Deforestation in Australia: Clearing Data and Farm Options

Deforestation in Australia today is mostly the clearing of woody vegetation for grazing pasture, and Queensland reports far more of it than New South Wales. The state’s satellite survey (SLATS) found 274,616 hectares of woody vegetation affected by clearing in 2023–24, and 86% of that area was replaced by pasture (Queensland Government, 2023–24 SLATS Clearing Report). New South Wales recorded 32,847 hectares of native woody vegetation cleared in calendar year 2023.

This guide is written for farmers and landholders. It shows the official clearing numbers by state and explains what each one measures. It then covers the role of grazing, the vegetation laws you need to check, and practical options on your own land: keeping regrowth, shelterbelts and carbon farming. A calculator lets you test a carbon planting with your own numbers.

Deforestation in Australia at a glance

The table sums up the latest official figures. Each one is explained further down, with the source behind it.

How deforestation in Australia is measured

Australian clearing data is easy to misread, because different reports count different things. Keep these four points in mind.

• Woody vegetation, not only forest. Queensland’s SLATS maps woody vegetation with more than 10% crown cover. That includes open woodland and scrub, not just tall forest. At the start of 2022–23 the state had about 95.1 million hectares of it, roughly 55% of its land area (Queensland SLATS 2022–23 key findings).
• Full versus partial clearing. Full clearing turns woody land into non-woody land (less than 10% crown cover left). Partial clearing thins the vegetation but leaves it woody. In 2023–24, 85% of Queensland’s clearing was full clearing.
• Gross clearing versus net change. Regrowth offsets part of the loss. In 2022–23 Queensland cleared 332,015 ha but mapped 84,649 ha of new regrowth, and its woody extent fell by a net 186,694 ha.
• First-time clearing versus re-clearing. Much of the clearing is on land that was cleared before and has grown back. Queensland maps this as Category X land.

Forest area can still rise while clearing goes on. Researchers at the Australian National University mapped 30 years of satellite images and found that, by the common definition (trees over 2 metres shading at least 20% of the ground), Australia gained about 28 million hectares of forest over that period (ANU, 2020). They explain that most of these trees were already there and simply grew denser, helped by a wetter north. They also warn that new or thicker woodland does not replace old-growth or rare forests once they are gone.

Land clearing in Queensland

Queensland reports far more woody clearing than NSW, and it publishes the most detailed figures. Total clearing fell from about 681,300 ha in 2018–19 to 274,600 ha in 2023–24, according to the state’s SLATS vegetation management analysis. The government puts the six-year drop at about 60%.

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Queensland clearing: re-cleared land vs regulated vegetation

Thousand hectares of woody vegetation cleared per SLATS reporting year

Most of the area is Category X land. These are areas that were lawfully cleared before and are generally exempt on most private land. In 2023–24 Category X made up 75% of all clearing (206,889 ha). Clearing of regulated vegetation (mapped remnant and regrowth vegetation) was about 67,200 ha.

Where the clearing happens

Two bioregions dominate. The Brigalow Belt accounted for 53% of the state’s clearing in 2023–24 (145,844 ha) and the Mulga Lands for 21% (57,359 ha). Clearing in Great Barrier Reef catchments was 117,005 ha, or 43% of the state total, which matters for sediment running off grazing land into reef waters.

Some clearing touches rarer ecosystems. In 2023–24, 3,678 ha of clearing was in areas where endangered regional ecosystems are present, 21% more than the year before. Another 10,075 ha was in areas with “of concern” ecosystems.

Land clearing in New South Wales

NSW reports by calendar year and counts both woody and non-woody vegetation (such as native grassland). In 2023, a total of 66,498 ha was cleared: 32,847 ha of native woody vegetation and 33,651 ha of non-woody vegetation, according to the NSW Government’s SLATS release.

Agriculture was the largest land type. Clearing for agriculture reached 51,201 ha, of which 19,364 ha was woody vegetation. Infrastructure clearing was 10,003 ha (8,814 ha woody) and native forestry 5,294 ha (4,669 ha woody). All three were higher than in 2022.

