Flora and fauna protected, clearing done right, and approval conditions met from the first tree down.

Vegetation clearing is often the first thing that happens on a project. Clear the wrong area, miss a protected plant or disturb a nesting animal and the consequences range from a stop work order to prosecution, with a delay to the whole programme in between.

AES prepares vegetation management plans for construction and infrastructure projects that need to clear native vegetation. Our plans cover the flora and vegetation on your site as a whole: what can be cleared, how and when it can be cleared, what must be protected during clearing, and how the site will be rehabilitated afterwards.

Featured Project

Environmental & Landowner Advisor for Transmission Line Maintenance

Runcorn to Eight Mile Plains, Queensland

Applied Environment & Safety provided onsite environmental and landowner support for this tower maintenance project located within the southern suburbs of Brisbane.

This required managing project works adjacent to sensitive areas such as Bulimba Creek, major motorways and within residential backyards.

Environmental support for this project included development of Site Based Management Plans and operational checklists. Ongoing environmental monitoring and liaison with nearby residents was undertaken during the abrasive blasting and painting works. Then supervision of the clean-up of the work sites and rehabilitation for project closure.

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What Is a Vegetation Management Plan?

A vegetation management plan, sometimes called a VMP or a flora management plan, sets out how a project will manage native vegetation. It defines the clearing footprint and the areas to be protected, the clearing methods and sequence, pre-clearing surveys, and rehabilitation or offset commitments that follow.

Vegetation clearing is regulated by all three levels of government: local, state and, for matters of national environmental significance, federal. A good plan translates those overlapping requirements and your specific approval conditions into clear instructions for the people doing the clearing.

Why Vegetation Management Matters

Clearing native vegetation without the right approvals, or outside the approved footprint, is one of the most serious and most frequently prosecuted environmental offences in Australia. Protected plants, threatened species habitat and regulated vegetation can all sit within an otherwise routine construction footprint.

Clearing is also time critical with many surveys being season dependent. A plan that anticipates those constraints keeps the programme moving. One that discovers them on the day does not.

Who Needs a Vegetation Management Plan?

A vegetation management plan is typically needed by:

  • Projects with a vegetation or flora clearing condition attached to their approval
  • Any infrastructure projects with native vegetation clearing
  • Projects affecting habitat for threatened species or protected plants
  • Sites requiring rehabilitation or revegetation after construction

Typical Applications

  • Vegetation and flora and fauna management plans prepared to approval conditions
  • Clearing protocols defining footprints, exclusion zones, sequencing and methods
  • Protected plant and threatened species management measures
  • Rehabilitation and revegetation plans for disturbed areas

What We Include

Every AES vegetation management plan includes:

  • Review of your approval conditions and local, state and federal vegetation requirements that apply
  • Mapping of the clearing footprint, retained vegetation and exclusion zones
  • Rehabilitation, revegetation and offset commitments where they apply
  • Inspection, reporting and record keeping requirements

Industries We Support

Applied Environment & Safety provides vegetation management planning for organisations and complex projects across a range of industries.

Why Work With Applied Environment & Safety

We write for the people doing the clearing. Footprints, exclusion zones and the order of work are set out clearly enough for an operator and a spotter catcher to follow on the day, because that is where vegetation compliance is won or lost.

We plan clearing around the programme. Survey timing, breeding seasons and spotter catcher availability are built into the plan from the start, so clearing happens when the project needs it to rather than being held up by a constraint nobody saw coming.

AES has vast experience in the development of vegetation management plans for major infrastructure projects across Australia. We have developed plans as part of the overarching Construction Environmental Management Plan or separate Vegetation Management Plans to align to project approvals.

Clear the Right Way, First Time

Request a proposal for a Vegetation Management Plan and we will scope it against your clearing footprint, approval conditions and programme.

Contact our team today to discuss your project requirements.

Other Environmental Management Services

Environmental Auditing and Compliance Audits

Independent, evidence based environmental audits of your site, your systems and your approval conditions. We tell you what is actually happening on the ground, rank the findings by risk, and give you corrective actions your team can close out.
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Erosion and Sediment Control Plans (ESCP)

Site specific erosion and sediment control plans that work on the ground. Staged to match your construction sequence, designed around the receiving environment, and built to survive a wet season rather than just satisfy a submission.
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Environmental Management Plans (EMP)

Environmental management plans written to be used, not filed. Condition specific and aspect based, structured around the decisions your site team actually makes, with clear controls, triggers and responsibilities.
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Construction Environmental Management Plans (CEMP)

CEMPs prepared for approval and built for the site. We work from your approval conditions and construction methodology so the plan gets accepted by the regulator and still makes sense to the people delivering the work.
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Environmental Compliance and Monitoring

Compliance managed through delivery. Inspections, environmental monitoring, records and reporting handled week by week, so the evidence exists before anyone asks for it and corrective actions get closed out.
Learn more

Acid Sulfate Soil Management Plans

Acid sulfate soil management plans for coastal and low-lying projects. We confirm what is there, calculate what your works will disturb, and set out the treatment, handling and verification testing that keeps the project compliant.
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Dust Management Plans

Practical dust and air quality management for construction sites. We identify the sources and the sensitive receptors around you, specify controls for each activity, and set triggers the site team can act on before a complaint lands.
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Environmental Risk Management

Environmental risk assessment, incident response and investigation. We help you see where the real risk sits, put proportionate controls against it, and respond properly when something does go wrong.
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View all Environmental Management Services

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FAQ’s

Common questions from project teams about vegetation clearing and management.

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What is the difference between a vegetation management plan and a flora and fauna management plan?

In practice they can cover the same information. A vegetation management plan tends to focus on clearing and retaining vegetation, while a flora and fauna management plan also covers fauna and fauna habitat.

Do we need approval to clear native vegetation?

Usually, yes. In Queensland, clearing may be regulated under the Vegetation Management Act 1999 and the protected plants provisions of the Nature Conservation Act 1992. In New South Wales, clearing is regulated under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 framework and planning approvals. Where Matters of National Environmental Significance are affected, the federal EPBC Act can also apply.

What happens if we clear outside the approved area?

Clearing outside an approved footprint can be a serious offence, with penalties, stop work orders and restoration requirements. Clearly marked footprints and exclusion zones, pre start briefings and supervision during clearing are the most effective ways to prevent it.