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City of Boroondara

Tree controls in Boroondara

I get more calls about Boroondara than about anywhere else, and it is nearly always the same problem. Your tree can be protected by the local law, by Clause 52.37, or by both at once, and the two tests have almost nothing in common.

Camberwell, Hawthorn, Kew, Balwyn, Glen Iris, Canterbury, Ashburton, Surrey Hills

At a glance

Local law: Tree Protection Local Law 2024, adopted 27 May 2024
Canopy tree under the local law: Trunk circumference 110 cm or more at 1.4 m, or 150 cm or more at ground level. Applies anywhere on the lot
Clause 52.37: Separate test. Over 5 m tall, trunk circumference over 0.5 m at 1.4 m, canopy 4 m or more. Anywhere on the lot if the land is vacant, otherwise only in the boundary strips
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. Council's published figure is $4,070.20 per offence, which was struck against the 2025-26 unit value. At the 2026-27 value the same 20 units come to about $4,180
Damage definition: To impair the tree's health, structure or stability. Root severance counts
Replacement trees: A tree replanted under a permit condition cannot itself be removed or damaged without a permit
Significant Tree Register: Yes, with a public interactive map. A further 311 trees were approved for inclusion on 27 October 2025
Overlays: No municipal wide tree overlay at present. Council resolved in December 2025 to seek the Minister's authorisation for an Environmental Significance Overlay (ESO) and a Significant Landscape Overlay (SLO)
Qualification: Council asks for a qualified arborist and does not name a level in its published permit guidance. AQF Level 5 is what I would send
Canopy target: 30% cover across public and private land by 2040

Drawn from Council's published material as at August 2026. Councils update without notice, so confirm anything you are relying on for a lodgement.

Two separate controls, and most people only find one

The local law catches big trees anywhere on the block. Clause 52.37 catches much smaller trees, but on a block that already has a house on it, only the ones within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary. If the land is vacant, Clause 52.37 reaches every canopy tree on it. A tree can easily fall under one control and not the other, and a report that answers only one test will come back.

Take a Camberwell block with a house on it. A tree with a 120 cm trunk circumference standing in the middle of the yard needs a local law permit, and Clause 52.37 does not reach it. A tree with a 60 cm circumference three metres off the rear fence is the other way round: Clause 52.37 catches it and the local law does not. Both of those trees need a permit, and the report each one needs is a different document.

Council's own guidance still cites the 2009 standard

Boroondara's published material sets the measuring point at 1.4 m “as set in the Australian Standards 4970-2009”. That standard was superseded in 2025. The measuring height did not change, so nothing practical turns on it, but it tells you the guidance has not been refreshed since the revision and it is worth reporting in current terminology with the equivalence spelled out.

Tree protection during construction

Boroondara publishes a specific list of what cannot happen inside a protection zone: no mixing chemicals or cement, no storing or dumping materials or waste, no washing down or refuelling plant, no fires. Put that list in the site induction, because those are the things that actually happen on a busy site.

Asset protection bonds run from a minimum of $3,000 for minor impact and $5,000 for medium impact, with major works assessed on application. Note that the asset protection stream covers footpaths, crossings, kerbs and reserves. Street trees sit in a separate works permit stream, so budgeting for one does not cover the other.

Watch the overlay amendment

If the ESO and SLO are approved, Boroondara gains a planning scheme control over significant and canopy trees on top of the local law it already has. Consultation ran at 79% support for the significant tree overlay and 77% for the canopy tree overlay, and Councillors voted in December 2025 to apply to the Minister. Check the current status before you rely on today's position for anything with a long lead time.

What I do in Boroondara

Tree Removal Report

Council has asked for an arborist report before it will consider removing your tree. This is that report, and it is usually the whole job.

Residential

Arboricultural Impact Assessment

What councils ask for when your works reach into a tree's root zone. Each tree assessed, the zones calculated to AS 4970:2025, and the encroachment measured and justified.

Development

Clause 52.37 Canopy Tree Report

The provision that arrived in September 2025 and now catches trees nothing else reached. Which of yours are caught, whether you need a permit, and what replacement planting you owe.

Residential · Planning

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Working on a site in Boroondara?

Send the address and whatever plans you have. I will tell you which controls apply, what reports the permit path needs, and what each one costs, within one business day.

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