Of the clearing authorised under the Local Land Services Act in 2023, 65% (6,219 ha) was for managing invasive native species. These are native woody plants that grow back very densely after disturbance or spread into areas where they did not grow before. The release also reports 35,026 ha of unallocated clearing in 2023, and about three-quarters of it was non-woody vegetation. To offset some types of farm clearing, landholders had set aside 96,506 ha of private land for permanent conservation as of 1 January 2024.

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NSW woody vegetation cleared by land type

Hectares of native woody vegetation, calendar year 2023 (non-woody clearing not shown)

Why grazing drives most clearing

Beef and sheep country is where most trees are removed. In Queensland, pasture replaced the trees on 235,935 ha in 2023–24, or 86% of all clearing. Forestry, mining, infrastructure, cropping and new settlements together made up less than 11% (Queensland SLATS 2023–24).

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What replaced cleared vegetation in Queensland

Hectares of woody vegetation affected by clearing, by replacement land cover, 2023–24

Much of this clearing is not in tall forest. In 2022–23, 83% of Queensland’s clearing was in sparse or very sparse woody vegetation (less than 50% crown cover), and 66% was in vegetation under 5 metres tall. About 28% was in vegetation estimated to be less than 15 years old, while 67% was in vegetation older than 15 years. In other words, much of the clearing is in sparse, low woodland on grazing land rather than tall forest, though most of it is not young regrowth.

This does not mean the effects are small. Clearing exposes soil to wind and water, removes shade and shelter for stock, and breaks up habitat for native animals. Our guide to the short-term consequences of deforestation lists what follows in the first seasons after clearing, from soil loss to local climate shifts.

▶ Regenerative practices such as agroforestry, managed grazing and cover crops, and how carbon farming and satellite measurement fit in. · 10:25

Vegetation laws to check before you clear

Each state has its own rules, and the federal EPBC Act sits on top of them. The summaries below are a starting point only. Rules change, and maps are updated. Always check with your state agency and local council before you clear or thin any native vegetation.

Queensland: Vegetation Management Act 1999

Queensland regulates clearing through the vegetation management framework under the Vegetation Management Act 1999 and the Planning Act 2016. Land is mapped into categories: Category X (generally exempt), Category B (remnant), Category C (high-value regrowth) and Category R (regrowth near watercourses). Some routine work is exempt on freehold, Indigenous and leasehold land used for agriculture and grazing. Examples on the state’s exempt clearing work page include fences, roads and tracks up to 10 metres wide and buildings within a 2 ha limit, but in remnant (Category B) vegetation these two apply only where the regional ecosystem is least concern. The same page says to check local government planning rules and notes that other local, state and federal laws might also apply, even when work is exempt. Other clearing may need an accepted development code notification or a development approval.

New South Wales: Local Land Services Act 2013 and Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016

In NSW, the Local Land Services Act 2013 and the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 form the Land Management Framework for rural land. The Land Management (Native Vegetation) Code 2018 applies to rural zones RU1, RU2, RU3, RU4 and RU6. Low-impact work may need a notification to Local Land Services; higher-risk work may need a certificate. Clearing on land mapped as Category 2 sensitive regulated land is generally not approved, and the Code does not authorise clearing of critically endangered ecological communities (with one limited exception). Some parts of the Code require a set-aside area in exchange for clearing (NSW Government, Land Management Code guide).

A new step for NSW farmers: the Native Vegetation Regulatory map was released on 31 August 2026. It ends the transitional mapping period that had applied since 2017, except in the Bland and Temora council areas. The map shows which land category applies to your property (Local Land Services).

Commonwealth: EPBC Act

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 applies across Australia. Clearing that is likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, such as habitat of a listed threatened species or a listed ecological community, may need federal approval even when state law allows it. Local Land Services notes that the EPBC Act has recently changed, so check the current federal rules as well. Local Land Services advises landholders to take particular care on land that has not been cleared for 15 years or more.

