Boroondara Street Tree Pruning Dates: What They Mean for Your Garden

If you've searched for when the council prunes street trees in your suburb, you've probably found Boroondara's pruning schedule. It's useful to know, but it's widely misunderstood. The dates are for clearing branches off powerlines on council-owned street trees, not for pruning the trees in your garden. Here's what the schedule actually covers, when each suburb is due, and where it leaves a gap that only private tree work fills.

What the council schedule covers

The dates below are what Boroondara publishes as its estimated completion dates for the next round of council street-tree pruning in each suburb. The council's stated focus for this program is powerline clearance: keeping street trees clear of low and high voltage powerlines on council-managed land, on roughly an 18-month cycle (closer to 9 months under high-voltage lines). It's the reason you sometimes see a street tree cut into an odd 'y' shape, with a channel trimmed through the middle so the foliage sits clear of the wires.

In our experience, though, when council crews are working through a suburb they tend to attend to a range of street-tree jobs while they're there, not only the powerline work. So these dates are a useful signal for when there'll be council tree activity on your street, even if the council frames the program around powerline clearance specifically.

Two things worth knowing: the council drops a card in your letterbox before pruning your street, so you'll get direct notice regardless of any online schedule. And council works only cover trees on council-managed land such as nature strips and parks. They do not touch the trees inside your property line.

Estimated pruning dates by suburb

These are the estimated completion dates for the next round of council street-tree pruning, as published by the City of Boroondara (current as at April 2026). Larger suburbs and specialist works like live-line or high-voltage shutdowns take longer, so these are estimates, not fixed appointments. Always check the council's live schedule for the current dates.

Suburb	Estimated completion
Ashburton	April 2027
Balwyn	February 2026
Balwyn North	November 2026
Camberwell	September 2026
Canterbury	March 2026
Deepdene	March 2027
Glen Iris	February 2027
Hawthorn	June 2027
Hawthorn East	May 2026
Kew	July 2026
Kew East	March 2027
Mont Albert	February 2026
Surrey Hills	April 2026

Why you don't have to wait for the council cycle

Here's the part most people miss. Council street-tree works cover trees on council land, and council decides what gets done and when. If a neighbour's tree, or your own, has branches over your fence, roof or driveway now, the council schedule doesn't help you, and you don't have to wait for it.

Under Victorian law, if a neighbour's tree overhangs your property you're entitled to prune the branches back to your boundary line, at your own cost, provided you don't damage the tree's health. Boroondara's own guidance confirms this for neighbouring trees. Two important caveats: if the tree is a protected canopy tree (trunk circumference of 110cm or more at 1.4m) or a significant tree, the work must be done to the Australian Standard (AS 4373-2007) and works within the protection zone of a significant tree can still need a permit. And for a council street tree causing problems, the correct path is to report it to council rather than prune it yourself.

This is exactly the kind of thing worth a quick check before any cuts are made. We can tell you whether the tree is protected, whether a permit applies, and handle the pruning to standard, so you're not waiting months for a council cycle to deal with something over your own property.

What your private trees actually need

Garden trees in Boroondara typically need attention on their own cycle, independent of the council's powerline rounds:

• Deciduous trees (ornamental pears, elms, oaks, maples): best pruned in winter while dormant, so structure is visible and regrowth is vigorous in spring.
• Evergreens and gums: deadwood removal and canopy reduction as needed, often after the worst of summer or before storm season.
• Any tree over a roof, powerline or boundary: checked before winter storms, when wind and saturated ground bring branches down.

A permit reminder

One thing the council schedule won't flag: many private trees in Boroondara are protected. Canopy trees are protected by trunk size under the Boroondara Tree Protection Local Law 2024, and properties in an overlay (SLO, ESO or VPO, common near the Yarra in Kew, Hawthorn and Balwyn North) have further controls. Pruning a protected tree the wrong way can breach the local law. If you're unsure whether your tree is protected or whether your planned work needs a permit, it's worth checking before any cuts are made. We can help you work that out and, where a permit is needed, liaise with council and help you through the application.

The short version

The council pruning schedule tells you when Boroondara will trim street trees near powerlines in your suburb. It's genuinely useful for knowing when to expect works and letterbox notices on your street. But it has nothing to do with the health, shape or safety of the trees in your own garden. Those are yours to manage, on their own timing, ideally with an arborist who knows the local protection rules.

If you're not sure what your trees need or when, send us a few photos and your suburb. We'll give you an honest read on what's worth doing, what can wait, and whether a permit applies.