Frequently Asked Questions

All mapping is available for viewing by the public by clicking here.

Council's planning and ecology officers will be available during the exhibition period to discuss any specific enquiries you may have.

If you have more than a few simple questions, and would like to view and discuss the mapping with an officer, you are encouraged to book a one on one appointment at Council's Murwillumbah or Tweed Heads office.

Alternatively, you may call and speak to an appropriate officer.

A number of community information sessions will also be held to provide more general information on the C zone review process.  See the 'Consultation' section on the main project page for dates and times.  

The Northern Councils E-Zone Review Final Recommendations Report sets out a range of ecological criteria that land must meet before it qualifies for a Conservation zone.

The six C2 zone criteria are: 

• Mapped littoral rainforest identified in legislation;
• Mapped coastal wetland identified in legislation;
• Endangered Ecological Communities that are identified in legislation;
• Key threatened species habitat;
• Over-cleared vegetation communities; and
• Culturally significant lands. 

The three E3 zone criteria are: 

• Riparian and estuarine vegetation and wetlands; 
• Rare, endangered and vulnerable forest ecosystems; and 
• Native vegetation on coastal foreshores. 

Any land proposed for a C zone must contain at least one of the above ecological criteria, and this must be verified using aerial imagery, field survey or consultation with land owners.

The Tweed C Zones Methodology Report describes in technical detail how Council has applied C zones and met the requirements of the Final Recommendations Report.  The report is available on Council’s website yoursaytweed,com.au/czones

NOTE: In the Tweed, Aboriginal cultural heritage and significance is comprehensively mapped and managed through the Tweed Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan 2018. To avoid duplication, C Zones have not been proposed over ‘culturally significant land’ where it does not meet any of the other ecological criteria.  

Council has used at least one of the following methods to verify which land meets the C zone criteria and therefore has been mapped as a C zone:

• Air photo interpretation of recent (2015), high resolution aerial imagery;
• Field inspection; and/or
• Flora and fauna reports that are less than 5 years old.

The Final Recommendations Report says that a C Zone should only be applied if the 'Primary Use' of the land over the past 2 years was 'environmental'. 

Primary Use is defined as "the main use of the land over the past two years" based on evidence about the nature of the activities that have been taking place there. If the main use is for rural or farming operations, agricultural practices need to be demonstrated. 

A Primary Use of 'environmental' needs to demonstrate the environmental values of the land and vegetation, and the absence of any agricultural or other land use needs to be confirmed. 

Depending on the characteristics of the land, the primary use may vary across a single property.

Council has developed a 'Primary Use Map' which identifies three categories of primary use:

Environmental - applies where there is bushland or wetlands where natural ecological processes are the dominant feature. It is also applied to all existing environmental protection zones under the Tweed LEP 2000. 

Agriculture - applies to all areas dominated by cropping, horticulture, pasture management, grazing and other forms of agriculture. 

Other - applies to all remaining areas not covered by the environmental or agriculture categories and includes urban areas and developed open spaces. 

The draft Primary Use map can be viewed by clicking on the mapping tab on the main project page. 

If you believe the Primary Use that has been assigned to your land is incorrect, you have the opportunity through this consultation to request a review. Your request will need to be supported by evidence that proves the land has been used for a different purpose over the past two years.

In most instances Council can apply C zone without a landowner’s agreement, so long as the land meets the criteria set out in the NSW Government's Northern Councils E Zone Review Final Recommendations Report. 

Council must notify the landowner before making any changes to the zoning of the land to whether that be to a C zone or any other zone, and give them the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed change.  

The first round of consultation Tweed Shire Council is doing is designed to:

• provide written notification to land owners whose properties have been drafted for a zone change, and
• assist landowner and the community to understand how the draft mapping has been developed, to identify any inconsistencies and allow landowners to view, understand and provide feedback on the proposed changes, before they are formally proposed.  

Council is conducting this consultation to help landowners understand how and why C Zones are being allocated to their land, so that you can review the proposed mapping and compare it to what you know about your property.  

Most of the mapping has been created using existing vegetation mapping, and verified using aerial photos. We know that there will be some situations where what is on the ground may not match up with the mapping that has been proposed. 

