention
• Fire and Emergency Services Act
• Fuel hazard reduction and fire access tracks.

3. Vegetation management, where a Management Plan must be prepared and approved by the NVC before clearing may occur.This applies to clearing:

• Ecological restoration
• Grazing: changed practices
• Maintain existing agriculture, forestry or farming
• Roadside, rail corridor or railway crossing.

4. Risk assessment, where the level of threat to biodiversity is high or unknown and therefore a risk assessment is required. You will also be required to provide a Significant Environmental Benefit (SEB) offset. This applies to clearing:

• Commercial vehicle access track exceeding 5 metres
• Dam: create new or expand existing dam
• Highways
• Infrastructure: construction or expansion
• New dwelling or building 
• Residential subdivision
• Tracks for recreation.

To see how the pathways for clearance work, check out the Clearance and Significant Environmental Benefit Process Chart.