Urban Catalyst Response · RAL22/0021

       is for urban purposes in an urban area (Schedule 21, Part 2, Section 2(g)). As the
       land is within an urban area, clearing of the mapped least concern regional
       ecosystem in association with the residence is exempted development. Additional
       exemptions also apply including those relevant to essential management which
       includes clearing for bushfire management and these additional exemptions
       enable clearing to occur without the need for State involvement with regard to
       the Vegetation Management Act 1999.
   •   To the extent the development is considered to be exempted development,
       interfering with koala habitat within a mapped core koala habitat area is not
       considered assessable development. The term exempted development is defined
       in Schedule 24 of the Planning Regulation 2017 and includes (k) a total area on
       the premises of 500m2 or less of 1 or more koala habitat areas being cleared of
       native vegetation since 7 February 2020 and (n) development that is or involves
       operational work that is the clearing of native vegetation in a koala habitat area if
       the clearing— (vii) is necessary for essential management and is qualifying
       clearing. The definition of essential management provided in Schedule 24 of the
       Planning Regulation 2017 includes clearing native vegetation for a number of
       management initiatives, the most relevant being (a) for establishing or
       maintaining a necessary firebreak to protect infrastructure, other than a fence,
       road or vehicular track, if the maximum width of the firebreak is equal to 1.5 times
       the height of the tallest vegetation next to the infrastructure, or 20m, whichever is
       the wider.
   •   Section 50 of the Nature Conservation (Protected Plants) Regulation 2020 includes
       an exemption for the taking of protected plants as a result of establishing or
       maintaining a necessary firebreak to protect infrastructure, other than a fence,
       road or vehicular track, if the maximum width of the firebreak is equal to the wider
       of the following — 1.5 times the height of the tallest vegetation next to the
       infrastructure or 20m.
   •   Schedule 6 of the Planning Regulation 2017 sets out matters which are not able
       to be regulated by a local categorising instrument (the Noosa Plan 2020 is an
       example of a local categorising instrument) and this includes the following
       detailed under Section 20A of Schedule 6: Operational work that is clearing native
       vegetation if—
       (a) the clearing is necessary for—
            (i) establishing or maintaining a necessary firebreak to protect infrastructure,
                 other than a fence, road or vehicular track, and the maximum width of the
                 firebreak is equal to 1.5 times the height of the tallest vegetation next to
                 the infrastructure, or 20m, whichever is the wider; or
            (ii) establishing a necessary fire management line, and the maximum width of
                 the clearing for the fire management line is 10m; and
       (b) the clearing—
            (i) is on freehold land.

On the basis of the above, the bushfire hazard assessment drafted for the existing
residence confirmed that a bushfire risk was present and that given the age of the existing



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