Other states and territories

Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT each run their own native vegetation permits and maps. The details differ a lot. Contact the state environment or primary industries department before any clearing, thinning or regrowth control.

Practical options for farmers

These options can reduce clearing pressure on your own land or bring trees back into the farm system, sometimes with an income. Pick the ones that fit your land, stock and goals.

1. Keep and manage useful regrowth

Best for: grazing country where native regrowth is already coming back.

Regrowth is large. Queensland mapped 84,649 ha of new regrowth in 2022–23. Keeping strips or patches of it, instead of re-clearing every few years, can provide shade, shelter and habitat at almost no cost. Before you decide, check how your state maps that regrowth: in Queensland, high-value regrowth is Category C, and in NSW some dense native regrowth can be managed under the invasive native species part of the Code.

2. Protect remnant bush with a conservation agreement

Best for: landholders with high-value remnant vegetation who want to keep it for good.

In NSW, the Biodiversity Conservation Trust funds private land conservation, and set-aside areas under the Code are managed for conservation in perpetuity. Ask your state agency whether conservation payments or covenants are available where you farm.

3. Watch your own tree cover from space

Best for: any landholder who wants a record of woody cover, regrowth and planting success.

Public tools and paid services both use satellite images. The ANU’s TreeChange interactive shows long-term tree change for a state, council or property. Farm monitoring services can map vegetation change on your own paddocks each season (see the monitoring section below).

4. Environmental or mallee plantings for carbon credits

Best for: cleared land with enough rainfall and a long-term commitment.

Plantings on cleared land can earn Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) under the Clean Energy Regulator’s reforestation by environmental or mallee plantings method. All vegetation projects carry permanence obligations, so the trees must stay for the project’s permanence period. See the carbon farming section below and test your numbers in the calculator.

5. Plant or keep shelterbelts

Best for: sheep producers in cold, windy districts and croppers on exposed paddocks.

The evidence for lamb survival is strong. A Meat and Livestock Australia fact sheet on trees on farms (2025) reports a southwest Victorian study where lamb mortality was 16% in a sheltered bush paddock and 25% in a neighbouring unsheltered paddock. The same fact sheet notes that the evidence of better weight gain in cattle is limited. It recommends a shelterbelt porosity of about 25% to 50%, because a belt that lets some wind through reduces wind speed over a wider area.

For crops, a Private Forests Tasmania farm shelter guide (June 2026) lists earlier studies with wheat yields 30–40% higher within 1 to 10 tree heights of shelter in northeast Victoria. It also notes the costs: trees shade and compete with the nearest crop or pasture for water and nutrients.

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Lamb deaths with and without shelter

Lamb mortality (%), studies reported by MLA

Carbon farming and ACCUs in Australia

The Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme is run by the Clean Energy Regulator. Projects earn ACCUs for carbon they store or emissions they avoid. Vegetation is the largest source of credits: in the June quarter of 2026, 2.7 million of the 5.4 million ACCUs issued went to vegetation projects (Clean Energy Regulator, Quarterly Carbon Market Report, June quarter 2026). The generic ACCU spot price rose from $36.28 at the end of March 2026 to $37.95 at the end of June 2026.

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ACCUs issued by method type

Million ACCUs issued in the June quarter of 2026 (total 5.4 million)

Which methods are open matters a lot for farmers. The popular human-induced regeneration (HIR) method, which paid for letting native forest regrow by managing grazing and feral animals, expired on 30 September 2023; projects whose crediting period started before then continue, but no new projects can register. The regulator’s list of current ACCU methods includes environmental or mallee plantings (FullCAM 2024), plantation forestry, savanna fire management and soil organic carbon. The Queensland Government is developing a new avoided re-clearing and native reforestation method to replace the expired avoided clearing of native regrowth method.

