Land clearing on the Sunshine Coast: what's local
Clearing is development
Sunshine Coast Council regulates vegetation clearing as development under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014. Protection can come from the vegetation management code, the biodiversity, waterways and wetlands overlay, vegetation covenants, drainage easements or conditions on an earlier approval.
House site limits
Council says clearing tied to a building work approval still needs a copy of that approval sent to council, and total clearing can't exceed 600m2. Without an approved building envelope, council limits clearing to 20 metres from a building, or 1.5 times the canopy height in a bushfire hazard area.
Mapped vegetation
Where vegetation is mapped, council says you can only clear inside the approved building envelope, apart from driveway access. Development.i shows what's mapped for the lot.
Koala priority areas
Council says clearing koala habitat inside koala priority areas is prohibited, and the Queensland Government assesses koala habitat clearing outside them. Federal approval under the EPBC Act may also be needed if clearing affects matters of national environmental significance.
Noosa and the verge
In Noosa Shire, a permit is needed to clear vegetation on all private land. Anywhere on the Sunshine Coast, clearing on the road reserve or nature strip needs council's permit, and a resident who cleared one was fined in the Caloundra Magistrates Court in 2024.
Land clearing permits on the Sunshine Coast
Council says its house site allowances may not apply where land has development conditions, a vegetation covenant, a biodiversity offset, a voluntary declaration, or restrictions left over from earlier unlawful clearing. Bought a hinterland block with history? Find out before you clear.
If an application is needed, council takes it on the state's DA Form 1, with a site plan, labelled photos and a cover letter explaining why the clearing is needed. Council's fact sheet suggests supporting information such as an arborist report can go with the cover letter. Our Sunshine Coast permit page covers it in more detail.
How land clearing works on the Sunshine Coast
Tree mulching chips the cleared trees and branches on site, so the material can be spread as mulch or taken away. Ask what's being mulched: weed species are best kept off garden beds, and anything in a firebreak zone shouldn't become a fresh fuel load.
Where wildlife is likely, ask whether a spotter catcher will check the trees before they come down.
Questions to ask about land clearing on the Sunshine Coast
- Have you checked Development.i and the overlays for this lot?
- How much area are you clearing, and is it inside council's house site limits?
- Which trees stay, and how will you protect their roots?
- Is any of it koala habitat or on the verge?
- What happens to the mulch and the weed material?
- Who lodges any DA Form 1, and what goes with it?
Hiring an arborist for land clearing on the Sunshine Coast
We'd mark out the house, shed and driveway on the ground with pegs before anyone quotes, then measure the clearing against council's 600m2 limit. If any overlay touches the lot, we'd get the DA Form 1 in before booking the machines, rather than finding out from a council officer at the gate.