Quick Reference Guide - Native vegetation notification system Notifications under the Native Vegetation Regulation 2013 The new Native Vegetation Regulation 2013 requires that landholders give the Minister for the Environment notice of intention to clear in accordance with a self-assessable code at least 14 days before that clearing is carried out. The notification system allows you to submit a notification of your intention to use any of the self-assessable codes. Follow these 5 simple steps to submit a notification: 1. Register to use the notification tool (a once-only activity) 2. Enter your property details 3. Create the notification 4. Map the notification area 5. Submit the notification Using the online notification system is not mandatory as there are several other ways that you can submit your notification. These include; 1. Submit a form to the Local Land Services office 2. Have a Local Land Services officer submit the Notification on your behalf 3. Have a registered agent submit the Notification on your behalf Where do I access the online notification system? The notification system is available on the Office of Environment and Heritage website at: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/vegetation/onlinetools.htm Click on the link to the notification system. This will open the login screen. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation information tools 1
Register to access the notification tool First time users of the notification system must register to access the notification system. This is a once-only activity. You will then be able to use the notification system to manage your own details, your property details and the notifications you submit. Click the link in the New user panel to self-register Please read and accept the privacy disclaimer and click Continue. The self-registration page will open. All fields marked * must be completed. Click the help icon for more details You must enter at least one phone number. Your email address will be used as your user name for access to the notification system. The password you choose must be from 8 to 25 characters in length, and contain at least: one upper case character and one lower case character and 1 number (0 9). Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 2
What user type should I select? Any landholder can register for access to the notification system. The landholder can then submit notifications on properties on which they own (or otherwise are in lawful occupation or possession of, or have lawful management or control of). A landholder agent can register for access to the notification system. A landholder agent can then submit notifications on behalf of landholders. The landholder agent must have the permission of the landholders to submit notifications on their behalf. Complete the registration process When you have completed all the required details, click Register. You will receive a message that your registration is successful. Click OK to proceed. You will then be automatically logged into the notification system. An email will be sent to your registered email account confirming your registration to the notification system Forgotten password If you have previously registered to access the notification system and have forgotten your password, click the link in the Forgotten your password panel Enter your username, which is your email address and the phone number that you used to register with. Click Reset Password. A temporary password will then be sent to your registered email address. Use this password to log into the notification system. The notification system home page When you successfully log into the notification system as a registered user, you will be taken to the notification system home page. The home page has the following tabs Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 3
1. My Notification use to create and submit notifications 2. My Properties use this to create properties to submit notifications on 3. My Profile use this to update your personal details or change your password 4. Contact Us us this to report a technical issue or contact your Local Land Service office 5. Log Out is this to log out of the notification system There are also several other options on the home page that provide you with quick links to the various parts of the notification system. The notification system home page is shown below. The notification system home page Enter your property details Now that you are regsitered to use the notification system, youneed to enter the details of the property on which you wish to submit the notification. You need to record your property details only once. You can also record multiple properties, or multiple notifications for the one property. If you are using multiple self-assessable codes (e.g. Thinning and INS) you must submit separate notifications for each code. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 4
Click the My Properties tab at the top of the screen. The My properties window will open. Now click Create Property. Enter a Property name, Property address and Suburb/Locality. If your property does not have a name, that can be left blank. As part of the notification process, you must supply the details of the land where the clearing is to be done, including the address and Lot and Deposited Plan (DP) details. These details are usually found on your council rates notice. You do not need to enter the Lot and DP details of your entire property. You only need to enter the details of the Lot and DPs where the clearing is actaully to be undertaken. Click Add More Lot/DPs to enter your first Lot/DP. If your Lot has a Section number, then you will need to enter all of: Lot, DP and Section. If your Lot does not have a Section number, just leave that blank. Enter the Lot Number, DP and click Confirm. Click Add More Lot/DPs to enter more Lot/DPs. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 5
The added lot will be shown in the list of Lot / DPS as below: When you have finished entering all of the required Lot/DPs, Click Save and the click Back to results to return back to the notification system home page. You are now ready to start your first notification. To update your property details at any time, click on the My Properties tab. A list of all registered properties will now be displayed. You can Edit or View the details of these properties. Create a notification Now that you have entered your proeprty details, you can create your notification. Click the My Notifiations tab at the top of the screen. The My notifications window will open. Existing notifications (if any) will be shown will be shown here. Now click Create new notification. The Create notifications window will appear. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 6
Follow these steps to submit a notification: 1. Select a property 2. Enter the notification details 3. Map the notification area 4. Submit the notification Step 1 Select a property Select the property that you wish to submit this notification on from the displayed list and click Next. A notification can only be submitted over one property at a time. Step 2 - Enter the notification details The notification details window will now appear as below: Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 7
