Tree Rules and Regulations of Melbourne

August 26, 2023

If you have a tree on your property, then you are probably wondering about the tree rules and regulations of Melbourne that are in place that you need to comply with. The main concern you need to have in mind in order to ensure you do not take any actions that violate Melbourne law are applicable when it comes to cutting down a tree.

Local councils have the responsibility of ensuring trees in their area are protected through what are called Tree Preservation Orders. Often, these Tree Preservation Orders have the ability to prevent you from achieving your aims with the tree on your property by prohibiting any lopping, cutting down, ring barking, injuring, or wilfull destruction of all trees under their protection. This is the case for all trees specified under the Tree Preservation Orders, unless one has the consent of the local counsel to do such things.

If there is a tree on your property and you would like to and are considering doing any of the above listed actions on that tree, or any other action that could be considered wilfull destruction of a tree on your property, then the wise decision is to hold off on doing that right away. You should first check with the local council in your area in order to check whether or not the tree in question is protected by a Tree Preservation Order. Remember, it is always the wisest path of action to check with the local council before doing anything to the tree on your property, even if you are a private property order. It is just not worth it in the long run because the fines can be quite hefty for breaching a Tree Preservation Order.

In many of the areas in which trees are protected by local councils, the majority of the trees that are on both private and public property are under the protection of a Tree Preservation Order, which is why it is so important that you check before you do anything to a tree on your property.

If you wish to carry out some branch pruning or root severing because the tree has invasive tree roots or large, overhanging branches, then you still need to check if the tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order. If you find out that it is, check in on the terms in order to determine whether or not it is necessary to fill out any application to get approval to have these actions done to the tree on your property.

A landowner can also apply to the court for a solution in the event that damage to a person or property has occurred or is likely to occur, although the damage cannot be insignificant.

When it comes to maintaining the tree on your property in Melbourne, these are some of the most important things you need to keep in mind. Ensure that you are aware of these tree rules and regulations of Melbourne before doing anything to your tree that could result in you needing to pay a hefty fan as consequence for your actions. Talk to Treelife who are the experts in tree removal services in Melbourne.