Received a Show Cause Notice for Clearing or Earthworks in Queensland? Here Is What To Do

A show cause notice is a letter from your council saying it believes vegetation clearing, tree removal or earthworks on your property needed an approval that was not in place. It is a chance to respond, not a conviction, and your written response is due by a fixed date that you cannot get back. Envirosphere is a Gold Coast ecological consultancy that prepares the response and the rehabilitation management plan council usually asks for, across South East Queensland and Northern NSW.

The first phone call costs nothing. Send a photo of the notice and we will tell you what it is asking for.

What does a show cause notice mean?

In Queensland, councils issue show cause notices under section 167 of the Planning Act 2016. The notice must say council is considering an enforcement notice, set out the facts behind that, and tell you how and by when to make representations, which simply means your written response.

The law gives you at least 20 business days, which in practice usually lands about four to six weeks from the date of the letter, so check the exact date on your notice. Most notices allege a development offence, usually assessable development without a permit under section 163. The 4,500 penalty units most notices quote is standard wording: the ceiling a court could impose, not the normal result.

After the deadline, council reads your response and decides whether to issue an enforcement notice under section 168. That notice can require you to stop, restore the land as far as practicable, apply for a permit or give council a compliance program, each with a deadline, and it can be appealed to the Planning and Environment Court within 20 business days. Notices do not expire on their own, and councils can escalate an old matter years later, so it pays to close it out properly.

Worth knowing: for vegetation clearing, erosion or sedimentation, the Act lets council skip the show cause step and go straight to an enforcement notice. If that is your letter, the required actions and dates are already set, council does not usually extend them, and an appeal does not pause a clearing notice.

What is the difference between a show cause notice, an enforcement notice and a restoration notice?

Some councils, including the Gold Coast, send a request letter or warning letter before any formal notice. If your letter cites section 167 of the Planning Act 2016 it is a show cause notice; if it cites section 168 it is an enforcement notice.

What does council usually ask for in response to a notice?

It depends on the council and the officer, but the requests fall into a familiar set:

• A rehabilitation management plan (RMP) by a qualified ecologist: what gets planted, where, at what density, how weeds are controlled and how council signs it off. On the Gold Coast this follows City Plan policy SC6.8.
• An ecological site assessment of what was there before and what is there now. Gold Coast notices cite City Plan policy SC6.7.
• For earthworks, an operational works application (change to ground level) with an RPEQ engineer’s design and certification, or supervised reinstatement of the original levels. We handle the ecological part beside your engineer.
• Sometimes a retrospective application for operational works (vegetation clearing), or a vegetation management plan.

If you have already replanted yourself, council will usually want it documented: species, stock size, spacing and provenance. Nursery cultivars generally do not count, so we check what is in the ground and supplement where it falls short.

How we respond, step by step

1. Read the notice and confirm the deadline. The notice often spells out exactly what council wants. We confirm the due date, check whether more than one matter is open, and if more time is genuinely needed we ask council in writing before the date passes.
2. Assess the site. A field ecologist visits, compares older and current aerial photos to fix the area affected, and identifies the pre-clearing vegetation type so the planting matches what was there.
3. Write the plan. We draft the rehabilitation management plan, and the ecological site assessment if required, to the council’s own policy, keep it proportionate to the area affected, and send you a draft first.
4. Deal with council. We lodge, liaise with the compliance officer and the assessment team, and handle amendments. It is common for a first plan to come back with requested changes, and we handle those.
5. See it through. An accepted plan typically runs about 12 months of establishment, maintenance, inspections and sign-off. We can run the monitoring or hand you a plan you manage yourself.

Which council sent your notice?

Each council runs its own compliance team and quotes its own overlay and code names.

Show cause notice from City of Gold Coast

City of Gold Coast notices come from its Development Compliance team and typically cite the City Plan’s Vegetation management code, its environmental significance overlay mapping and, for earthworks, the change to ground level provisions, with any plan written to policies SC6.7 and SC6.8. Most of the notices we see come from the hinterland and valleys. We cover Tallebudgera Valley, Currumbin Valley, Mudgeeraba, Tallai, Bonogin, Numinbah Valley and Springbrook. Read the Gold Coast show cause notice page.

Show cause notice from Scenic Rim Regional Council

Scenic Rim Regional Council notices usually cite sections 163 and 165 of the Planning Act 2016 and the Environmental significance overlay code and its overlay maps (the OM-04 series: biodiversity, local biodiversity, priority species, wetlands and waterways, and local watercourses) in the Scenic Rim Planning Scheme 2020. Common areas are Tamborine Mountain, Canungra, Beaudesert, Boonah and the Fassifern Valley. Read the Scenic Rim show cause notice page.

Show cause or enforcement notice from Logan City Council

Logan City Council works under the Biodiversity areas overlay code and the Waterway corridors and wetlands overlay code in the Logan Planning Scheme 2015. These overlays cover much of Logan’s rural residential land, including Jimboomba, Logan Village, Greenbank, Cedar Grove and Chambers Flat. Read the Logan show cause notice page.

