I’m a nature campaigner and I’ve spent the last few months working with ACF’s Investigations team to identify instances where protected ecosystems have been bulldozed on farmland.
Here’s what I’ve learned from speaking with the farmers doing the bulldozing and what needs to change.
But first – why is ACF detecting bulldozing on farmland?
In December 2025, the Australian Parliament passed changes to the country’s federal nature protection laws.
One of the changes which took immediate effect was tightening a loophole that previously allowed the agricultural sector to bulldoze protected ecosystems without the same checks and balances as other industries.
As of December 2025, the law is clear. Destroying vegetation that is over 15 years old or within 50 metres of a waterway that drains into the Great Barrier Reef is no longer exempt from the law.
Previously, this kind of bulldozing could have been covered by a loophole called the ‘continuous use exemption’ which means it was routinely bulldozed without being referred for assessment under Australia’s nature protection law.
Now, if bulldozing bushland that’s over 15 years old is likely to have a ‘significant impact’ on a protected species like koalas, quolls or black cockatoos or on protected plants and ecosystems, it is no longer covered by the old ‘continuous use’ exemption. It must be assessed and given the tick of approval by the federal government before it can happen.
While these changes are welcome, this bulldozing is still happening without the federal OK being sought first.
What have we found?
ACF’s Investigations team has been scouring the satellites and uncovered more than a dozen examples of bulldozing on farmland, mainly cattle properties,that we believe should have first been referred to the federal government for assessment but wasn’t.
This includes critically endangered grassy woodlands in Queensland, important koala trees, subtropical rainforest in New South Wales and areas mapped as being homes for threatened animals like quolls and regent honeyeaters.
All of this bulldozing occurred after the nature protection laws were tightened and, while some it had State approval, none of it had been assessed let alone approved at the federal level.
This destruction is a big problem for wildlife, farmers and everyday Aussies like you and me.
Here’s just a few reasons why:
The homes of threatened animals are being flattened. Threatened species like koalas, quolls and black cockatoos cannot afford to be pushed closer toward extinction.
It impacts soil and water quality. Forests and woodlands provide countless benefits like healthy soil, clean water, cooling and rainfall.
It harms the climate. Deforestation currently emits around 55 million tonnes of CO2e per year in Australia, that’s almost as much as all the passenger cars in Australia.
The damage can reach our oceans. Deforestation damages the Great Barrier Reef and other coastal ecosystems by increasing nutrient and sediment runoff that harms coral.
It put farmers at legal risk. When the proper approvals aren’t sought out, bulldozing puts farmers at risk of breaching the federal nature protection law.
150 hectares bulldozed on a cattle property in southeast Queensland. The land is mapped as being consistent with Critically Endangered white box-yellow box Blakely’s Gum Grassy Woodland and koala habitat. Image: ACF
43 hectares bulldozed on a cattle property in Queensland’s South Burnett region. The land is mapped as being the Endangered Brigalow ecosystem which provides homes for animals such as the northern quoll and glossy black cockatoo. Less than 10% of the Brigalow ecosystem remains. Image: ACF
What about the farmers?
In any group there are those that flout the rules, but we know that most farmers are good custodians of nature. They care for plants, animals, soil and water on their properties, and they understand the value of keeping nature healthy.
Almost all the farmers I’ve spoken to after we detected bulldozing on their properties said they never wanted to harm threatened animals or ecosystems, and they certainly didn’t want to be breaking any laws.
The trouble is, so many landholders haven’t even heard of Australia’s nature protection law – the EPBC Act – let alone the recent changes made to the laws that impact them.
Landholders are confused, hungry for clear information, and seeking to balance the production of food with caring for the healthy nature that underpins the ability to do so.
And, as custodians of more than half the Australian continent, it’s in all of our interests that famers are supported to get that balance right.
What’s next?
While the changes to the nature protection law are very welcome, it’s crucial the Albanese government prioritises appropriate and accessible education for landholders to understand their updated obligations.
Many of the landholders I speak with say they regularly interact with their state government department and some have done for many years. And yet, there’s been no mention of the need to seek federal permits for their clearing activities or, worse yet, they’ve been told they don’t have to.
This shows the real need for the federal government to also ensure relevant state and territory departments understand the changes to the national law and are dishing out the right advice to landholders.
Beyond priorisiting education, the federal government must also demonstrate it is serious about all sectors complying with the law.
To be clear, having to seek federal approval for clearing doesn’t mean that farmland is ‘locked up’. All it means is that a proper assessment will be done to ensure that bulldozing won’t do unacceptable harm to protected animals, plants and ecosystems.
Australians expect all industries to play by the rules and won’t accept off the books bulldozers harming forests, rivers and threatened animals.
Together, we fought hard for better nature protection laws. Now, we need to see words turned into action in the real world.
We need crystal clear rules about what’s in and what’s out for those who want to undertake activities that impact on nature.
Tell Australia’s Environment Minister you want higher standards for protecting nature!
We want clear rules now that stop forests from being illegally bulldozed, safe water a voice for locals.