Coloured-coded vegetation areas including new Category C (orange) areas on a Proposed Regulated Vegetation Management Map from the DNRM website.

It is a question many Queensland landholders are likely to be pondering as a bill proposing more major changes to the State’s vegetation management laws awaits passage through State parliament.

If the proposed Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill is passed in its present form, how will the current colour-coded areas used to determine clearing requirements for each individual property be affected?

Under the proposed changes some areas that are currently depicted as white – meaning Category X and not regulated under the Vegetation Management Act – will change colour and become regulated.

Landholders considering clearing any regrowth that is not locked-in under a Property Map of Assessable Vegetation (PMAV) are strongly urged to check how their properties are likely to be affected.

How do they do that?

Brisbane lawyer Ari McCamley of Thynne + Macartney said landholders should consult the Department of Natural Resources and Mines free website.

Landholders can use the site to search their individual property and see proposed where existing white coloured areas will be remapped, with retrospective effect, if the legislation passes later this year.

It allows anyone to request a regulated vegetation management map for a particular lot.

The map is delivered via email, usually within minutes.

“Included with the results is now an additional map, labelled the “Proposed Regulated Vegetation Management Map”, which shows the alternative reality where any current white “Category X” areas that are affected by the proposed new laws are remapped as “Category C” (high-value regrowth) or “Category R” (reef regrowth),” Mr McCamley explained.

Orange depicts proposed Category C (high value regrowth) areas while pink shows proposed Category R (reef regrowth).

The Reinstatement Bill is currently being considered by a parliamentary committee. It is anticipated it will report back to parliament by 30 June 2016.

If the bill is passed in its current form, the changes will be effective from the date the bill was introduced to parliament, that is 17 March 2016.

• Check new Proposed Regulated Vegetation management Maps here: https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/qld/environment/land/vegetation/vegetation-map-request-form