Queensland: Free Plants, Rebates and Garden Freebies

Who: Residential ratepayers, tenants (with owner/agent approval), public housing and Defence Housing residents. Unit/townhouse owners apply via body corporate.

How: Get a voucher at any Council library, Regional Business Centre or ward office with your current rates notice. Exchange at a participating retail nursery. Schools can claim up to 50 plants for Arbor Day (Aug to Oct).

Who: Brisbane residents. One rebate per category per household. You can claim both categories.

How: Online application only with receipt, property address and bank details. Covers compost bins, worm farms, food dehydrators and in-sink systems purchased on or after 1 Jan 2024.

How: Register online for the Community Composting program. Hub locations change, check the council page for current sites.

How: Apply via council for verge garden approval. Community garden groups need a committee and $20M public liability cover. Grant pathways available.

Who: Residential ratepayers.

How: Collect from the nursery at Council's Caloundra depot, 54 Industrial Avenue (access only from Industrial Ave). Open Wednesdays 1 to 3pm. Bring your current rates notice. Trees only, no shrubs or groundcovers.

Who: Noosa residents, community organisations, clubs, schools and businesses.

How: Sign up at growitlocal.com with a Noosa address. Noosa Council covers the membership, which includes monthly online workshops, an Ask an Expert service and local meet-ups. The partnership began in 2025.

Who: Residential property owners. Schools, childcare centres and community groups can also apply.

How: Apply for your voucher via the council website or phone before visiting. Redeem at any of the five community nurseries: Redcliffe, Bribie Island, Caboolture, Burpengary or Pine Rivers. Nurseries also sell cheap natives year-round.

Who: Residents including renters. Renters need a landlord rates notice copy, public housing rental statement, Defence housing brochure, or licence/seniors card showing current address.

How: Apply to council, then collect from council nurseries. Plants are also distributed at mobile nursery days in suburbs across the year. Check the program page for 2026 mobile sites.

Who: Logan property owners. Community organisations on council land can apply for up to 50 free trees per year (email parkvolunteers@logan.qld.gov.au).

How: Present your current original rates notice at a listed collection site during allocated times. Your rates notice on your phone is accepted. Notice is scanned, you get a token, pick 3 plants.

Who: Redland residents. Units, duplexes and townhouses under a body corporate are not eligible.

How: Apply via the program page and an Environmental Partnerships officer assesses your property. The 12-month program, for properties next to a bushland reserve or inside a wildlife corridor, includes a tailored native planting list, up to 2 follow-up visits and up to $500 towards approved habitat restoration such as IndigiScapes nursery plants and forest mulch. Other residents can get a one-off advice visit.

Who: Redland residents. Part of council's Organics Transformation Roadmap. Redlands waste audits show around 7,800 tonnes of food waste hitting kerbside bins each year, roughly 17% of the landfill stream.

How: Visit the IndigiScapes Native Nursery at the IndigiScapes Centre. It sells native plants suited to Redlands Coast backyards and supplies the plants for the Your Backyard Garden program.

Who: Gold Coast residents.

How: Part of the "Green your backyard" initiative. Check the council page for current allocation and claim process.

Who: Townsville primary schools.

How: Six schools were selected for the first intake. Each gets a package of 25 local native plants, a native bee workshop and a bee hotel for each student in the class, plus a 2-year Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program membership. Watch the council page for future intakes.

How: Council plants street trees suburb by suburb and sends a works notice beforehand. If you do not want a tree, tell Council using the details on the notice. Almost 1,600 trees went in during 2025, with more than 2,000 planned for 2026.

Who: Cairns residents with domestic cars, utes, trailers and light trucks (up to 4.5 tonnes GVM).

Where: Portsmith, Smithfield, Gordonvale and Babinda transfer stations, open 8:30am to 5:15pm.

When: Four free periods a year. The 2026 periods are 14 to 22 February, 16 to 24 May, 15 to 23 August and 14 to 22 November.

Who: Not-for-profit community organisations with projects in the Cairns local government area.

How: Apply through council's grants portal. Projects that cut emissions, restore ecosystem health or build climate resilience are eligible, including community gardens and composting.

Who: Mackay Regional Council ratepayers.

How: Collect from the Mackay Natural Environment Centre. Choose from species grown at Council's nursery. Bring your current rates notice.