City of Stonnington
Tree controls in Stonnington
Stonnington protects significant trees by size rather than by list, which means you do not get to check a register to find out whether your tree is caught. You measure it.
Malvern, Malvern East, Toorak, Prahran, Armadale, South Yarra, Windsor, Glen Iris
At a glance
- Local law
- General Local Law 2018 (No. 1), amended 2023. Tree provisions in Part 14
- Significant tree
- Trunk circumference 180 cm or more at ground level, or 140 cm or more at 1.4 m
- Permit needed for
- Removing, pruning, or works affecting roots in the area surrounding a significant tree
- Penalty, removal
- 20 penalty units for removing, killing or damaging a significant tree
- Penalty, pruning
- 10 penalty units for lopping, pruning or trimming
- Penalty, works in TPZ
- 10 penalty units for works within a Tree Protection Zone, charged in its own right
- Overlays
- Significant Landscape Overlays and Neighbourhood Character Overlays. In either, a permit is required to remove any tree regardless of its significance
- Asset bond
- Minimum $3,000, and trees are expressly a listed protected asset
- Admin fee
- $450 for a single dwelling. Multi unit from $1,114 to $2,238
Drawn from Council's published material as at August 2026. Councils update without notice, so confirm anything you are relying on for a lodgement.
Register by threshold, not by list
Most councils in this belt run a nominated significant tree register. Stonnington sets a size and lets it catch whatever it catches. That is easier to apply and harder to check casually, because there is no list to search. If your tree is near either threshold, measure it properly before you assume anything.
Circumference is measured around the trunk, not across it. A 140 cm circumference is roughly a 45 cm diameter, which is a smaller tree than most people picture.
Works within a TPZ is its own offence
Stonnington charges works within a Tree Protection Zone at 10 penalty units in its own right, separate from any damage to the tree. You do not have to kill anything to be liable. Storing material inside the fence is enough, which makes the protection plan and the site induction worth taking seriously here.
Neighbourhood Character Overlays
Where an NCO applies, every tree needs a permit, significant or not. The best known is Hedgeley Dene in Malvern East, the first area in Victoria deemed to have a character warranting this kind of protection. Its exemptions are narrow: trees under 5 m tall or under 0.5 m trunk circumference, electric line clearance, immediate risk, and emergency access.
Council's Clause 52.37 page looks incomplete
Stonnington's published summary describes the permit trigger as applying where the land is vacant, or vacant with a new single dwelling proposed. It omits the boundary canopy tree limb that catches developed lots. The state provision is the one that binds, so do not plan around the shorter version on the council page.
What Stonnington does not publish
There is no arborist report checklist, no stated minimum qualification, and no reference to AS 4970 in any edition. That is unusual for a council this active on tree protection. In practice it means the report has to justify its own methodology rather than pointing at a template, which is a reason to be explicit about the standard applied and why.
What I do in Stonnington
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.
ResidentialArboricultural Impact Assessment
The report councils ask for when your works reach a tree. Every tree assessed, every zone calculated to AS 4970:2025, every encroachment justified.
DevelopmentClause 52.37 Canopy Tree Report
The provision that landed in September 2025 and caught most of the industry flat. Assessment, permit triggers and replacement canopy strategy.
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Working on a site in Stonnington?
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.