Use our permit wizard before you clear anything

Most people ringing us about clearing have the same worry sitting underneath the job: am I allowed to do this. Fair question, and the answer changes depending on what the vegetation is, where it sits, and what's mapped over your property.

So we built a permit wizard and put it on the site for anyone to use, no email address, no sign up.

• Open the permit wizard

  Scroll to the permit wizard section on our FAQs page and answer the questions.

How it works

It asks a short set of plain questions. What are you clearing, grass and weeds or established native trees. How close is it to the house or an existing fence line. Have you had a fire prevention notice. Is there a bushfire or vegetation overlay on the property. From there it points you to the likely pathway: covered by an exemption, worth a call to the council, or a permit application before anything starts.

What it is and isn't

It's a guide to save you a wasted afternoon, not a legal ruling. The council planning department has the final say, and every property has quirks the wizard can't see. What it does well is sort the straightforward jobs, slashing, weed control, mulching regrowth, fence line upkeep, from the ones that genuinely need approval first.

Bring the answer to the site visit

If you've run the wizard, tell us what it said when we come out. If you've got a VicPlan printout, a fire prevention notice or a bushfire management plan, bring those too. The more we know up front, the tighter the quote and the fewer surprises once the machine is on the ground.

Rules, overlays and mapping change. We check the links in this article regularly, but always confirm the current requirements with your council or the relevant Victorian department before you clear anything.

Got a job in mind? Send your address and we'll come out, have a look, and put a written quote together. No obligation.