Development in a wild river area
Development applications
Development applications must use the approved forms under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009.
The regulation and management of certain new activities would differ according to the area in which they occur. New activities in these areas would be regulated and managed under existing legislative and planning processes, such as the Sustainable Planning Act 2009.
Many activities will NOT be affected even if the proposed wild river area is declared, including:
- existing developments
- existing or new Category X and Category C Property Maps of Assessable Vegetation (PMAV)
- grazing
- taking water for stock or domestic needs
- improving pasture
- land management such as clearing weeds, and ripping for land remediation
- blade ploughing in an area covered by a Category X PMAV
- recreational fishing
- tourism
- boating or refueling
- traditional cultural activities
- native title
- traditional burning
- growing community gardens for domestic purposes and market gardens up to four hectares in size
- some mining (e.g. limited hand sampling in-stream and low-impact exploration off-stream)
- outstation development.
A number of legislative amendments in the Wild Rivers and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 were recently adopted to reflect the feedback from the Lake Eyre Basin community, as well as from other wild river areas in Queensland.
Further details on the regulation of certain activities can be found in the declaration proposal (PDF, file unavailable)* and in the overview report (PDF, file unavailable)*.
Wild Rivers
The aim of the Wild Rivers Act 2005 is to preserve the natural values of rivers by regulating certain new development activities within declared wild rivers and their catchment areas.
Wild Rivers Code
The Wild Rivers Code (PDF, 958K)*, which took effect on 28 February 2007, outlines the requirements that some proposed development must meet before it can be approved in a declared wild river area. The purpose of the code is to ensure that development and other activities in declared wild river area does not impact on the health of the river system.
The code should be read in conjunction with the relevant wild river declaration for the area to which the development application relates. The wild river declaration details the type of development activities that must be assessed against the code.
The code can also be used as a guide when drafting a development application. This allows applicants to apply innovative solutions to the requirements to preserve the natural values of a wild river.
Development activities covered
The code covers:
- agriculture and animal husbandry
- aquaculture
- environmentally relevant activities
- works in tidal areas, coastal management districts and fish habitat areas
- residential, commercial and industrial development
- works for the take of overland flow water
- works that interfere with overland flow water
- waterway barrier works
- in-stream activities in non-tidal reaches
- riverine quarry material extraction
- forest production on State lands
- native vegetation clearing.
Amending the code
The Wild Rivers Act 2005 provides a process for amending the code. Comments on the code can be forwarded to the department and these comments will be considered if amendments are necessary.
Property development plans
If certain development activities are not permissible under an existing wild river declaration, the applicant can voluntarily prepare a property development plan detailing proposed works to be completed within the next 10 years.
The plan should generally address activities that are subject to regulation due to the land in question being in a declared wild river area (e.g. quarrying; tree clearing; building dams, roads and feedlots).
On receipt of an application to approve a property development plan, the Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and Minister for Trade will consider if:
- the proposed development cannot be reasonably carried out without amending the declaration
- it is likely that the proposed development will be carried out within ten years of approval
- the proposed development and works will not have an overall adverse impact on declared wild river’s natural values
- the environmental benefits of the plan justify its approval.
The Minister must refuse to approve the plan if the above requirements are not met, and may attach conditions which must be complied with if the plan is approved.
The Minister may then seek to amend a wild river declaration to include the approved property development plan. This is a public process involving a consultation period after which the minister will consider any submissions and then decide whether or not to amend the declaration.
If the declaration is not amended the property development plan has no effect.
Property development plan guide and application form
- Property development plan information sheet (PDF, 154K)*
- Application for property development plan approval
- Applicants guide for property development form (PDF, 53K)*
Further information
Supporting information—fact sheets and guides
Contact us for more information or copies of the fact sheets and guides.
* Requires Adobe Reader
Last updated 10 June 2011