The Little Yarra River running between thick green banks of trees and reeds

Fencing in Steels Creek

In Steels Creek, a fence rebuilt after the February 2009 fire may not carry the clearing exemption that an older fence does.

We connect you with a local fencer who works in the Yarra Valley.

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The Little Yarra River at Yarra Junction. Photo: Nick Carson, CC BY-SA 3.0

Fences rebuilt after 2009

On 7 February 2009 at least 26 houses in Steels Creek were destroyed by bushfire. If your boundary fence was rebuilt after that, one date matters. In a Bushfire Prone Area, vegetation along a boundary fence can be cleared 4 m wide, both sides together, without a planning permit, but only if the fence was built before 10 September 2009. A fence replaced after the fire may not qualify, so check before clearing along it.

CFA's garden advice favours non-combustible fences and stone walls near the house. That is advice, not a rule. Clearing a fence line has the conditions.

Checked 25 October 2026 against Wikipedia: Steels Creek, Victoria, Vicmap Planning, the state's zone and overlay maps (DataVic), measured across the suburb, Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions), DELWP: vegetation exemptions for bushfire protection (fact sheet) and CFA: designing a fire-resistant garden.

SLO6, and ESO1 on most of it

Steels Creek has 276 residents and no residential zone. Its private land, farms and bush blocks, is all under SLO6. There a fence needs a planning permit unless it is rural post and open-weave wire under 1.8 m. About seven tenths of the locality is also under ESO1, whose fence wording is ambiguous; ask Yarra Ranges' planning team before building a new fence.

Get a property report from VicPlan to see both.

Checked 25 October 2026 against Wikipedia: Steels Creek, Victoria, Vicmap Planning, the state's zone and overlay maps (DataVic), measured across the suburb, Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedules to Clause 42.03 (SLO1–6, SLO22, SLO23) and Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedules to Clause 42.01 (ESO1, ESO2).

Against the park

Almost three tenths of Steels Creek is public conservation land. Along that edge the cost usually falls on you alone. The Crown pays nothing toward a fence, and the Fences Act doesn't count a council holding a public park as an owner. Farm fencing covers wire choices for wildlife.

Checked 25 October 2026 against Vicmap Planning, the state's zone and overlay maps (DataVic), measured across the suburb, Fences Act 1968 (Vic), authorised version 072 and Land for Wildlife note LW0029: fencing wildlife habitat (1999).

Down the road

Yarra Glen: 7 km south. A township under SLO23, with no fence rule, and SLO2 flats.
Dixons Creek: Mostly SLO6 too, with ESO1 on about half.

Checked 25 October 2026 against Wikipedia: Steels Creek, Victoria and Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedules to Clause 42.03 (SLO1–6, SLO22, SLO23).

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