Clearing trees in Moreton Bay — do you need approval?
City of Moreton Bay's planning scheme — the Moreton Bay Regional Council Planning Scheme 2016 (Version 8, 2026-09-11) — decides whether tree clearing needs a development application, and the answer depends on the zone your property is in. Below is what its table of assessment says for each zone; or check your own address.
In a general residential zone
Needs a development application (code assessment). Clearing vegetation is accepted if it meets the accepted criteria, otherwise a code-assessable development application is needed (state vegetation laws are separate).
I don't know my zone — choose my council instead
The zone is on your rates notice, or a Landbrief site report will find it for you.
Zone by zone
Operational work (vegetation clearing). Residential zones first.
| Zone | What the table says | Conditions | What you'll need |
|---|---|---|---|
| General residential zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | if not complying with the accepted circumstances in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: no planning approval needed. | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
| Emerging community zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | accepted if complying with Table 1.7.7.1 circumstances, otherwise code assessment | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
| Rural residential zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | if not complying with the accepted circumstances in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: no planning approval needed. | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
| Township zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | if not complying with the accepted circumstances in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: no planning approval needed. | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
| Centre zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | accepted if complying with Table 1.7.7.1 circumstances, otherwise code assessment | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
| Community facilities zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | accepted if complying with Table 1.7.7.1 circumstances, otherwise code assessment | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
| Environmental management and conservation zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.8.1 | clearing vegetation is excluded from the code-assessable pathway in this zone, so impact applies unless accepted under Table 1.7.7.1 | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: The planning scheme |
| Extractive industry zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | if not complying with the accepted circumstances in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: no planning approval needed. | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
| Industry zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | if not complying with the accepted circumstances in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: no planning approval needed. | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
| Limited development zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.8.1 | if not complying with the accepted circumstances in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: no planning approval needed. | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: The planning scheme |
| Recreation and open space zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | if not complying with the accepted circumstances in Table 1.7.7.1 and not in Limited development/Environmental management zoneIf not met: no planning approval needed. | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
| Rural zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.8.1 | if not complying with the accepted circumstances in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: no planning approval needed. | State vegetation check (not the council)Assessed against: 9.4.2 Works code |
Overlays that change the answer
The table above is the base case, before any overlay. Flood, bushfire, landslide, heritage and character overlays are the usual reasons a normally-accepted project becomes a development application — add your address above and the tool flags the ones that apply to your lot.
Worth knowing in Moreton Bay
The planning scheme's tables of assessment do not state numeric minimum lot sizes for reconfiguring a lot in any zone — the minimum lot size (and frontage) is set by the applicable 9.4.1 'Reconfiguring a lot code' for the relevant zone/precinct and the zone code, which are not reproduced in the Part 5 tables provided here. All reconfiguring a lot is code assessable 'if not otherwise specified' (impact assessment is the catch-all for anything not meeting the code's criteria). Separate state rules apply: Schedule 12 of the Planning Regulation makes reconfiguring a lot in Residential and Industry zones code assessable against the Schedule 12 benchmarks; a building approval under the Building Act is still required for building work even where the planning scheme treats it as accepted development; and the Vegetation Management Act may separately regulate clearing of native vegetation. Several zones are divided into precincts that materially change the answer for some projects — notably the Emerging community zone (Interim precinct vs Transition precinct developable lot vs developed lot, the latter mirroring the General residential Next generation neighbourhood precinct), the Community facilities zone precincts (where a Dwelling house is accepted subject to requirements and is NOT assessed under the Dwelling house code), and the Township zone precincts. In the Rural zone and Rural residential zone a Dwelling house is accepted development subject to requirements assessed under the relevant zone code (not the Dwelling house code). The Redcliffe Kippa-Ring local plan and Caboolture West local plan replace the base zone tables for land within those local plan areas and can change the category of development (e.g. in Caboolture West's Urban living precinct reconfiguring is impact assessable unless within an approved Neighbourhood Development Plan). Where more than one overlay applies, the highest category of assessment applies.
What else you'll need
- State vegetation check (not the council)
More about Moreton Bay
- What can you build in Moreton Bay? Council overview and development applications
- Every Queensland zone explained, with what each council allows and the planning overlays that change the answer
- What City of Moreton Bay charges for a development application, compared with other councils
- A Landbrief site report for your Moreton Bay address — every planning layer that applies to the lot
Other projects in Moreton Bay
Granny flatDual occupancySubdivideShed or carportExtensionPoolFence or wallHome businessTownhousesShop, café or officeDemolish
The statewide position on this project: Clear trees in Queensland.
Read from the Moreton Bay Regional Council Planning Scheme 2016 (Version 8, 2026-09-11) tables of assessment. General information, not advice. The council's planning scheme and the Planning Act 2016 decide — confirm with the council or a town planner before you build.