Determining whether native vegetation has been significantly disturbed or modified (s 60J (2))
114 Determining whether native vegetation has been significantly disturbed or modified (s 60J (2))
Native vegetation that comprises grasslands or other non-woody vegetation is taken to have been significantly disturbed or modified (and therefore cleared) only if—
there has been a detectable variation (from information obtained from aerial or satellite imagery) in the structure or composition, or both, of non-woody vegetation, and
that variation is consistent with management of pasture or crops for agricultural purposes, and
that variation has been sustained for at least 12 months on more than one occasion before the commencement of Part 5A of the Act, and
that variation has not been caused only by grazing on the land, and
that variation occurred (from information obtained from aerial or satellite imagery) between 1 January 1990 and the date of commencement of Part 5A of the Act.
During the transitional period referred to in section 60F of the Act, the information that may be used for the purposes of this clause includes information obtained from a source other than from aerial or satellite imagery, but only if the landholder has prepared a record of the information and a map showing the areas to which it applies. The landholder is required to retain the record and map for at least 5 years after any clearing that is carried out in reliance on that information.
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