Boroondara Tree Protection Local Law Explained: A Plain-English Guide for Homeowners

If you own a property in Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell, Canterbury, Balwyn, Surrey Hills, Glen Iris or Ashburton, the Boroondara Tree Protection Local Law applies to you. The 2024 update strengthened penalties significantly, and the rules can catch homeowners by surprise. Here's what the law actually says, in plain English.

What the Law Protects

The Boroondara Tree Protection Local Law 2024 protects what the council calls "canopy trees" on private property. The threshold is specific: a tree is protected if it has a trunk circumference of 110cm or more, measured at 1.4m above ground level. That's roughly a 35cm diameter trunk. In practice, that captures most established trees you'd find in a Boroondara backyard.

The law applies regardless of species. Whether your tree is a mature oak, a self-sown plane tree, a liquid amber, or an ornamental pear that's been there for twenty years, the same trunk-size test applies. There is no exemption for non-native trees in Boroondara, which is a common misconception.

What Counts as "Damaging" a Protected Tree

Removal is the obvious one, but the local law also covers actions that damage or destroy a canopy tree. That includes:

• Significant pruning beyond standard maintenance, particularly removing more than 30 percent of the canopy in one operation
• Topping, which is making large cuts to the main trunk or major leaders to drastically reduce height
• Root cutting within the structural root zone, often a problem during construction or extensions
• Poisoning or ringbarking, which is more common than you'd think and is heavily prosecuted
• Permitting damage to occur, including by contractors you've hired who didn't check first

Critically, the council can prosecute you as the property owner even if a contractor did the work. "I didn't know" is not a defence under the local law.

Penalties Under the 2024 Law

The 2024 update significantly increased penalties. Maximum infringement notices now sit in the thousands of dollars per tree, with court-imposed penalties for serious matters reaching tens of thousands of dollars. Beyond the fine, the council can require replacement plantings, which for a mature tree means committing to multiple semi-advanced trees and ongoing maintenance for several years. In some cases, an offending property has a notice placed on its title.

When You Don't Need a Permit

The law has specific exemptions. You can remove or prune a protected tree without a permit if:

• The tree presents an immediate risk to people or property, and only the part causing the risk is removed
• The tree is on the declared noxious weeds list under state legislation
• You are doing routine maintenance pruning that complies with Australian Standard AS 4373-2007 (Pruning of Amenity Trees), which sets out specific limits on what can be removed
• The work is required by energy network operators to maintain clearance from powerlines

The maintenance pruning exemption is the most useful and the most misunderstood. AS 4373 limits a single pruning operation to roughly 25 to 30 percent of the canopy, and requires that pruning preserves the tree's natural form. Anything beyond that is not "maintenance pruning" under the standard and may require a permit even if you'd describe it that way colloquially.

How to Apply for a Permit

If your tree work isn't exempt, you apply through Boroondara Council's planning department. The application process involves:

1. Site information, including a plan showing the tree's location and surrounding structures
2. Photos of the tree from multiple angles
3. A reason for removal or significant pruning that the council can assess
4. An arborist report in most cases, prepared by an arborist qualified to at least Cert V (AQF Level 5) or equivalent
5. Replacement planting commitments, which the council will usually require for any approved removal

Application processing typically takes four to eight weeks. The council's officers will conduct a site inspection in most cases, and complex applications can be referred to council for a decision rather than handled administratively.

Heritage Overlays and Significant Landscape Overlays

Many parts of Boroondara are also subject to Heritage Overlays (HO) or Significant Landscape Overlays. These add a second layer of approval on top of the tree law. If your property is in HO146 (Central Gardens precinct in Hawthorn), HO147 (Studley Park in Kew), or any of the numerous overlays across Camberwell and Canterbury, you may need a planning permit as well as a tree permit, and the two processes run separately.

The simplest way to check whether overlays apply to your property is to use Boroondara's myLot tool on their website, or VicPlan, which is the state government's planning map.

What This Means in Practice

For most Boroondara homeowners, the practical takeaway is:

• If your tree's trunk is thicker than your thigh at chest height, assume it's protected
• Before any significant work, check whether your property is in a heritage or landscape overlay
• Get a qualified arborist's view before committing to a contractor
• Keep the arborist report and any permit documentation, including for insurance purposes

We've handled permit applications across every Boroondara suburb and know the council's officers, the assessment criteria, and the typical timeframes. If you're not sure whether your tree is protected or whether your planned work requires a permit, send us a photo and a property address and we'll give you an honest read before you spend any money. There's no point paying for an application that wasn't needed, and there's also no point getting prosecuted because no one told you it was required.