To start entering the notification details you must first choose a Self-assessable code by clicking on the appropriate drop-down arrow to the right of the Self-assessable code text. You must choose an Intended clearing start date. Click the appropriate Calendar button to the right of the Intended clearing start date text. The date has to be at least 14 days from submission of the notification. You must choose an Intended clearing end date. Click the appropriate Calendar button to the right of the Intended clearing end date text. The date must be later than the start date. You must answer the question Is the land subject to a Private Native Forestry Property Vegetation Plan? A Private Native Forestry Property Vegetation Plan (PNF PVP) is a legally binding agreement that allows landholders to do forestry operations on their land. These operations must comply with the PNF Code of Practice. If you are not sure if a PNF PVP exists on your property, contact the Environment Protection Authority: 1. phone 131 555 2. fax (02) 6640 2539 3. email forestry@epa.nsw.gov.au 4. website www.epa.nsw.gov.au Click the Yes or No next to this question to indicate whether or not the land is subject to a PNF PVP. If you click Yes, you will then be required to enter the PNF PVP Number. Please note the Thinning, INS or Paddock tree Self-assessable code cannot be used on an area that is already covered by a PNF PVP. Enter the Name(s) of the person(s) who will be doing the clearing (e.g. a contractor or a property manager or landholder). If you are submitting a Paddock tree notification you must enter the number of paddock trees being cleared and indicate if the set aside area already exists. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 8
If you select that you are submitting a Invasive Native Species notification you must enter at least one species to be cleared and at least one intended clearing method. If you wish, you can add any supporting documents to the notification. Supporting documents might include photos or other records. You can add up to 5 documents or photos. Each document or photo must be less than 2mb in size.to attach a supporting document click Attach a file, then click Add file. Browse to your document or photo and click open. Enter a description of the document or photo and Click Attach File. You document or photo is now attached. Click on the file name to open and view. To delete (remove) the attached file, Click on the red garbage can. Click Yes to confirm deltion or No to cancel the deletion. Now that you have completed the notification details, click Next to move on to the next stage of mapping the notification area. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 9
Step 3 - Mark out the clearing and set aside area on a map The notification system provides a very simple mapping tool for you to mark out the clearing and set aisde areas. All native vegetation to be cleared using the codes should be identified on the map. This includes any area set aside for paddock trees. When you open up the map, the notification system will automatically zoom to the property you have chosen. The property will be defined by a red boundary as shown below. Using the map tool Zoom-in/zoom-out Click on the zoom control to zoom-in or zoom-out, or use the mouse-wheel forward motion to zoom-in and backward-motion to zoom-out. Pan Drag the map (using the mouse) to pan in the desired direction. Turn-on/Turn-off map layer Click on check-box in the list of layers next to each layer you want to turn on or off on the map. Base Maps Click on the Map or the satellite image to change the map view. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 10
Mark out (draw) the clearing area or set-aside area The clearing area or set-aside area is marked out by drawing simple polygons (a polygon is a an area defined by 3 or more straight lines). Draw polygon From "Drawing Tools" section, select either "Clearing Area" or "Set-aside area" tools. This will to activate the drawing tool. Once the tool is activated, choose a point that forms the first corner of the polygon by clicking (left-mouseclick) at the desired location in the map interface. Please see the following screenshots. Start Drawing Continue Drawing To continue drawing, place further corners with subsequent clicks. Double-click (double left-mouse-click) to finish drawing the polygon. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 11
When the polygon is finished the system will display the polygon as shown in the following screenshot. It's ok if you draw a polygon outside of the property area, as the polygon will automatically be clipped to the property boundary. Edit the clearing area or set aside area Edit polygon Double-click (double left-mouse-click) on desired polygon to edit. The system will display vertices (corners) in different colours as shown in the screenshot below. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 12
The shape of the polygon can be changed by extending the vertex/polygon (area) or by removing the vertex. Following screenshot shows how to add more vertices to the existing polygon. Double-click (double left-mouse-click) to finish editing the polygon. Following screenshot shows how to edit the polygon by removing vertices. Once the selected vertex is deleted, the system shows the changed polygon (as following). Overlapping areas When creating a new notification, polygons cannot be overlapped. If you draw overlapping polygons you will receive the following error. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 13
If you try and draw a new polygon over a notification that has already been submitted, then you will receive the following error. Query the clearing area or set-aside area Click on the property polygon to retrieve the information about the property. This will show the selected property s details in a popup. Click on the notification polygon to retrieve the information about the notification. This will show the selected notification s details in a popup. You can also delete the clearing or set aside areas that you have drawn by selecting that polygon and clicking delete. Once you are happy with the clearing areas that you have drawn, click next to finalise the notification Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 14
Step 4 Finalise and submit the notification You are now priovided with a summary of the notification. At this stage, you can either; 1. Save and Submit the notification 2. Save the notification as a draft 3. Withdraw the notification (Please see section on Withdrawing a notification for more details) You can also click the Previous button and go back and make further changes. Save the notification as a draft If you have not finished the notification or you wish to submit the notification later, click Save as draft. You will receive the following confirmation message. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 15
