City of Darebin

Tree controls in Darebin

Darebin protects trees by size alone. There is no register to check, so you measure the tree. The test has two parts and the tree has to meet both before it is protected, which catches people out in both directions.

Northcote, Thornbury, Preston, Reservoir, Fairfield, Alphington, Bundoora, Kingsbury

At a glance

Local law: Tree Protection on Private Property Local Law 2019, with a supporting policy from April 2019
Protected tree: Single or combined trunk circumference greater than 100 cm measured at 1.5 m above ground level, AND taller than 8 metres
Note the units: Circumference, not diameter. 100 cm circumference is roughly 318 mm diameter
Register: None. The law is purely threshold based, so there is no list to search
Qualification: Arborist report from a qualified arborist, AQF 5 or above, using an industry recognised method
Risk method: Quantified Tree Risk Assessment where danger to people or property is claimed
Pruning exemption: Non structural branches 75 mm in diameter or less, or pruning by a qualified arborist to AS 4373:2007
Other exemptions: Immediate risk assessed by a qualified arborist, declared noxious weeds, dead palm fronds
Permit fee: $277.00 on the 2026 to 2027 form, with a 50% concession discount
Replacement planting: Minimum one canopy tree for every canopy tree removed, at least 1.5 m high in a 40 cm minimum pot
Penalty: The local law sets 20 penalty units, about $4,180 at the 2026-27 value. Council's own FAQ still says fines up to $2,000 plus legal costs, which looks like a figure that has not been updated
Canopy cover: 9.8% baseline. Note the 25% target is public land only

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

The Darebin test has two limbs and a tree has to meet both

The Darebin test is conjunctive. A tree is protected if it is over 100 cm trunk circumference at 1.5 m and over 8 metres tall. It has to satisfy both limbs. A wide tree under 8 m is outside the control, and so is a tall one under 100 cm.

That 8 metre height gate is unusual and it does real work. Plenty of mature street facing trees in Northcote and Thornbury sit under it. It also means height has to be measured properly rather than estimated from the ground, because it is half the test.

Darebin names the qualification in writing

Its published guidance asks for an arborist report from a qualified arborist at AQF 5 or above, using an industry recognised method. Most neighbouring councils say only "suitably qualified". If you are choosing an arborist for a Darebin job, that is the bar, and a report from below it can be refused on that basis alone.

Replacement planting is conditioned on the permit

One canopy tree for every canopy tree removed, minimum 1.5 m high in a minimum 40 cm pot. Council states that failing to plant the approved replacements constitutes a permit breach. On a small Preston or Reservoir block that is a real design constraint, and it is worth finding the planting position before the slab is set out rather than after.

What Darebin does not publish

There is no arborist report checklist anywhere in Darebin's planning guidance. Its planning checklists page carries eleven information sheets covering flooding, signage, heritage, car parking and residential development, most of them dated June 2017, and nothing at all on trees or vegetation. AS 4970 is not referenced in the local law, the policy or the application form, in either edition. AS 4373:2007 is named, for pruning.

In practice that means the report has to justify its own methodology rather than pointing at a Council template. State the standard applied and why.

Clause 52.37, published properly

Credit where it is due. Darebin names the clause by number, gives the commencement date of 15 September 2025, and is the only one of the nine councils on this site that names both Canopy Tree and Boundary Canopy Tree on its own tree page. It does not reproduce the dimensions, referring out to VicPlan instead, so you still need the test itself. The dual consent point stands here as everywhere: a tree can need a local law permit and a planning permit at the same time.

The urban forest figures need care

Darebin's Urban Forest Strategy dates from December 2013 and runs to 2028. Its 9.8% baseline is the lowest in this group, and the often quoted 25% target is a public land target, not a municipal one. Council's own sampling found private land, at 61% of the area, carried only 7.6% canopy. Quote those figures carefully in an application.

What I do in Darebin

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 Darebin?

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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