Queensland Koala Mapping Released

The State Government has released updated Koala Essential Habitat mapping for the South East Queensland Regional Plan Area.

The update is part of the Government’s revised Koala Conservation Strategy, which is being developed in response to the Koala Expert Panel’s ‘A New Direction for the Conservation of Koalas in Queensland’ report, released in May 2018.

Amendments to the State Planning Policy Interactive Mapping System and Development Assessment Mapping System to reflect the updated mapping will occur today. A full schedule of amendments can be found on DSDMIP’s ePlanning Portal.

The Department has advised that all the relevant vegetation is within the extent of current regulated vegetation mapping, but some areas of the SEQ urban footprint have been moved into Matters of State Environmental Significance (MSES).

The Department has also advised that existing development approvals and Property Maps of Assessable Vegetation (PMAV) granted before 3 December 2018 will not be affected by the update. Existing exemptions and triggers for development will still apply.

While supportive of initiatives to increase Koala conservation, the Property Council’s advocacy on the conservation strategy development has focused on the need for existing approvals to be honoured, and for long-term certainty to be provided for the development industry.

Work being undertaken by the State Government to achieve a SEQ strategic assessment with the Commonwealth under the EPBC Act has been strongly supported by the Property Council, as the best long-term solution to koala conservation.