Grass mowing


Canberra grass mowing program

The ACT’s annual mowing program normally runs from September to March. Suburbs and areas of open space are mown every 20 available days and arterial roads are mown every 25 available days (weather permitting).

This mowing season we are experiencing significant wet weather which is causing significant challenges. While the mowing team is working long days and weekends to stay on top of grass growth, it is growing much more quickly than in an average year. The rain means some days are lost due to wet (and unsafe) conditions. It also means some areas can be too damp to mow for several days. The grass is also so thick in some areas that mowers have to repeatedly go over them.

Please be patient with us if it is wet.

Mowing updates

The mowing map below displays where mowing crews have been recently. The information below also shows where mowing crews intend to mow over the coming week.

The schedule for week commencing 22 April 2024 is as follows (weather permitting):

Belconnen

Central Canberra

Gungahlin

Tuggeranong

Woden, Weston Creek and Molonglo

Meet Malcolm from our mowing team

Malcolm has been cutting grass in Canberra for over 20 years, the last 5 for the ACT Government.

"I love mowing Canberra's open spaces, keeping the suburbs looking clean and the grass down," Malcolm said.

"We start pretty early in the morning, getting our mowers ready for the day, then it is out into the suburbs where we mow from one end to the other."

Malcolm says that the weather plays a critical role in the team's ability to get areas done.

"After rain, wet grass can slow the mowers down and clog them up. There is also the risk of getting the mower bogged, which can cause safety problems," Malcolm said.

"The other challenge we face is litter.

"When a mower goes over a single bit of rubbish it turns it into a hundred bits of rubbish. If people can try to keep rubbish with you it would be great," Malcolm said.

Mowing program information

Select a topic below to read more about the mowing program.

About our mowing program

The City Services crews are well trained and equipped with an appropriate mowing fleet to maintain grassed areas across parks, paths, laneways connecting streets, alongside roads and on sporting fields. Mowing these areas across the ACT helps:

  • maintain the presentation of the city
  • reduce the risk to suburbs if there is a bushfire - by reducing fire fuel
  • improve access - allowing people to use our open spaces
  • increase safety - ensuring line of sight for motorists
  • the environment - reducing weed seed, creating habitat for endangered species (e.g. Golden Sun Moth) and promoting growth of native grass species.

If you have any feedback relating to our mowing program, please visit Fix My Street.

Mowing frequency

During the mowing program:

  • suburbs and areas of open space are mown every 20 available days
  • arterial roads are mown every 25 available days (weather permitting).

In the 2022-23 season, the mowing team spent more than 35,000 hours on machines mowing across Canberra.

Sportsgrounds and irrigated park areas are mown more frequently to ensure they are suitable for sport and recreational use.

Mowing fleet and process

There are 82 mowers in the fleet, and 12 of these mowers are dedicated to mowing sporting fields. Our fleet consists of a range of mowers sized to deliver mowing services for the variety of urban open spaces we maintain, from laneways to large open areas.

Following a successful trial of one electric mower in the 2022-23 season, the ACT Government has this season replaced four diesel powered mowers with electric mowers. The electric mowers require minimal maintenance, with no grease points or belts and tubeless tyres which help to achieve excellent cutting results and rider comfort.

Safety is paramount. Mowing along high-speed roads requires extra care to ensure safety and minimise disruption to traffic. This means some mowing is conducted outside of regular business hours.

Mowing around trees, signs, park furniture, bollards and other obstacles increases the time required to cover an area.

We also avoid mowing directly under the canopy of established trees. This keeps our trees healthy by reducing the soil compaction and potential damage to tree trunks.

Mowing delays

On occasions, such as at peak growing times, grass growth rates can exceed the available mowing capacity. This may also be due to equipment failure or weather conditions.

Mowers are well maintained but do break down at times and require servicing. This means the entire fleet is not always available on any given day. To combat this the ACT Government has introduced the rapid response team to action urgent areas.

Mowing activities are not undertaken during wet weather, in order to avoid damage to surfaces and to avoid machines being bogged. In such cases, “Be Right Back” signage is often utilised to notify the community that the area is too wet to mow.

During days of Total Fire Bans, mowing activity is scaled back to reduce the risk of starting a fire.

Rapid response team

Extra resources were allocated to a rapid response team pilot for the 2022-23 mowing season.

The rapid response team of 10 extra staff and eight additional mowers will continue to help bolster mowing capacity in 2023-24. It will focus on higher priority areas such as line of sight safety issues.

Requests to the rapid response team can be made through the Fix My Street portal. The requests will be triaged, with line of sight and safety concerns the priority.

Any maintenance of nature strips is the responsibility of the resident of adjacent property.

Mowing season and off-season

Suburban parks and public open spaces are generally mown every 20 days during peak growing periods. The mowing off-season usually falls between March and September each year. The off‑season can change depending on weather. Drought, El Niño or La Niña weather patterns impact the length of the off-season.

During the off-season the grass does not grow enough to justify more frequent mowing. Suburban parks and public open spaces are generally mown twice in the off-season. The mowing team monitor suburban parks and public open spaces during the off-season to identify where mowing is required.

Total area mowed

We are adjusting the total area we mow all the time. As of September 2023 we cover approximately 5,227 hectares in one complete pass Canberra wide.

A breakdown of the mowing area across the ACT includes:

  • arterial roads – 1,449 hectares
  • open spaces – 2,884 hectares
  • conservation (native grasslands) – 79 hectares
  • fire fuel (large open spaces on the urban fringe) – 340 hectares
  • sporting fields – 475 hectares.

Unmown areas

Mowing for fire fuels is undertaken on the urban edge according to a pre-defined Bushfire Operational Plan and is not undertaken until the grass approaches the curing (drying) level where it becomes a potential fire hazard.

Some areas of conservation significance are not mown as regularly, or not at all, to ensure conservation values are maintained. Other areas are too steep, too rocky or the trees are too close together to allow access for the mowing fleet. Typically, an unmown buffer is left around water bodies to prevent erosion or runoff into the water.

Grass clippings

Mowing provides a range of community and environmental benefits. However, grass clippings need to be managed appropriately to prevent them from entering our waterways. If they enter waterways they contribute to higher nutrient levels which can result in algal blooms.

Mowing does not occur within 5 metres of the high‐water mark of a water body other than in specified access zones or recreation areas. Specific guidelines are in place for mowing around:

  • Isabella Ponds grassland
  • Lake Ginninderra Foreshore
  • Lake Tuggeranong District Park (south).

The guidelines enable the creation of thicker grass to filter runoff before it enters a water body, and to protect significant vegetation and rare plants.

Our mower operators are trained in mowing principles and practices. This includes safe work procedures, environmental care, mechanical basics and in the field knowledge.

These mowing practices provide mitigations from grass clippings entering the storm water system. For example, mower operators ensure grass clippings are evenly spread over the area and not left in windrows. When mowing around stormwater drains or culverts they also ensure the discharge is pointing away from the drain.

When it is safe to do so, staff use blowers to blow grass clippings back onto grassed areas. The new electric mowers have a built-in air blower on the front of the machine to assist in clearing grass clippings away from footpaths.

The team also use turbo blowers and a streetsweeper to move grass clippings away from gutters and hard standing areas.

Nature strips

Residents are expected to mow and maintain the nature strip adjacent to their property. For information about nature strips, including how to maintain your nature strip, please visit nature strips.

Related links

We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the ACT and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.

To see how we are building stronger relationships with the Traditional Custodians of the ACT view the Reconciliation Action Plan.