Tree removal in Mildura: what's local
Palms under heritage overlays
Mildura's 2014 Heritage Strategy lists trees on heritage overlays, including Washingtonia palms in the Deakin Avenue median (HO201) and Deakin Avenue's Avenue of Palms (HO209). The list also takes in Washingtonia palms in Chaffey Avenue, a date palm in 13th Street and Moreton Bay figs in Douglas and Chaffey Avenues.
A lot of council palms
Mildura Rural City Council looks after a large number of palms of various species. Its Urban Tree Policy, approved on 3 July 2025, says it prunes urban palms only where dead fronds could hurt people, damage cars or blow onto power lines, or where seeds create a tripping hazard.
Who clears trees near the lines
The council maintains vegetation around overhead power lines in two declared areas, in parts of Mildura and Red Cliffs. Outside them, it's the asset owner, Powercor.
How the council treats its own trees
The policy says dropped leaves, flowers, fruit, seeds or small deadwood ordinarily won't justify removing a council tree, and the council won't prune or remove one just because it hangs over private property. It also keeps a significant tree register for trees on council land.
Common trees in Mildura
A palm isn't pruned like a gum. Dead fronds and old flower stalks come off; the green crown stays. Mildura's own policy warns against taking too many fronds, because healthy leaves are essential for the palm's growth and survival. A palm that's been stripped to a feather duster is a palm under stress.
Tall palms put the work high up and under heavy, sharp fronds, so they're arborist jobs. Our palm trees page covers how removals and cleans are usually done and what a quote should include.
Tree removal permits in Mildura
On your own land, the questions are the same as anywhere in Victoria: is there a heritage overlay with tree controls, another overlay, or the clause 52.37 canopy tree rule in a residential zone? In Mildura the Heritage Overlay deserves the first look, given how many trees and palms the heritage list names. The Victorian permit page explains each control, and a VicPlan report shows which apply to your block.
If the tree is a street or nature strip tree, leave it to the council and raise it with them. Our guide to council street trees explains how to ask.
Hiring an arborist in Mildura
If it's a palm or a big old fig, we'd check the heritage overlay before anything else, then ask the council to confirm. For a routine palm clean, we'd book an arborist who'll take the dead fronds and leave the healthy crown alone, and we'd ask them to say so on the quote.