Reducing the amount of vegetation around your property is a good way to reduce the fuel a bushfire needs to burn.
However, there are limits to what you can clear without permission.
Rules have been introduced to help manage bushfire risks and protect lives and property, while minimising the affects on native vegetation, animals and their ecosystems.
Find the answers to native vegetation clearance frequently asked questions.
Mature tree position statement
We seek to maintain a balance between fire risk mitigation while maintaining environmental values. Mature trees located within 20m of a building, if maintained correctly, do not pose a significant fire risk to a building.Preparing for a bushfire: Clearance of native vegetation
Any vegetation within 10m of your dwelling can be cleared without Native Vegetation Council approval. This Fact Sheet provides an overview of the actions you may take to manage native vegetation to reduce the affects of bushfires.Managing Native Vegetation - How to reduce the impact of bushfire and the steps you need to take
This Guide, which has been developed by the South Australian Government, the South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS), and the Native Vegetation Council, outlines the actions you may take to manage native vegetation to reduce the affects of bushfires.It contains the Application to manage Native Vegetation to reduce the impact of Bushfire.
Rules for native vegetation
Bushfire is a real risk for all South Australians and you can't predict when a bushfire will strike. But your chances of survival are increased if you are prepared.
The State Government, CFS and Native Vegetation Council and Local Councils are working together to protect life and property, while still recognising the value of native vegetation.
As part of your overall bushfire preparedness, you should consider clearing your property of native grasses, shrubs and small trees where needed.
Process
- Decide what type of action you wish to undertake to manage native vegetation on your property for bushfire safety purposes. Need assistance? Refer to the Decision-Making Matrix.
- If further approvals are needed, use the Application to manage Native Vegetation to reduce the impact of Bushfire.
- Fill out the sections of the application forms that relate to the activity you wish to undertake.
- Submit your application to your local CFS Regional Office via post or in person.
- On receipt of your application, we will contact you to discuss and if necessary meet you on-site for an inspection.
- We will advise you of the outcome of your application.
| Reason | What can be done? | Is approval needed? |
|---|---|---|
| To protect a building | You can reduce, modify or remove native vegetation within 20m of a building (including overhanging limbs). Significant trees in the 10m–20m from a building will need approval to remove. | No |
| You can modify or remove native vegetation further than 20m from a building to reduce fuel loads. | Yes | |
| To protect a structure | You can reduce, modify or remove native vegetation within 10m of a structure (including overhanging limbs). Significant trees will need approval to remove in this 10m. | No |
| You can modify or remove native vegetation further than 10m from a structure to reduce fuel loads. | Yes | |
| To reduce fuel strategically | Fuel loads can be strategically reduced or modified on any private or public land. | Yes |
| To construct a fuel break | You can remove vegetation to construct a fuel break up to 5m wide. | No |
| In some regions you can remove native vegetation to construct a fuel break up to 7.5m wide. | No | |
| On a property used for primary production, you can remove native vegetation to construct a fuel break up to 20m wide. | Yes | |
| You can remove native vegetation to construct fuel breaks greater than 20m wide. | Yes | |
| To construct fire access tracks | You can remove native vegetation to construct fire access tracks that are consistent with the standards. | Yes |
FAQs
Yes. To help South Australia be bushfire ready, the State Government has amended the native vegetation clearance legislation to provide for a simple, local, expert and planned approach to the management of native vegetation for bushfire safety.
These rules are outlined in Managing Native Vegetation - How to reduce the impact of bushfire and the steps you need to take. The rules will help manage bushfire risks and protect lives and property, while minimising the affects on native vegetation, animals and their ecosystems.
In most areas landowners can now reduce, modify or remove all vegetation including native vegetation, within 20 metres of a prescribed building and within 10 metres of a prescribed structure on their property, without approval from CFS or the Native Vegetation Council. That approval does not permit the clearance of significant trees.
If you want to remove or modify a 'significant tree' as defined under the Development Regulations 2008, you will need approval from your Local Council.
You will need approval from the CFS to reduce, modify or remove native vegetation that is further than 20 metres from a prescribed building (or further than 10 metres from a prescribed structure), if:
- a bushfire prevention plan is not in place
- the proposed fuel reduction activities are not incorporated under an approved bushfire prevention plan
The strategic reduction of fuel on a property can be done according to a CFS approved bushfire prevention plan. Other fuel reduction activities, such as prescribed burning, that are not identified as part of an approved bushfire prevention plan also need to be approved by the CFS.
The clearance of larger trees, where those trees occur within the River Murray flood plain (as measured by the 1956 floods) and are outside of a city or township, requires an approval from the Native Vegetation Council.
