Public trees can be removed for various reasons. For example, trees may be removed if they are dead, declining, structurally poor or hazardous.
They may also be removed due to streetscape upgrades, capital works, developments or conflicts with infrastructure such as electrical lines, gas pipes and water mains.
Before any tree can be removed a site inspection and arboricultural assessment of the tree is conducted to determine the validity of the removal request. Immediate action is taken by City of Melbourne to rectify any tree that is deemed hazardous by an arborist.
Tree removals for building and development
Removal of trees for building or development purposes is only considered when there are no practical means of successfully retaining and protecting the tree. Please see the tree protection guidelines for further information on the protection of trees during development.
In order to proceed with tree removal for development purposes justification for why the tree(s) need to be removed and any attempts that have been taken to retain and protect them are required. Any associated tree amenity and replacement values are required to be compensated.
Requests for tree removal for building and development should be directed to treeplanning@melbourne.vic.gov.au
Future removals
Our monitoring and assessment of the city’s trees is indicating that we will lose more than 44 per cent of our trees in the next 20 years. This represents a loss of between 1200 and 1500 trees each year.
We plan to double our canopy cover in the city with at least 3,000 new trees being planted each year.
Further information