Native vegetation is vital for the health of our environment, supporting native animals and agriculture and protecting soils and water.
Native vegetation legislation
The Native Vegetation Act 2003 was repealed on 25 August 2017 and legislation governing the clearing of native vegetation has changed.
Rural land
Clearing of native vegetation on rural land is legislated by the Local Land Services Act 2013 and the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
Urban areas and land zoned for environmental protection
Clearing of native vegetation in urban areas and land zoned for environmental protection is legislated by the NSW Vegetation SEPP.
Landcover change reporting
The NSW State Government has monitored and reported on landcover change since 2008. Up until 2017 landcover change focused primarily on woody vegetation with data captured from 1988. The native vegetation legislation reforms have resulted in the implementation of monitoring and reporting of both woody and non woody vegetation change on land regulated under the LLS Act from 25 August 2017.
Monitoring and reporting on landcover change provides a foundational and necessary scientific basis for measuring environmental, social and economic impacts to the natural resources and biodiversity of NSW.
For more information about how we monitor and report on landcover change visit Landcover monitoring and reporting.
Managing native vegetation
- Local Land Services for information about rural clearing
- NSW Planning and Environment for information about urban and environmental protection zone clearing
- NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme for all types of clearing.
The Transitional Native Vegetation Regulatory Map
The Transitional Native Vegetation Regulatory Map (NVR Map) covers all rural land in NSW. It categorises land into areas where clearing of native vegetation can occur without approval, where clearing can only be carried out in accordance with Part 5A of the Local Land Services Act 2013 (LLS Act) or other legislation and excluded land where the LLS Act does not apply.
