Land should be categorised as a park under section 36(4) of the Act if:

• the land is, or is proposed to be, improved by landscaping, gardens or the provision of non-sporting equipment and facilities
• for use mainly for passive or active recreational, social, educational and cultural pursuits that do not unduly intrude on the peaceful enjoyment of the land by others.

Land should be categorised as a sportsground under section 36(4) of the Act if:

• the land is used or proposed to be used primarily for active recreation involving organised sports or the playing of outdoor games.

Land should be categorised as general community use under section 36(4) of the Act if the land:

• is made available for use for any purpose for which community land may be used, whether by the public at large or by specific sections of the public, and
• does not satisfy the guidelines for categorisation as natural area, sportsground, park or area of cultural significance.
• land that contains buildings used for community use or drainage reserves have been categorised as general community use.

Land should be categorised as a natural area under section 36(4) of the Act if the land, whether or not in an undisturbed state, possesses a significant geological feature, geomorphological feature, landform, representative system or other natural feature or attribute that would be sufficient to further categorise the land as bushland, wetland, escarpment, watercourse or foreshore under section 36(5) of the Act.

Bushland

Land that is categorised as a natural area should be further categorised as bushland under section 36(5) of the Act if the land contains primarily native vegetation and that vegetation -

(a) is the natural vegetation or a remainder of the natural vegetation of the land, or

(b) although not the natural vegetation of the land, is still representative of the structure or floristics, or structure and floristics, of the natural vegetation in the locality.

(2) Such land includes:

(a) bushland that is mostly undisturbed with a good mix of tree ages, and natural regeneration, where the understorey is comprised of native grasses and herbs or native shrubs, and that contains a range of habitats for native fauna (such as logs, shrubs, tree hollows and leaf litter)

(b) moderately disturbed bushland with some regeneration of trees and shrubs, where there may be a regrowth area with trees of even age, where native shrubs and grasses are present in the understorey even though there may be some weed invasion

(c) highly disturbed bushland where the native understorey has been removed, where there may be significant weed invasion and where dead and dying trees are present, where there is no natural regeneration of trees or shrubs, but where the land is still capable of being rehabilitated.

Foreshore

Foreshores are areas situated on the water’s edge and forms a transition zone between the aquatic and terrestrial environment.

Escarpment

Escarpments are steep or cliff-like areas that:

(a) the land includes such features as a long cliff-like ridge or rock, and

(b) the land includes significant or unusual geological, geomorphological or scenic qualities.

Watercourse

(a) any stream of water, whether perennial or intermittent, flowing in a natural channel, or in a natural channel that has been artificially improved, or in an artificial channel that has changed the course of the stream of water, and any other stream of water into or from which the stream of water flows, and

(b) associated riparian land or vegetation.

Wetlands

Includes marshes, mangroves, backwaters, billabongs, swamps, sedgelands, wet meadows or wet heathlands that form a waterbody that is inundated cyclically, intermittently or permanently with fresh, brackish or salt water, whether slow moving or stationary.