Why there is no single answer for Melbourne
Melbourne is made up of more than 30 councils, and each one controls trees on private land in its own way. There is no city-wide tree register and no single size threshold. Instead, a tree can be caught by one or more of four separate layers of control:
- Overlays in the council's planning scheme, made under Victoria's planning system.
- State native vegetation rules, which apply across Victoria.
- Council local laws, which some councils use to protect larger trees.
- Conditions on an earlier planning permit, such as a landscape plan for a unit development.
A tree might be covered by none of these, by one, or by several at once. The only reliable way to know is to check your address.
Layer 1: planning scheme overlays
Every Victorian council has a planning scheme built from the state's standard set of planning provisions. Overlays sit on top of the zones and apply extra controls to particular areas. Several overlays can control tree removal on private land.
Heritage Overlay
Heritage Overlays cover individual places and whole precincts, and they are common in the older parts of Melbourne, including much of Brunswick and Hawthorn. A Heritage Overlay does not automatically protect every tree. The schedule to the overlay lists each heritage place and states whether tree controls apply. If they do, a permit is generally needed to remove, destroy or lop a tree on that property.
Old gardens on heritage properties sometimes include significant trees such as large elms, oaks or Canary Island date palms, and these can be part of what makes the place significant.
Vegetation Protection Overlay
A Vegetation Protection Overlay protects areas of significant vegetation. Where it applies, a permit is usually needed to remove, destroy or lop vegetation, subject to whatever exemptions the schedule sets out. These overlays appear in a range of places, including bushy parts of the outer south east and the Mornington Peninsula.
Significant Landscape Overlay
A Significant Landscape Overlay protects the character of a landscape, and trees are often central to that character. In the eastern foothills, for example, landscape controls reflect the importance of the tall eucalypt canopy seen from the suburbs below. Again, the schedule sets out what needs a permit.
Environmental Significance Overlay
Environmental Significance Overlays protect areas with environmental values, such as creek corridors, wetlands and habitat. They can control vegetation removal in those areas.
Bushfire Management Overlay
The Bushfire Management Overlay applies to areas at higher bushfire risk, including parts of the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. It mainly controls new development, but it is also linked to the bushfire exemptions described below.
Layer 2: native vegetation rules
Across Victoria, a permit is generally needed to remove, destroy or lop native vegetation, under a particular provision of the planning scheme. Native vegetation includes indigenous trees, shrubs and grasses. In Melbourne that means trees like river red gums, manna gums, messmates, swamp gums and moonah, when they are growing naturally rather than planted in a garden.
The rules come with a series of exemptions, including some based on the size of the lot and the zone, and some for specific activities. Whether an exemption applies to your tree depends on details your council can confirm. Remnant native trees on bigger blocks in places such as Mooroolbark, Ferntree Gully, Frankston South and the Peninsula are the ones most often caught.
The bushfire exemptions, often called the 10/30 rule
Victoria's planning provisions include bushfire protection exemptions, commonly called the 10/30 rule. Broadly, they allow some vegetation close to an existing dwelling to be removed without a planning permit for bushfire protection. They apply only in specified areas and only where particular conditions are met, and they do not override every other control. Confirm with your council that they apply to your property before relying on them.
Layer 3: council local laws
Separately from planning, councils can make local laws. Some Melbourne councils use a local law to protect larger trees on private land, usually defined by trunk size measured at a set height above the ground. Under these laws you may need a local-law permit to remove a tree even where no overlay applies, and sometimes for major pruning too.
The City of Boroondara, which covers Hawthorn, is one example of a council with a tree protection local law covering canopy trees on private land. Other councils have their own local laws, significant tree registers or none at all. Each council publishes its own thresholds, exemptions and fees. Always use the council's current information rather than a figure you have heard from someone else.
Layer 4: conditions on a previous permit
If your property has been developed under a planning permit, for example for units or an extension, the endorsed plans may show trees to be retained and include landscape conditions. Removing a tree that a permit says must be kept can breach the permit, even if no overlay or local law applies. This catches many people in redeveloped suburbs such as Springvale and Dandenong, and on newer estates such as those around Cranbourne, where titles can also carry covenants or other restrictions.
Trees that are not yours to remove
- Street trees on the nature strip belong to the council. Report problems to the council; do not prune or remove them yourself.
- Neighbours' trees belong to the neighbour. Overhanging branches are generally a matter between neighbours under the common law, and any planning controls on the tree still apply.
- Trees near powerlines may involve the electricity distributor. Work close to powerlines must be done by people authorised for it.
How to check your property, step by step
- Get a planning property report for your address. The Victorian Government provides these free, and they list every zone and overlay on the land.
- Read the overlay schedules for any Heritage, Vegetation Protection, Significant Landscape, Environmental Significance or Bushfire Management Overlay. They say what needs a permit.
- Identify the tree. Is it native or planted? How big is the trunk? Is it dead, dying or dangerous?
- Check your council's local laws for any tree protection provisions and their size thresholds.
- Check any previous planning permit and your title for landscape conditions, covenants or restrictions.
- Ask the council in writing if anything is unclear, and keep the reply.
Dead, dying and dangerous trees
Many controls include exemptions for dead trees or trees that pose an immediate risk, but they differ between overlays and councils, and some still expect you to notify the council or provide evidence. If a tree has failed or is about to, make the area safe, take photos, and contact your council as soon as you can. If anyone is in danger or a line is down, call emergency services first.
Arborist reports and applications
Where a permit is needed, councils often ask for information about the tree: species, size, health, structure and the reason for removal. Some will want a report from a qualified arborist. Councils may also require replacement planting as a condition of approval. Application fees and processing times are set by each council.
What we do at the quote visit
When a contractor arranged by Tree Solutions VIC visits, they will tell you if a tree looks likely to be caught by an overlay, native vegetation rules or a local law, and suggest what to ask the council. They cannot give you a legal answer or approve the removal; only the council can do that. A quote for a tree that may need a permit should not be accepted until the permit question is settled.
For local detail, see our pages for Brunswick, Hawthorn, Mooroolbark, Ferntree Gully, Springvale, Dandenong, Cranbourne, Frankston and Mornington. For prices, see the tree removal cost guide.