Being prepared for a bushfire is a shared responsibility. The State Government has initiated a range of programs to reduce the risks to life and property posed by bushfire; however private landowners also have a part to play in keeping their property bushfire ready. The management of fuel loads, including the selective management of native vegetation, is one of many steps landowners can take to prepare their properties for the bushfire season.
Across the agricultural regions of the state an estimated 80% of the original cover of native vegetation has been cleared. Much of what remains is fragmented, so there is greater potential for further degradation to do with weed invasion and other actions. Achieving the balance between bushfire protection and managing the remaining areas of native vegetation to avoid further losses in the biodiversity values of an area are important.
No. The intention of the new rules is to reduce the affect of bushfire through managing bushfire fuel loads. You are encouraged to consult with the CFS on ways to manage bushfire risks while minimising affects on native plants, animals and their ecosystems. As an example, removing weeds may be the most suitable method to reduce the fuel load on your property while retaining the environmental values associated with the native vegetation. Retaining trees in strategic areas may also offer some protection for homes and buildings, and we can provide advice on this.
Under the Development Act 1993 (Development Regulations 2008) a 'Significant Tree' is a class of tree within a designated area that has a trunk with a circumference of 2 metres or more or, in the case of trees with multiple trunks, that have trunks with a total circumference of 2 metres or more and average circumference of 625 millimetres or more, measured at a point 1 metre above natural ground level. The Development Act 1993 works in parallel with the Native Vegetation Act 1991 in areas to which that Act applies (essentially rural areas and vegetated parts of metropolitan Adelaide).
Significant trees can include both native and non-native species. Although you may have an exemption to remove or modify a native tree within 20 metres of your dwelling, you will still need to get approval from your Local Council if that tree meets the set criteria of a 'significant tree'.
Managing Native Vegetation - How to reduce the impact of bushfire and the steps you need to take provides a step-by-step process to follow when seeking to reduce, modify or remove native vegetation for bushfire safety. You can visit your Local Council office or contact your CFS Regional Prevention Officer to discuss details of the process.
You can also download the application form Application to manage Native Vegetation to Reduce the impact of Bushfire and submit the application to your CFS Regional Office.
The authority to approve native vegetation clearance for bushfire fuel reduction works lies with the CFS.
If what you're planning to do is not covered by the recent changes to the native vegetation approval process, CFS will refer the matter to the Native Vegetation Council for approval.
Where the work you're planning will affect significant areas of native vegetation, the CFS may seek advice from the Native Vegetation Council or other state agencies on the biodiversity values of the site and possible options that may reduce those affects while still reducing the affect of bushfires. In these cases, provided the proposed works are consistent with the recent changes to the legislation, the decision process remains with the CFS.
Similarly, the CFS may seek advice from relevant authorities on the potential affects of any fuel reduction works or water quality or soil degradation issues that may be apparent as a result of a site inspection/assessment process.
Following the devastation caused by bushfires in Victoria in early 2009, the South Australian Government took immediate steps to review the native vegetation management clearance rules as they related to bushfire safety.
As a result the rules and processes have been simplified with most decisions now being made by the CFS.
Native vegetation includes all naturally occurring local native plants, from small groundcovers and native grasses to large trees. It also includes marine vegetation and certain species of dead trees in some areas. Plants may be part of a bushland community or single trees in pasture.
Vegetation that has been planted is generally not covered by the Native Vegetation Act 1991, except in particular circumstances. Greater detail on what is considered native vegetation is available from the native vegetation website.
This definition includes houses and buildings within the meaning of the Development Act 1993 that are permanently fixed to the land. Examples of a prescribed building include a dwelling, hotel, motel, school office building, shop, cafe, restaurant, service station, factory or hospital. The definition also extends to an approved building that is in the course of construction if the foundations, concrete slab or other footings have been completed.
Prescribed buildings do not include non-habitable structures such as fences, swimming pools, retaining walls, masts and antennas or car parks.
This definition includes constructions used for primary production, the housing or feeding of animals, the storage of fodder, and the storage of vehicles or vessels, pump sheds, garden and pool sheds and fixed aviaries.
A bushfire prevention plan is a document identifying threats and risks in the event of a bushfire. The plan will outline actions, including fuel reduction works, the purpose of the fuel reduction works, any threats the fuel loads may pose to adjacent assets, and description and location of the fuel including native vegetation that may pose a risk. The plan should identify any environmental affects that might result from fuel reduction works, such as weed invasion, soil erosion potential and affects on water resources. If prepared by a single landowner or group of landowners, it should contain details of any consultation with CFS on how the proposed works are in line with the district bushfire prevention plan.
If approved by the CFS, that plan will allow works, including works involving the clearance of native vegetation, without the need for further approval from the CFS or Native Vegetation Council.