Do you actually need an arborist report?
Sometimes three, sometimes none. The difference is usually the zone, the overlay and what you are proposing to do, and you can work most of it out yourself in about ten minutes.
What is covered
1. Start with what you are doing
The question is never really "does my tree need a report". It is "what am I trying to do, and does that trigger a control".
2. Then check three things
Your planning zone
Look the address up on VicPlan. If you are in a residential zone other than Low Density Residential, Clause 52.37 may reach your tree. If you are in Low Density Residential, commercial or industrial, it does not.
Any overlay
Same search. A Vegetation Protection, Significant Landscape, Environmental Significance, Heritage or Neighbourhood Character Overlay can each trigger a permit, on its own test, regardless of tree size.
Your council's local law
This is the one people miss, because it is not on VicPlan. Every council sets its own threshold, its own measurement height, and sometimes its own definition. The council pages set out each one.
Two consents is normal, not a mistake
A tree can need a local law permit and a planning permit, assessed by different parts of the same council on different tests. Getting one does not get you the other, and neither does a building permit.
3. The four situations that need a report
Council has asked for one
The easiest case. They will usually tell you what they want and sometimes at what qualification level. Most Victorian councils require AQF Level 5, the Diploma of Arboriculture, and a report from below that can be refused on qualification grounds regardless of content.
You are lodging a planning application and there are trees
An arboricultural impact assessment is normally required, covering trees on the site and any on adjoining land whose root zone reaches into the works. Leaving out the neighbour's tree is one of the most common causes of a request for further information.
You want to remove a protected tree
Protected by a local law, an overlay, a significant tree register or Clause 52.37. The report is what makes the case, and it has to make it against the specific test that applies.
Something has failed and a tree is being blamed
A blocked sewer, a cracked slab, a lifted path. Before anyone removes anything, an investigation establishes whether the tree is actually the cause, because removing the wrong tree leaves you with the tree gone and the problem still there.
4. When you probably do not need one
- The tree is genuinely dead, and you can demonstrate it. Clause 52.37 exempts dead trees, and most local laws do too
- It is below every applicable threshold. Check all of them, because the thresholds and measurement heights differ between the local law, the overlay and Clause 52.37
- It is a declared weed species
- You are doing routine pruning within your council's exemption, which is often expressed as a percentage of canopy or a maximum branch size
- The works genuinely sit outside every root zone, which happens more often than people assume on larger blocks
- There is an immediate safety risk, in which case emergency provisions apply, though you should document the condition before and after
Not sure? Send the address
I will tell you which controls apply and whether you need a report, and there is no charge for that answer. It is a five minute job at my end and it saves you either a wasted fee or a rejected application. Reasonably often the answer is that you do not need me.
Common questions
What qualification does a council require?
Most Victorian councils require AQF Level 5, the Diploma of Arboriculture, for consulting work. Darebin names it explicitly. A report from an underqualified author can be refused on that basis alone.
Can I remove a tree if it is dangerous?
Emergency provisions generally allow removal of an immediate risk, but the bar is genuine immediacy, and you should document the condition thoroughly before and after. A tree that has been declining for two years is not an emergency.
Does a building permit cover tree removal?
No. Planning permits, local law permits and building permits are separate consents, and holding one gives you nothing under the others.
Do I need a report for my neighbour's tree?
If your works reach into its root zone, that tree belongs in your impact assessment. You do not need their permission to assess it, though you do need it to prune or remove anything.
Working on a site this applies to?
Send the address and whatever plans you have. Fixed quote back within one business day, and if it turns out you do not need a report I will tell you that instead.