Wetlands Planning and Legislation Toolbox

This tool helps you search for wetland-related legislation, policies and planning instruments. The default search lists all of the mechanisms in the database. Use the checkboxes below to narrow the search according to your needs.

A full set of defintions for the search criteria is available here.

The information provided by this tool was last updated on April 2011.

1. Area

1. Area   help

Click on the map or checkbox to include/exclude the area from the search. Multiple areas can be selected, but it must all be from a single area type (Basin, NRM region or Local Government Area).

 
Select the map area type:

2. Wetland System

2. Wetland System   help

Mangrove Photo: Cathy Ellis

Estuarine wetlands are those with oceanic water sometimes diluted with freshwater run-off from the land.

Cape Bedford Photo: Nick Cuff

Marine wetlands include the area of ocean from the coastline or estuary, extending to the jurisdictional limits of Queensland waters (3 nautical mile limit). This definition differs from that in Ramsar, as it includes waters deeper than 6m below the lowest astronomical tide.

Chinchilla Weir Photo: Cathy Ellis

Lacustrine wetlands are large, open, water-dominated systems (for example, lakes) larger than 8ha. This definition also applies to modified systems (for example, dams), which are similar to lacustrine systems (for example, deep, standing or slow-moving waters).

100 Mile Swamp Photo: Cathy Ellis

Palustrine wetlands are primarily vegetated non-channel environments of less than 8 hectares. They include billabongs, swamps, bogs, springs, soaks etc, and have more than 30% emergent vegetation.

Einasleigh River Photo: Cathy Ellis

Riverine wetlands are all wetlands and deepwater habitats within a channel. The channels are naturally or artificially created, periodically or continuously contain moving water, or connecting two bodies of standing water.

Photo: Moya Tomlinson

Subterranean wetlands are wetlands occurring below the surface of the ground and that are fed by groundwater i.e. caves and aquifers. These wetlands provide water to groundwater dependent ecosystems.

3. Tenure

3. Tenure   help

Freehold

Freehold land is held outright by a private owner. Ownership by the titleholder is not absolute because the State is empowered to withhold certain rights, such as the right to any minerals or petroleum.

State land

State land is under the control of the State of Queensland, but may be subject to a lease, permit or licence, reserved for a community purpose, dedicated as a road, or subject to no tenure at all.

Commonwealth land

Commonwealth land includes land owned or leased by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency.

4. Management Situation

4. Management Situation   help

Resource allocation

also known as “Evidence of resource entitlement”, is the permission from State to use, take or access resources

Development assessment

Under the Integrated Planning Act 1997 (IPA), the default assessment category for all development is exempt (therefore no development application or approval is necessary), unless it has been declared assessable in Schedule 8 of the IPA or a local government’s planning scheme. Development may include but is not limited to:

  • carrying out operational work (e.g. laying out the roads in a new subdivision or clearing vegetation)
  • reconfiguring a lot (e.g. subdivision of land)
  • making a material change of use of premises (e.g. converting an existing house into an office)

Although this category is mainly IPA related, other legislation may be triggered.

Management and operations

This category to be chosen where:

  1. confirmation by communicating with the relevant agency that the proposed activity is not assessable development and/or does not require evidence of resource allocation; or
  2. a development permit has been obtained and/or evidence of resource allocation has been obtained, and to proceed with operations or management activities in accordance with those.
Queensland Government
WetlandInfo   —   Department of Environment and Resource Management

                 

WetlandInfo Background
What's on WetlandInfo?
Quick links: What do you want to do?
What are Wetlands?
Facts and Figures
Managing Wetlands
Maps and Data
Monitoring and Assessment
Science and Research
Education and Communication
Programs, Policy and Legislation
Glossary of Technical Terms