Save and submit the notification If you are happy for the notification to be submitted, click Save and Submit. You will receive the following confirmation message. At this point, the notification is now submitted. A copy of the notification will be emailed to your registered email address for your records. A copy of the notification will also be sent to the relevant Local Land Services Office for their records. Note that if you are using multiple self-assessable codes (e.g. Thinning and INS) you must submit separate notifications for each code. Withdrawing a notification If for some reason you wish to cancel or withdraw a notification, go to the My notifications tab, click Edit on the notification you wish to modify and then from the Notifications Details tab click Withdraw. A notification can be withdrawn at any time. You must select a Reason and Description as to why you are withdrawing this notification. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 16
Click Withdraw to continue. You will receive the following confirmation message. A copy of the notification withdrawal will also be sent to the relevant Local Land Services Office for their records. Modifying a submitted notification If for some reason you wish to modify a submiited notification, from the My notifications tab, click Edit on the notification you wish to modify and then from the notifications details tab click Modify Notification. You will receive the following confirmation message. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 17
Click Yes to proceed or No to cancel. You are now able to make changes to any part of the notification except for changing it to another property. Work you way through the Steps again as outlined when Creating a Notification above. When you have finsihed making the changes to the notifcation at this stage, you can again either; 1. Save and Submit the modified notification 2. Save the modified notification as a draft 3. Withdraw the modified notification (Please see section on Withdrawing a notification for more details) You can also click the Previous button and go back and make further changes. What happens to my notifications if I sell my property? If you sell you property all notifications associated with that property will be withdrawn. This process is managed in the notification by marking the property as sold. To mark a property as sold, click on the My Properties tab. Now click Edit on the property that you wish to mark as sold and click the Mark as sold button. You will receive the following confirmation message. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 18
Click Yes to proceed or No to cancel. If you continue you will receive the following confirmation message. Where can I get more help? At any stage in the notification system click the help icon as shown below Alternatively from within the notification system, click Contact us. The Contact us window will appear. Enter the Reason/category by clicking on the dropdown list. Enter the details of your query into the comments box and click Submit. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 19
Any requests for technical support (ie computer problems) will be directed to the Office of Environment notification system administrator. Requests for other help will be directed to the selected Local Land Services regional office. Further requests for help or questions about the self-assessable codes can be directed to your Local Land Services Office at http://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/ or contact your Local Land Service office from Monday to Friday during business hours by calling 1300 795 299. Notification Frequently Asked Questions: Can I modify a Notification? Yes, even after your notification is submitted, you can come back and modify your notification. All you need to do is log back into the system, search for the notification you wish to modify, make the modifications and re-submit the notification. Can I withdraw a Notification? Yes, even after your notification is submitted, you can come back and withdraw your notification. Can I update my property details? Yes, you can come back at any time and update your property details. Your existing notifications will not be affected, unless you mark your property as being sold. What happens if I sell my property? If you sell your property, you should log back into the notification system and mark that property as being sold. This will automatically withdraw your notifications from that property. Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 20
What if I have multiple properties? A landholder only needs to register once for access to the notification system. A landholder can have multiple properties recorded in the NVNS. A landholder can have multiple notifications associated with the one property. If you are using multiple codes of practice, ie Thinning and INS, you must submit separate notifications for each code. What happens after I submit my notification? Once you submit your notification and you wait the necessary 14 day period, you can commence clearing under the relevant code. A representative from your Local Land Services office may contact you to discuss your notification and see if you need any further help. Where does the data that I enter go? Data entered into the notification system is stored at the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH). Access to the notification system is only made available to authorised Local Land Service and OEH staff. No information about your notification is made public. Data captured during the notification process may be used for reporting purposes, however no personal information will be used. What if I don t want to use the online system? A landholder can still submit a paper based form if they do not wish to use the notification system. The form can be obtained from your Local Land Services office. Alternatively, visit the Local land Services Office and they will help you complete the notification. 2014 State of NSW and Office of Environment and Heritage Disclaimer: The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) provides this information to help you assess whether the Native Vegetation Act 2003 applies to your proposed clearing and whether it may be carried out without a property vegetation plan or development consent under that act. It does not constitute legal advice and cannot anticipate all individual circumstances on all landholdings. If you require further assistance or advice we recommend that you consult with Local Land Services about your proposed clearing. Published by the Office of Environment and Heritage 59 Goulburn Street, Sydney NSW 2000 PO Box A290, Sydney South NSW 1232 Phone: (02) 9995 5000 (switchboard) Phone: 131 555 (environment information and publications requests) Phone: 1300 361 967 (national parks, climate change and energy efficiency information, and publications requests) Fax: (02) 9995 5999 TTY: (02) 9211 4723 Email: info@environment.nsw.gov.au Website: www.environment.nsw.gov.au OEH No: 2014/0821 ISBN: 9781 743 59 8245 November 2014 Quick Reference Guide native vegetation notifications system 21