Show cause, enforcement or compliance notice from Brisbane City Council

Brisbane City Council protects vegetation under two laws: the Natural Assets Local Law 2003, which uses compliance notices, and the Brisbane City Plan 2014 overlays (Biodiversity areas, Waterway corridors, Wetlands and Significant landscape tree), which run through Planning Act show cause and enforcement notices. Most notices we see come from the acreage and creek frontage suburbs such as Brookfield, Pullenvale, Moggill, The Gap, Burbank and Chandler. Read the Brisbane show cause notice page.

Notice from Tweed Shire Council (NSW)

Tweed is in New South Wales, so the Queensland process above does not apply. Council’s equivalent of a show cause notice is a notice of intention to give a development control order under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and clearing on non rural land is controlled by Section B2 of the Tweed Development Control Plan 2025. Read the Tweed show cause notice page.

Other SEQ councils

We also take on notices in the Redland, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast council areas.

What if the notice came from Northern NSW?

Across the border the process is different but the shape is familiar. NSW councils act under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and usually give notice of a proposed development control order, such as an order to restore works, with a chance to make representations before it is made, and an order can be appealed to the Land and Environment Court within 28 days. Clearing on rural land may also involve Local Land Services, so check who issued your letter and call us; the restoration plan works the same way on either side of the border. Our Tweed Shire page covers the NSW process in detail.

Why people call Envirosphere

• We are ecologists. We write the document council is actually asking for.
• No judgement. Most people who call did not know an approval might be needed: some scrub was cleared, a contractor took out more than expected, nobody mentioned a permit.
• Honest about the limits. Every matter is a negotiation with council and we never promise an outcome. We give a clear written fee proposal before any work starts.
• Proportionate plans. Whatever a plan proposes becomes your obligation, so we propose what is fair for the area affected and let council say if it wants more.
• We do the back and forth. We talk to council; you stay informed. Where the notice covers more than vegetation, we work beside your engineer, planner or lawyer. See our services.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to respond, and what happens if I ignore it?

You are not legally obliged to respond, but ignoring the notice is usually the worst option. Council can then issue an enforcement notice requiring you to stop, restore the land, apply for a permit or provide a compliance program, and it is an offence not to comply with it.

How long do I have to respond?

In Queensland the law requires at least 20 business days from when the notice is given, which in practice usually lands about four to six weeks from the date of the letter, so check the exact date on your notice. Extensions are sometimes granted if you ask in writing before the date, with a reason such as an ecologist having been engaged.

How much is the fine for clearing without approval?

Most notices quote the statutory maximum of 4,500 penalty units, which is more than $770,000 at the current Queensland penalty unit value. That is the ceiling a court could impose, not a typical result. Many matters are resolved through an agreed rehabilitation plan rather than court, but each one is a negotiation and no outcome can be promised.

Do I need a lawyer, a town planner or an ecologist?

It depends on what the notice alleges. A rehabilitation management plan or ecological assessment is an ecologist’s job, an unlawful use question is town planner territory, earthworks need an RPEQ engineer, and a lawyer helps if you intend to dispute the facts or appeal. We will tell you on the first call which you actually need.

Can council make me replant or restore the land?

Yes. An enforcement notice can require you to restore the land as far as practicable to its earlier condition, and a court enforcement order can direct rehabilitation of cleared vegetation. A rehabilitation management plan sets out a fair, achievable restoration for council to consider, and we negotiate any changes it asks for.

Did I actually need approval to clear the trees?

Often yes, even on your own land. On the Gold Coast, assessable vegetation is any tree over 4 metres tall or with a trunk circumference over 40 cm at 1.3 metres, and Logan protects native trees over 4 metres or 31.5 cm circumference, with wider protection where an overlay applies. Exemptions exist for verified pest species, dangerous trees and small clearances around buildings, so we check the overlay mapping and the exemptions before anything is conceded.

Can I get retrospective approval?

Sometimes. An enforcement notice can require you to apply for the permit that should have been obtained, usually an operational works application for vegetation clearing or earthworks. Council is not obliged to approve it and often asks for a rehabilitation management plan alongside it, so we advise on which path is realistic before lodging anything.

I think I actually did the wrong thing. Can you still help?

Yes. Our job is not to judge how the clearing or works happened; it is to work out what council wants and get a sensible plan in front of it. Being honest and transparent with council tends to produce the smoothest path.

Will the notice go on my property record or bind the next owner?

Councils generally record a show cause or enforcement notice against the property while it is current, and it can show up on a rates or property search. A court enforcement order can also be recorded on the title and bind future owners. Once the matter is resolved, ask council to update its record so a future search shows it as closed.

Talk to an ecologist today

A five minute call today is worth more than a rushed reply on the deadline. Tell us which council sent the notice and the date on it, or use the contact page.

Prepared by Tim Fergusson-Calwell, Director, Envirosphere Environmental Consulting, Gold Coast, Queensland. Last reviewed 19 October 2026.