We are encouraging landowners to let us know whether we got the mapping on their property right. If you don’t think the mapping on your property matches what is actually on the ground, this is your opportunity to let us know why. For example, you should let us know if you don't think the vegetation communities on your land meet the C Zone criteria, or if the way you have been using your land for the past 2 years doesn’t match the primary land use we have identified. 

With your permission, Council's ecological officers may perform a site visit to assess the vegetation characteristics on your land. 

If a site visit confirms that part or all of your property does not meet the C Zone criteria, or has been given the wrong Primary Use, we will change the mapping to reflect what is actually on the ground.  

Forestry is permissible with consent in the C3 Environmental Management zone as well as many other zones. If you don't already have approval for forestry, you would need to lodge a development application seeking approval.   

Regardless of the zoning of your land, the vegetation you wish to harvest may already be protected under other state laws that would prevent a development application being approved. A C3 zoning does not influence this decision.  

Forestry is prohibited in the C2 Environmental Conservation zone. Forestry is inappropriate in these high conservation value areas.  

Read more about sustainable forestry on the NSW Local Land Services website here.    

Where State Significant Farmland is being actively farmed, its Primary Use is agriculture so it can not be given a C zone. No land that is being actively farmed is proposed for a C zone. 

However, there are some areas of mapped State Significant Farmland that have existing native forests or coastal wetlands, usually along the edges of farms. These areas contain established natural vegetation or bushland, and are not farmed. They have a Primary Use of environmental, and where they meet the ecological criteria, they are proposed for a C zone. 

In the Stage 1 area there is a total of 867 hectares of mapped State Significant Farmland consisting of:

• 121 hectares at Terranora, all under existing urban or environmental zoning 
• 580 hectares at Cudgen
• 166 hectares at Duranbah

Of the above, only 6.5 hectares of State Significant farmland at Cudgen and Duranbah are proposed for a C zone.  This equals 1% of all the mapped State Significant Farmland in those localities.

There are no C zones proposed over State Significant Farmland in Terranora.  

Areas of mapped Regionally Significant Farmland on the Tweed Coast are mostly on the floodplains of the Tweed River and coastal estuaries. Almost all areas of remaining bushland or vegetation on those floodplains meet the C zone criteria (e.g. Endangered Ecological Communities and Coastal Wetlands), have a primary use of environmental and are proposed for a C zone where consistent with the ecological criteria.

C zones are only proposed on State or Regionally Significant Farmland where there is existing vegetation that meets the criteria. 

Yes. Any private land can be given a C zone at the request of the landowner, whether or not it meets the ecological criteria. 

Council will consider any voluntary landholder requests to apply a Conservation zone to private property. 

As communities grow and change, zoning maps need to be reviewed and adjusted to meet the changing needs of our community. 

Zones are applied to guide development in the broader public interest. They don't consider the specific interests of individual landowners or provide any ongoing entitlement or ‘rights’ to use the land.   

Its true that application of a C zone may result in less flexibility in the types of new developments that are permissible on that land, depending on what it was zoned previously, and some land holders will be more affected than others.  

If you already have legal approval for a development or land use on your property, and a zoning change that prohibits this development or land use is applied afterward, you are allowed to continue using your land for that purpose because you are protected under ‘Existing Use Rights’. Learn more about Existing Use Rights here. 

If a development or land use is currently permitted on your property but you don’t have approval for it, then a zoning change means that land use becomes prohibited, the new zoning rules will apply.  We are applying the new C zones in accordance with the state government’s direction on how to use zoning to protect the environment and unfortunately there is no protection for unrealised development potential. 

Read more about how zoning works in NSW here.

C zones proposed on private land are almost entirely in areas of native vegetation, that is often steep, swampy or isolated. The potential for development of that land is already inherently limited for these and other reasons. The perception of loss because the permissible uses have changed is, in most cases, worse than the reality of trying to develop such highly constrained land.

A C zone on your land does not mean you must stop your farming. 

Council's zoning review, and the NSW Government’s Northern Council’s E Zone Review Final Recommendations Report aims to support rural activities while also providing better protection for the environment.  

