Do I need approval to remove a tree on my own property?

Tree controls are local, which is why this question has no national answer. What is consistent is that owning the land does not mean owning the decision, and that the penalties for unauthorised removal are among the largest fines a homeowner is likely to encounter.

What typically triggers protection

• Height above a threshold, commonly a few metres.
• Trunk circumference or diameter measured at a defined height above ground.
• Being a listed or locally significant species.
• Sitting within a heritage, environmental, vegetation or bushfire overlay.
• Being a condition of a previous development approval, which people frequently forget.

Exemptions that usually exist

• Immediate danger to life or property, though this normally requires evidence and sometimes retrospective notification.
• Declared weed species, which vary by state.
• Dead trees, though proving a tree was already dead after it has been removed is difficult.
• Defined clearing around a dwelling in bushfire prone areas, under specific state schemes.

A permit application usually needs an arborist's report, and councils generally weigh the tree's health, its significance and the reason for removal. Blocking a view is almost never accepted. Structural damage to a building, with evidence, often is.