Landslip hazard in Tasmania: LIST map, certificate or report

You can check landslip hazard on a Tasmanian block three ways before you buy: the free Landslide Planning Map on the LIST, a certificate or advice from the local council, and an online property report that puts the landslip mapping next to the other planning constraints on the lot. The map shows whether a hazard band touches the land, the certificate confirms what the planning scheme will require of a development application, and the report shows the band alongside zoning, bushfire, flood and heritage.

The bands come from the Landslip Hazard Code in the Tasmanian Planning Scheme (code C15 in the State Planning Provisions), which applies to four of the map's hazard bands: low, medium, medium-active and high. The 2025 Landslide Planning Map also shows a fifth, acceptable band, where a landslide is a rare event and no landslide controls apply. Low and medium mean the land may be affected by future landslips. Medium-active and high mean landslip activity is known or recent. How much assessment a project needs depends on the band and on the works.

Why does Tasmania map landslip so closely?

Because landslips have cost it before. Leaman (2002) records that early landslip damage in the Tamar area led to legislation compensating owners, and when that became too costly, to regulating building and land management instead. Mineral Resources Tasmania has also proclaimed a small number of statutory Landslip Areas, mostly in response to damage, some where affected homeowners had received financial help (Mazengarb and Stevenson 2011).

Much of the settled land is on slopes, and most of the state's land stability problems sit in Tertiary basin sediments and basalts, or in slope deposits below escarpments (Leaman 2002). Greater Hobart, the Tertiary clays around Launceston and the Tamar valley, and the north-west coast all have recorded landslides. Mazengarb and Stevenson, writing on the north-west coast maps, described zoning as a trigger for proper assessment rather than a way of sterilising land, while accepting it would often make development dearer.

What are the three ways to check?

The LIST Landslide Planning Map. The LIST (Land Information System Tasmania) is the state's public mapping portal. Its Landslide Planning Map shows the hazard bands used by the planning scheme, drawn from Mineral Resources Tasmania's landslide susceptibility mapping. It is free and immediate, but it does not interpret the band for your proposal or say what the scheme will ask for, and it shows one hazard at a time unless you turn on other layers yourself.

A council planning certificate or advice. Every Tasmanian council can issue planning information about a property, and the section 337 certificate under the Local Government Act reports the zoning and the codes and overlays that apply to a lot. For land in a landslip band, the council can confirm which code provisions are triggered and what a development application would need. It is the formal, lot-specific answer. It takes time, usually carries a fee, and reports the planning position rather than the ground itself.

An online property report. A property report reads the same public mapping and shows the landslip band next to the lot's other planning constraints. It is fast, cheap and good for a first check, but like the LIST map it reports what the mapping says. It is not a geotechnical assessment and does not say whether the slope is stable. Where the land is in a landslip band, the next step is advice from a geotechnical engineer, and for medium-active or high band land, a landslip hazard report prepared to the Australian Geomechanics Society landslide risk management guidelines.

How do they compare?

Axis	LIST Landslide Map	Council certificate	Property report
Cost	Free	Fee, varies by council	Low, fixed fee
Speed	Immediate	Days to weeks	Immediate
Landslip band shown	Yes	Yes	Yes
Other constraints together	No, manual layers	Codes listed, not mapped	Yes, on one page
Lot-specific planning position	No	Yes	No
Certifies ground stability	No	No	No
Best for	A quick look	The formal record	A first check before you commit

What does each landslip band mean for a house or subdivision?

Under the current State Planning Provisions, the planning code applies mainly in the upper bands:

• Low band - development is exempt from the planning code unless it involves significant works (for example excavation 1 metre or deeper, more than 100 cubic metres of cut or fill, new drainage, or discharging stormwater or wastewater on site).
• Medium band - building work that needs authorisation under the Building Act 2016 is exempt from the planning code. Subdivision with significant works or a new road is assessed under the code.
• Medium-active and high bands - building and works are assessed under the code, and the application needs a landslip hazard report by a geotechnical practitioner showing the risk is tolerable. Subdivision with any works is assessed too.

In the low and medium bands, building work is instead checked at the building approval stage against the Building Act Director's Determination on building in landslip hazard areas, which can require geotechnical input for the footings, cut and fill, and drainage.

The exact exemptions and wording are in code C15 and can change when the provisions are amended, so confirm the position with the council for a specific proposal.

Which should you use first?

For a first check of a Hobart or Launceston hillside listing, start with the LIST map or a property report; the report is the better start when you want landslip read next to zoning, flood and bushfire. If the block is visibly sloping, the signs you can read from a listing will tell you a landslip check is worth doing first.

Once you are heading toward a contract or a development application, get the council certificate. It states on the record which code provisions apply, and it is what your planner and conveyancer act on.

Whichever one shows a landslip band, treat it as the trigger to call a geotechnical engineer. All three tell you only that the hazard is mapped. Only a site investigation tells you what the slope will do under a house.

Common questions

How do I check if a property is in a landslip hazard area in Tasmania?

Open the LIST (Land Information System Tasmania) and view the Landslide Planning Map for the address, or request a planning certificate from the council. Both show whether the lot falls in the low, medium, medium-active or high landslip hazard band under the Tasmanian Planning Scheme. The mapping comes from Mineral Resources Tasmania's landslide data.

Does the Landslip Hazard Code stop you building in Tasmania?

No, the Landslip Hazard Code does not automatically stop you building. In the low and medium bands most house building is exempt from the planning code, although the building work is still checked for landslip at the building approval stage. In the medium-active and high bands, building and works are assessed under the code and need a landslip hazard report from a geotechnical practitioner showing the risk is tolerable. The high band is the most constrained.

Is a landslip check the same as a soil test?

No. A landslip check tells you whether a slope instability hazard is mapped over the land, which is a planning and slope-stability question. A soil test (site classification) classifies the ground for a slab or footings under AS 2870, mainly on how much the soil moves with moisture change. A steep site can need both: a geotechnical assessment for the slope and a site classification for the footing.

To see which landslip band a Tasmanian block sits in, along with its zone, flood and bushfire mapping, generate a Property Report for the address or see a sample report first.

LayeredGeo's Property Report pulls together public planning and site data for property due diligence across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania, so you can understand a place before you commit.

Sources

• David Leaman (2002). Engineering Geology In Tasmania: A Review. Australian Geomechanics, Volume 37, Number 4 (Sep 2002). geomechanics.org.au
• Colin Mazengarb and Michael D. Stevenson (2011). Evaluation of the Tasmanian North-West Coast landslide map series against the AGS 2007 Landslide Zoning Guideline. Australian Geomechanics, Volume 46, Number 2 (Jun 2011). geomechanics.org.au

About this article. Published by LayeredGeo and written from the published research cited in the Sources section above. It is general information about how property and ground conditions are assessed in Australia, not engineering, planning, legal or financial advice, and it is not specific to any property. Check anything that matters against the source dataset or a suitably qualified professional before you rely on it. If you spot something wrong, tell us at hello@layeredgeo.com.au and we will fix it.

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