ABSTRACT Woody plant encroachment is a key issue that needs to be addressed when restoring abandoned farmland previously used for livestock grazing. In a conservation context, woody shrubs can be problematic if they prevent the establishment of a desired vegetation composition and structure by outcompeting other species for light, nutrients and water. However, there is limited research on effective methods of shrub removal that can provide recommendations to land managers, particularly where the objectives are related to conservation outcomes. We experimentally tested three methods of woody plant encroachment control at a semi‐arid ex‐pastoral property now managed for conservation: (1) mechanical rolling, (2) rolling and then burning, and (3) burning alone. We found that Rolled and Rolled+Burnt treatments effectively suppressed woody species over the 4‐year study period but affected plant community composition and groundcover dynamics differently. While the resulting understorey of these two treatments was more compositionally appropriate for this ecological community, overstorey species were almost entirely absent in recovering vegetation. This suggests that further interventions such as direct seeding or out‐planting will be required to restore overstorey components at this site.