Extensive agriculture is permitted without consent in the new C3 Environmental Management zone. This means that new extensive agriculture activities can take place in the C3 zone, at any time, without the need for Council approval. 

Extensive agriculture is also permitted in the C2 Environmental Conservation zone, but does need DA approval first. 

Learn more about 'extensive agriculture'. 

If all or some of your farm is rezoned to a C Zone, other types of farming activities that are not extensive agriculture may become prohibited.

If you have approval and were carrying out your other farming activities legally before the zoning change, you can continue because you are protected under existing use rights. Learn more about Existing Use Rights. 

We encourage you to contact us if you feel that your existing rural operations will be disrupted because of a C zone on your land.  

Subdivision is still permitted on land with an C zone, subject to approval.

All land in all zones must meet the ‘Minimum Lot Size’ allocated under the Tweed Local Environmental Plan before it can be subdivided.

The minimum lot size for C zones is 40 hectares. This is the same as the RU2 Rural Landscape Zone, and most of the old ‘7 zones’.  For these properties changing from a rural or 7 zone to a C zone, subdivision potential will not change. 

Where land is changing from an urban zoning to a C zone, this may affect your ability to meet the minimum lot size on the remaining urban zoned land.

However, before being approved for subdivision the land must be suitable in many other ways as well as the minimum size. For example, if a proposed subdivision would create a residential lot, the new lot must be able to accommodate a new dwelling house. It must have good access, suitable services, it cannot be too steep or require significant vegetation clearing in order to build a house.

If there is a C2 zone proposed on urban land, it means that land has high value vegetation that would likely already have restrictions prohibiting the clearing of that vegetation to make way for a new dwelling, even if the minimum lot size could be met. 

This means a subdivision would be unlikely to be approved regardless of the zoning, C zone or otherwise.

Dwelling houses are permitted with development approval in the C3 Environmental Management zone, but they are prohibited in the C2 Environmental Conservation zone.  

The C2 zone is similar to the old 7(a) Wetland and Littoral Rainforest and 7(f) Coastal Lands zones, where dwelling houses have always been prohibited. If there is C2 proposed over your land it means that your land has high value vegetation that would likely already have restrictions prohibiting vegetation clearing to make way for a dwelling, even if your current zoning allowed it.  

There may be some cases where land that is proposed for a C2 zone already has an approved dwelling house on it. In these cases, under existing use rights, those approved dwellings may continue to be used as dwellings.

Read more about Existing Use Rights here.

Farm sheds are permitted with development approval in the C3 Environmental Management zone, but they are also prohibited in the C2 Environmental Conservation zone. 

Under the old (7) environmental protection zones, farm sheds were only allowed on land where approval for agriculture had already been given. 

In cases where rural zoned land is changed to a C3 zone, farm sheds are still permissible but will need a development application. If any clearing is needed it will be assessed as part of that development application. 

When the zoning of a property changes, the types of developments and land uses that are permitted or prohibited may also change. In some cases this can benefit the landowner financially. In other cases, development opportunities may become more limited.  

If the way the land can be used under the new zoning is more limited than the old zoning, there is no legal right to financial compensation simply because the planning rules have changed.

Similarly, there is no tax on a landowner if a zoning change means there are more ways they can use their land and they have potential financial benefit. 

Compensation for zoning changes is ultimately a matter for the NSW State Government and Tweed Shire Council cannot change or influence compensation decisions. 

Read more about how zoning work in NSW here.

In 2016, the NSW Government introduced strict laws that control vegetation clearing on all land, in all zones. 

Since then, rural land owners have not been allowed to arbitrarily clear vegetation to expand their farm, or for any other reason, without state government approval, even if their property is zoned Rural. 

Any expansion of farming operations that requires clearing native vegetation must be assessed and approved under the State vegetation clearing laws, regardless of zone.   

If land is changed from a rural zone to a C Zone, there may be limitations on the types of new agricultural activities and land uses that are permitted, however this is not related to clearing of land. 

Learn more  

The NSW Local Land Services Act 2013 (LLS Act) governs many aspects of rural zoned land. It identifies a list of ‘allowable activities’, including some vegetation removal, that is a normal part of rural land management and are allowed without any permit or approval on rural land.

