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East Gippsland Shire Council is working to protect and restore our region’s unique ecosystems. Healthy native vegetation and biodiversity are vital for clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and community wellbeing.
Our programs focus on:
Native vegetation management – supporting landholders and ensuring compliance.
Street tree projects – creating greener, more liveable towns.
Weed control and revegetation – tackling invasive species and restoring habitats.
Integrated water management – improving waterway health and resilience.
Through YourSay, we invite the community to contribute ideas and stay informed about projects that enhance East Gippsland’s natural environment.
Explore this section for guidelines, project updates, and ways to get involved.
Council uses the Your Say East Gippsland platform to actively engage with the community on native vegetation and biodiversity initiatives, helping community to understand and contribute to a healthier local environment. By using YourSay, Council ensures transparent communication, encourages community input, and provides ongoing updates to support long-term environmental stewardship across the region.
Visit YourSay East Gippsland to learn more and follow current projects.
Native vegetation exists across East Gippsland in rural and urban areas. It provides a number of ecological benefits including habitat for fauna and their movement across the landscape, natural erosion control, and shading effects in urbanised areas.
The definition of native vegetation in Victoria is any plants that are indigenous to the state, including trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses.
Removal of native vegetation species (including lopping, trimming or pruning) typically requires planning permit approval under the East Gippsland Planning Scheme, unless an exemption applies.
Unauthorised clearance of native vegetation is illegal under the Planning and Environment Act 1987. Further information is available within the East Gippsland Planning Scheme as to what Council considers as part of planning permit application.
The scheme also provides for vegetation protection in some areas, and there may also be agreements or covenants on land titles relating to vegetation protection.
Before removing or trimming native vegetation, you should contact Council’s Planning Department on 5153 9500 to determine what controls apply to your land.
The urban streetscape is an important part of any town. Council’s long-term vision and strategy is to increase the tree canopy in a way that reflects the different characteristics of each town and region. Capital budget has been allocated each year to implement these works on selected streets.
A healthy urban streetscape has shown to be critical in maintaining the health and liveability of our townships, through:
Council has selected a range of trees that have been shown to perform well in streetscapes and are suitable for the conditions and surrounding infrastructure. When determining the species selection, the following factors were taken into account:
The cost of weeds to agriculture in Australia is estimated to be $4 billion annually (in lost production and control costs).
Weeds cause serious problems to the economy, environment, human and animal health, biodiversity, eco-tourism, water quality, recreation, amenity and landscape. They are also a fire hazard.
It is estimated that 65% of weeds introduced to the Australian landscape are “escapees” from urban parks and gardens.
Six of Australia’s worst invasive weeds have degraded over 20 million hectares of grazing and natural lands.
Victorian weed management
The Catchment and Land Protection (CaLP) Act 1994 specifies four categories of noxious weeds in Victoria:
It is illegal to buy, sell, possess for sale, display, plant, propagate, deposit onto land, bring into or transport around Victoria a noxious weed, its seeds, or any part of the plant capable of growing.
The Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR) is responsible for the control and eradication of all state prohibited weeds.
Roadside weeds and pest animals are an ongoing issue. Responsibility for the management of roadside weeds and pests will be VicRoads, council or private road ownership as defined in the CaLP Act 1994 and its amendments.
Council has developed a Control Plan in line with the amendments which allow a decision framework where Council can continue the control of high category weed species and support extended public and private land control for other listed weed and pest animal species.
Check out our easy-to-read two-page guide to Rural Roadside Vegetation Management.
And the Roadside Weeds and Pests Program Control Plan 2023-2026