NSW Rural Boundary Clearing Code & 10/50 Clearing Code

Rural Boundary Clearing Code

The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has released the Rural Boundary Clearing Code which is a 'self-managed code' that permits some landholders to clear their property boundary of bushfire hazard vegetation.

 The Rural Boundary Clearing Code allows some landowners to clear certain vegetation along the boundary of their landholding to reduce the potential for the spread of bush fires. This Code was introduced to simplify and empower vegetation management for rural land holders and addresses the intent of Recommendation 28 of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, which was commissioned following the devastating 2019/20 NSW bush fires which cost the lives of 26 people and destroyed 2,476 homes across NSW. 

 The RFS recently published their 'Rural Boundary Clearing Tool' which allows landholders to identify whether they are permitted to implement the Rural Boundary Clearing Code. This tool must be checked before, and on the day of the clearing and records kept by the landholder before any clearing takes place. 

 The Rural Boundary Clearing Code provides for vegetation clearing work on land within a holding that is: 

1. within the rural zone, 

2. within Boundary Clearing Code Vegetation Map; and 

3. within 25 metres of the holding’s boundary with adjoining land. This provides for the removal, destruction or pruning of any vegetation (including trees) by landholders on their own property within 25 metres of the boundary of their holding.

 The clearing of vegetation provided for under this scheme is for bush fire hazard reduction and clearing should only be done to the minimum extent necessary for that purpose. As such, a landholder is not required to clear the entire 25 metres in order for the clearing to be considered lawful. The allowable distances apply to vegetation located on the owner’s land. However, a tree may be removed if the trunk occurs across the boundary of one or more adjoining holdings, if the adjoining landowner/s agree/s in writing to its removal. The adjoining property/ies must also be in the rural boundary clearing area. 

There are some restrictions that landholders must be aware of before undertaking this clearing.

Certain parcels of the following vegetation which are within areas mapped in the Rural Boundary Clearing online tool may not be cleared under the Rural Boundary Clearing Code. The onus is on the owner or occupier of the land to demonstrate that they did not clear any vegetation that constitutes any of the following types of vegetation: 

a. SEPP Coastal Management - Coastal Wetlands (not including the proximity area) as mapped and provided to the NSW RFS by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment;

 b. Wetlands in the Sydney Regional Environmental Plan (Sydney Harbour Catchment) 2005 as mapped and provided to the NSW RFS by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment; 

c. Wetlands in the Sydney Regional Environmental Plan 20 – Hawkesbury Nepean River (No 2 – 1997) as mapped and provided to the NSW RFS by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment; 

d. SEPP Coastal Management – Littoral Rainforests (not including the proximity area) as mapped and provided to the NSW RFS by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, 

e. Core Koala habitat identified at Attachment ‘A’ as mapped and provided to the NSW RFS by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment; 

f. Ramsar Wetlands;

 g. vegetation within 100 metres of the coastline or estuaries of NSW;

 h. any vegetation on Lord Howe Island;

 i. Land mapped as Declared Area of Outstanding Biodiversity Value (as listed in Attachment A – Vegetation Types) as mapped and provided to the NSW RFS by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment; 

j. Critically Endangered Ecological Communities as mapped and provided to the NSW RFS by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment;

 k. ‘Land avoided for strategic biodiversity’ and ‘strategic conservation area’ (as listed in Attachment A – Vegetation Types), whether exhibited as part of the draft Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan (CPCP) or the approved CPCP, and as mapped and provided by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

l.  Any areas mapped as protected riparian land in the Biodiversity Values Map are excluded from the Rural Boundary Clearing Code. 

Landholders are not likely to have the experience or skill in Environmental Planning, Assessment or Ecology to enable an accurate assessment of whether any of the above listed 'no-clear' parcels occur in their boundary land. If you have any doubt about whether your land contains any of the above restricted areas Contact Land Eco Consulting in request of a quote to undertake a 'Bushfire Hazard Clearing Constraints Assessment' of your land. This will help you avoid accidentally breaking the law by clearing land that you should have left intact.

10/50 Vegetation Clearing Code of Practice for New South Wales

The NSW RFS has implemented the 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Code of Practice for New South Wales 

This Code enables landholders in designated areas to:

• Clear trees on their property within 10 metres of a home, without seeking approval; and
• Clear underlying vegetation such as shrubs (but not trees) on their property within 50 metres of a home, without seeking approval.

You can find out if your property is in a 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Entitlement Area using the RFS 10/50 online tool.

As for the Boundary Clearing Code, there are restrictions as to what vegetation and areas can and cannot be cleared under the 10/50 Code, even in areas mapped permissible. THe onus is on the landholder to confirm their eligibility for legal implementation of the 10/50 Code beyond the information provided by the RFS on the online tool.

Landholders are not likely to have the experience or skill in Environmental Planning, Assessment or Ecology to enable an accurate assessment of whether any of their land contains 'no-clear' areas that prevent legal implementation of the 10/50 code. If you have any doubt about whether your land contains any restricted areas Contact Land Eco Consulting in request of a quote to undertake a 'Bushfire Hazard Clearing Constraints Assessment' of your land. This will help you avoid accidentally breaking the law by clearing land that you should have left intact.