Where land changes from a rural zone to a C zone, the LLS Act and its exemptions will no longer apply. Instead, Council's local vegetation clearing policy will apply. 

Council is amending its local planning policies so landowners whose land is being rezoned from a rural zone to C3 Environmental Management zone can still carry out low impact small scale clearing and day to day rural land management activities without approval. These are called exempt activities.

Exempt activities include clearing vegetation for firewood collection, construction timber, environmental protection works, maintaining firebreaks and maintenance of existing rural infrastructure. Some vegetation, such as koala food trees, are not included in exempt activities.

We encourage landholders who feel that rezoning will impact their ability to carry out day to day farm activities to contact Council to discuss their concerns. 

C zones do not come with any kind of additional obligation for land owners to do anything more. There is no requirement for them look after or manage their land differently or provide additional protection to the vegetation that is there. 

The zoning and its rules are only triggered if a landowner or applicant wants to undertake development on that land.  

Existing environmental protection laws apply to all land in all zones and cover aspects like vegetation clearing, pollution, weed and feral animal management, animal welfare, bushfire protection and water management.  

 All of us must play our part to protect our natural environment, no matter what our land is zoned.

There is little, if any, evidence to support the idea that having a C Zone on your land will impact its market value.   

Existing local and state planning controls (e.g. vegetation clearing controls, regulations relating to coastal wetlands, littoral rainforest, koala habitat and bushfire risk) and the physical features of the land (e.g. steep land, flood prone land) already limit development potential in most areas that are proposed for a C zone. A proposed C zones simply reflect those existing limitations.  

Land values on the NSW Far North Coast are among the highest in the state and continue to rise. We do know that environmental values are at least part of the appeal of the region. 

It is very difficult to measure whether having a C zone either reduces or increases property prices.  

Along with the new C zones themselves, Council is also proposing a new ‘environmental overlay map’ and some additional written planning controls to the Tweed Local Environmental Plans. 

The NSW Government's Final Recommendations Report gives the option of using these other types of LEP maps and planning controls to protect environmental values that are not suited for a C zone.

A new overlay map and linked planning controls are proposed for steep land (18 degree slope or greater) to manage the risk of risk of landslip and increased sediment runoff into waterways. 

New written planning controls (without overlay maps) are proposed for:

• Land adjacent to waterways - to manage the risk of impacts to water quality and ecological processes as a result of development. These controls will be in the form of a written clause that describes waterways and land within 40m of a high water mark. There is no overlay map linked to this clause.
• Koala protection – a new clause that gives effect to the Tweed Coast Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management, which was approved by the NSW Government in 2021. 
• Beaches zoned C2 Environmental Conservation – to allow some small scale, low impact recreational activities that would otherwise be prohibited.

Some minor amendments have also been made to the zone mapping where it relates to waterways zones. The amendments mostly realign the mapped boundaries between waterways and land zones so they are in the position where water and land actually meet. 

See Tell Me More Fact Sheet 5 for more information. 

Council’s review of zoning for environmental protection, and the new draft C zones are not limited only to “deferred matters”. Our review has been performed across all land and compared existing vegetation characteristics against the ecological criteria of the Final Recommendations Report. A C zone has been applied to all land that meets one or more criteria. 

Therefore, based on the Council’s Methodology Report, the draft mapping includes the following types of zoning change:

• Deferred land that meets the NSW Government's ecological criteria is proposed as a C zone;
• Deferred land that does not meet the ecological criteria is proposed for an alternative suitable zone;
• Other land that is currently zoned under Tweed LEP 2014, and meets the ecological criteria, is proposed as a C zone.

Some properties that currently have a single zoning, for example RU2 Rural Landscape, could continue to have the RU2 zone but may have some areas of vegetation that meet the criteria for a C2 or C3 zone. These areas are proposed for C zones, the properties such as this will now have multiple zonings on them. 

A C Zone does not mean your land is automatically suitable for generating biodiversity credits. Biodiversity values must be thoroughly assessed and approved by the Biodiversity Conservation Trust. 

If your land is suitable for biodiversity credits, you choose whether you sign up to generate and/or sell those credits. Council plays no role in that process and has no authority to claim credits over your land or any land that it does not own. 

Learn more about biodiversity credits.