Do I need council approval to remove a tree?

Tree removal is one of the few areas where a homeowner can incur a five-figure penalty for work on their own property, and where ignorance is not much of a defence. The rules are set by your local council rather than by the state, so they genuinely differ between adjoining suburbs.

Usually protected

• Trees above a specified height, commonly a few metres.
• Trees above a specified trunk circumference measured at a set height.
• Any tree within a significant landscape, vegetation protection or heritage overlay.
• Listed significant trees, which are individually protected.
• Native vegetation, which can attract state as well as local controls.

Usually exempt

• Declared weed species, though the list is specific and worth checking rather than assuming.
• Dead trees, though you may need to demonstrate they were dead before removal.
• Trees presenting an immediate danger, though this normally requires an arborist report and notification rather than simply acting.
• Small trees and shrubs below the threshold.

If the tree is near a boundary

Establish whose tree it is before anything else. A tree is generally owned by whoever owns the land its trunk emerges from, regardless of where the branches go. Damaging a neighbour's tree, including by pruning it more heavily than the law allows, is among the most expensive neighbour disputes available.