Before you sign with a carbon developer, get independent advice on eligibility, permanence, fees and how a project fits your grazing plans.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

How to check a block before you clear or plant

1. Get your property map. In Queensland, order a property report and vegetation map; in NSW, look up your land category on the Native Vegetation Regulatory map.
2. Identify the category. Is the area exempt, regulated, sensitive, or near a watercourse?
3. Check for threatened species and communities. Consider the EPBC Act and state lists, especially on land not cleared for 15 years or more.
4. Ask the agency. Call Queensland’s vegetation management team, your Local Land Services office or the relevant agency in your state, and your local council.
5. Record the before state. Keep dated photos and satellite images of the area.
6. Weigh the alternatives. Compare clearing with keeping regrowth, shelterbelts or a carbon project.

Infographic

The four core checks

1. 1MapGet your property vegetation map or NVR map category.
2. 2CheckLook for threatened species, communities and watercourse buffers.
3. 3AskConfirm with your state agency and local council.
4. 4RecordKeep dated photos and satellite images before any work.

Satellite monitoring of tree cover on farms

Governments already watch clearing from space. SLATS uses Sentinel-2 satellite images to map woody vegetation, and Queensland’s Early Detection System checks canopy change in regulated vegetation every 14 days, so officers can contact landholders early if clearing cannot be explained (Queensland SLATS vegetation management analysis).

Landholders can use the same kind of imagery for their own records. The Farmonaut Satellite + AI Farm Monitoring System shows vegetation maps for fields you draw, so you can see where cover is thinning or where a planting is establishing. Satellites show change in green cover; they do not show who cleared land or why. Larger operations can manage many properties through satellite-based farm management solutions, and developers can pull the data through the satellite and weather API using the developer documentation.

Other tools serve narrower jobs. Carbon footprint monitoring tools help track a farm’s emissions, product traceability records where produce came from for buyers who ask for proof of origin, and satellite-based loan and insurance verification gives lenders and insurers a field record. Contractors running machines across several properties can use fleet management solutions to log where equipment worked.

▶ How satellites read plant health with near-infrared light, and how to read a vegetation (NDVI) map of a farm. · 4:09

How we checked the numbers

Every figure on this page comes from an official or research source opened in October 2026: the Queensland SLATS reports (2022–23 and 2023–24) and the SLATS vegetation management analysis, the NSW Government’s 2023 clearing release, the Clean Energy Regulator’s June quarter 2026 market report and method pages, the Meat and Livestock Australia trees-on-farms fact sheet, the Private Forests Tasmania shelter guide and the ANU tree-cover study. We report each figure with its year and what it measures. Queensland and NSW figures use different periods and definitions, so do not add them together as a national total.

FAQ

Is deforestation in Australia still happening?

Yes. Queensland recorded 274,616 ha of woody vegetation affected by clearing in 2023–24, and NSW recorded 32,847 ha of native woody clearing in 2023. Queensland’s clearing has fallen by about 60% since 2018–19.

Which state clears the most land?

Of the two states with figures on this page, Queensland, by a wide margin. The Brigalow Belt and Mulga Lands bioregions accounted for 74% of Queensland’s clearing in 2023–24.

What is the main cause of land clearing in Australia?

Grazing. Pasture replaced the cleared vegetation on 86% of the area cleared in Queensland in 2023–24. In NSW, agriculture was the largest land type for clearing in 2023.

Is clearing regrowth on my farm legal?

It depends on your state, the category of the land and the type of vegetation. Some clearing is exempt, some needs a notification and some needs approval. Federal EPBC rules can also apply. Check with your state agency and council before you start.

Can I still earn carbon credits for regrowth?

New projects can no longer register under the human-induced regeneration method, which expired on 30 September 2023. Open vegetation methods include environmental or mallee plantings and plantation forestry, and Queensland is developing a method for avoided re-clearing and native reforestation. A draft Enhancing Native Vegetation method, which could include revegetation and facilitated regeneration, went to public consultation in July 2026. Check the Clean Energy Regulator’s current method list.

Does Australia have more forest than before?

By some measures, yes. ANU researchers (2020) found about 28 million hectares of forest gained over 30 years, mostly because existing trees grew denser. That does not cancel out the loss of old-growth and rare forests, which cannot be quickly replaced.

To keep a satellite record of your own paddocks, visit Farmonaut or open the web app.