Draft Control of Burning Policy

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Consultation has concluded

The consultation period has now closed, and the Engagement Report is available for viewing. 

The Control of Burning Policy was first adopted in September 2000 when the Protection of the Environment Operations (Control of Burning) Regulation 2000 commenced. This policy was adopted and implemented to control vegetation burning activities in certain land-use zones within the LGA where conditions in the policy were met. Since the adoption of this policy, it has been amended in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2018, and 2022 to reflect changes to legislation and relevant guidelines.

The existing policy has been reviewed and is still considered relevant for our community. The Draft Control of Burning Policy has been updated to provide greater clarity around the purpose of the policy and its role in providing an overarching approval framework, while also account for changes to legislation, referenced documents, and Fire Danger Ratings.

The draft policy continues to provide an avenue for Council to have an overarching approval framework under the Clean Air Regulation for a person to burn dead and dry vegetation that was grown on the property in specified land use zones, without having to apply for and obtain individual approvals for each proposed burning event. This removes application costs for residents and streamlines Council’s administrative and regulatory processes. The applicable zones are the rural zones being RU1 Primary Production, RU2 Rural Landscape, RU3 Forestry, RU6 Transition and R5 Large Lot Residential. RU4 is no longer included in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Local Environmental Plan 2011 and is therefore no longer referenced in the draft policy.

Open burning is prohibited in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Local Government Area (LGA) under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (the POEO Act) and the Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2022 (the Clean Air Regulation), except with approval or where relevant but limited exemptions apply.

Community Engagement

In preparing the draft policy, Fire and Rescue NSW and the Rural Fire Service were provided with an advanced draft copy to aid in this review and were provided the opportunity to provide comment due to the interrelatedness of the draft policy with relevant fire control legislation. No recommendations for change were received for the draft policy.

Internal Consultation

The draft policy was prepared by the Environment and Regulatory Services Group within Council and no further consultation was considered necessary outside of that Group prior to public consultation given the nature and scope of the policy and the proposed changes.

Have Your Say

You can provide your feedback on the Draft Control of Burning Policy by:

  • Completing the online survey; or
  • Emailing your feedback to council@pmhc.nsw.gov.au; or
  • Posting to:
    Chief Executive Officer
    Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
    PO Box 84
    Port Macquarie NSW 2444

All submissions must be received by 5pm, 23 April 2025.

The consultation period has now closed, and the Engagement Report is available for viewing. 

The Control of Burning Policy was first adopted in September 2000 when the Protection of the Environment Operations (Control of Burning) Regulation 2000 commenced. This policy was adopted and implemented to control vegetation burning activities in certain land-use zones within the LGA where conditions in the policy were met. Since the adoption of this policy, it has been amended in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2018, and 2022 to reflect changes to legislation and relevant guidelines.

The existing policy has been reviewed and is still considered relevant for our community. The Draft Control of Burning Policy has been updated to provide greater clarity around the purpose of the policy and its role in providing an overarching approval framework, while also account for changes to legislation, referenced documents, and Fire Danger Ratings.

The draft policy continues to provide an avenue for Council to have an overarching approval framework under the Clean Air Regulation for a person to burn dead and dry vegetation that was grown on the property in specified land use zones, without having to apply for and obtain individual approvals for each proposed burning event. This removes application costs for residents and streamlines Council’s administrative and regulatory processes. The applicable zones are the rural zones being RU1 Primary Production, RU2 Rural Landscape, RU3 Forestry, RU6 Transition and R5 Large Lot Residential. RU4 is no longer included in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Local Environmental Plan 2011 and is therefore no longer referenced in the draft policy.

Open burning is prohibited in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Local Government Area (LGA) under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (the POEO Act) and the Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2022 (the Clean Air Regulation), except with approval or where relevant but limited exemptions apply.

Community Engagement

In preparing the draft policy, Fire and Rescue NSW and the Rural Fire Service were provided with an advanced draft copy to aid in this review and were provided the opportunity to provide comment due to the interrelatedness of the draft policy with relevant fire control legislation. No recommendations for change were received for the draft policy.

Internal Consultation

The draft policy was prepared by the Environment and Regulatory Services Group within Council and no further consultation was considered necessary outside of that Group prior to public consultation given the nature and scope of the policy and the proposed changes.

Have Your Say

You can provide your feedback on the Draft Control of Burning Policy by:

  • Completing the online survey; or
  • Emailing your feedback to council@pmhc.nsw.gov.au; or
  • Posting to:
    Chief Executive Officer
    Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
    PO Box 84
    Port Macquarie NSW 2444

All submissions must be received by 5pm, 23 April 2025.

  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Survey

    It is important to have a strong understanding of the needs and priorities of the community. This survey is for anyone in the community to provide their feedback and ideas about our current or future active transport networks within our Local Government Area

    As a valued member of the community, we would like to hear from you. 

    This survey closes 5pm, 23 April 2025.


    Note: Information collected via submissions and petitions is public information, this information may form part of Council reports or made public in their entirety subject to the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 or the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). You may request, in writing, that Council suppress the personal information in your submission from public release, if you consider that the personal safety of any person would be affected if the information was not suppressed Any such request will be dealt with in accordance with the GIPA Act and the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998

    Consultation has concluded
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