Rules & Permits
Before you buy or clear: the checks that come first
VicPlan reports, covenants, Section 173 agreements and the 10/30 rule — what to look up on a property before anyone clears a tree.
People ask what they're allowed to clear after they've bought. A few of those answers are locked in before settlement, so it's worth doing the look-ups while the property is still somebody else's problem to disclose.
Pull a VicPlan property report
VicPlan is the Victorian Government's online planning map, and a free property report tells you the zone, the overlays that apply, and whether the land is in a bushfire prone area, the same checks the bushfire controls guidance points to. It takes a few minutes and it's the fastest way to find out whether the land you're looking at has vegetation controls attached. Build the report free on VicPlan.
Covenants and Section 173 agreements aren't on that map
These are registered against the title, and they can require vegetation to be kept, replanted or managed, or restrict what you can clear — long after the developer who wrote them has gone. A planning permit doesn't cancel them out. Have your solicitor or conveyancer check the title and the vendor's statement for any covenant or agreement before you buy, and get a copy of the wording, not just a mention that one exists.
The 10/30 and 10/50 rules have a date in them
Clause 52.12 contains conditional bushfire vegetation exemptions. The ten-metre component can include trees; the thirty- and fifty-metre components cover vegetation other than trees. Eligibility depends on the mapped location, building use, construction and approval history, and the current clause. Different pathways apply: do not assume all buildings qualify or that one pre-2009 cutoff covers every pathway. Obtain the building records and ask council to confirm the applicable exemption before relying on it. Read the defendable space guide for the distinction.
The weeds and the protected trees come with the land
The obligation to control declared noxious weeds is a land owner's duty, so it becomes yours on settlement. Same for a protected tree: what the previous owner could or couldn't remove is what you can or couldn't remove. Worth knowing before you price the clearing you're planning.
Then check the practical things
How a machine gets in and turns around, overhead power and telecom lines across the entry, where material can be pushed or stacked, what's buried (septic, water lines to tanks, power to a shed), and how the ground behaves after rain. A property that looks easy from a satellite photo can be a hand job once someone stands in it.
If you're the seller
A buyer will ask what can be cleared and what can't. A written answer from council, a permit in hand, or a copy of the overlay report is worth more than a verbal 'it should be fine', and it stops you selling a problem you didn't know you were passing on.
Rules, exemptions and overlay mapping change. Re-run the VicPlan report and confirm current requirements with your council before you rely on an older check.
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