Who decides in Canberra?
The Urban Forest Act 2023 protects trees, and decisions on regulated and registered trees are made by the Conservator of Flora and Fauna. The Act commenced on 1 January 2024, replacing the Tree Protection Act 2005, and the current text has been in force since 2 January 2026.
Protection applies in built-up urban areas: residential, commercial, community facility, industrial and urban open space zones and their road verges, but not reserves or rural leases.
Is my tree protected?
- A living tree 8 metres or taller, with a canopy 8 metres or wider, or a trunk 1 metre or more around at 1.4 metres above the ground. Any one of the three is enough.
- A tree with 2 or more trunks that, at 1.4 metres, average at least 625 mm around and total at least 1 metre.
- A dead native tree with a trunk at least 1.88 metres around at 1.4 metres. Under the Act, a native tree is a native plant at least 2 metres high.
- A tree planted in the last 5 years under a canopy contribution agreement.
- A tree on the ACT Tree Register, including one provisionally registered for up to a year while it's assessed.
- A heritage tree under the Heritage Act 2004.
- Not sure? City Services says to check ACTmapi to see whether a tree is protected.
What needs approval?
Removing, lopping or major pruning a protected tree, and any groundwork in its tree protection zone. City Services defines major pruning as removing branches more than 100 mm in diameter. For a registered tree, even minor pruning needs approval.
The tree protection zone is the area under the canopy, plus a 2 metre strip around its edge and a 4 metre area around the trunk measured at 1 metre high. Cutting, ripping or compacting soil over the roots counts as damage, as do poisoning, ringbarking and removing a hollow. Any pruning has to follow AS 4373 (the Australian standard for pruning amenity trees) or MIS 308 Tree Pruning.
How do I apply in the ACT?
Lodge a tree activity application
That's the form for any work on a protected tree. The decision-maker has 35 working days, not counting time spent waiting on information it has asked you for.
Make the case
The approval criteria cover tree health, risk to safety, property damage, inappropriate location, excessive shading and close planting, where other reasonable remedies haven't worked. Major pruning for winter sun to a home between 9am and 3pm can be approved if minor pruning won't fix it, except on remnant eucalypts.
Get the right consent
Units plan (strata) common property needs the owners corporation's written agreement. A neighbour's protected tree needs the owner's written consent to the application and to an inspection.
Plan the replacement
After an approved removal you enter a canopy contribution agreement. City Services says homeowners plant 2 new trees on site, or make a financial contribution for each tree not replanted.
If it can't wait
For a private tree that's an immediate safety risk, call Access Canberra and ask for an urgent circumstances authorisation. You may be asked for a photo, and you still lodge a tree activity application as soon as practicable.
What are the penalties, and is anything changing?
City Services says breaking the Urban Forest Act can bring on-the-spot fines or court-imposed penalties of up to $80,000 for an individual and $405,000 for a corporation.
The Urban Forest and Planning Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 went to the Legislative Assembly on 12 June 2026 and was still before it when we checked. We haven't read what it would change, so nothing here assumes it passes.
What about my neighbour's tree in the ACT?
The need for approval doesn't stop at your fence: it covers work affecting a protected tree on neighbouring land, public or private. City Services says to talk with your neighbour first, then contact the Conflict Resolution Service if that doesn't settle it.
For a tree that isn't protected, Legal Aid ACT's 2021 factsheet says overhanging branches may be cut only as far as they overhang, without entering the neighbour's land. In some boundary disputes ACAT can order a nuisance tree modified or removed, or compensation paid for damage. Legal Aid ACT suggests talking, then mediation, then legal advice before applying. Our neighbours' trees guide has more.
Can I clear trees for bushfire protection?
We couldn't find an ACT rule that lets owners clear protected trees for bushfire protection without approval, so assume the usual approval applies and ask Access Canberra. The Act's tree damage offences don't apply to firefighters, the SES and police acting under the Emergencies Act 2004 to protect life or property or control a fire.
Trees near power lines in Canberra
For a tree touching or bringing down a line, call Evoenergy and keep at least 8 metres from fallen lines and anything they may have energised, such as fences. Treat lines as live, including after an outage. Evoenergy says trees on your property are yours to keep clear: most need at least 1 metre from service lines and 1.5 metres from powerlines, rising to 2 metres for higher voltage lines and bushfire prone areas, and it recommends 2.5 metres to allow for regrowth. A tree that has grown past the minimum distance has to be trimmed by an arborist Evoenergy has approved. Carrying out a utility's pruning direction, to its terms, doesn't need Urban Forest Act approval.
After a storm in the ACT
Dial 000 in a life-threatening emergency. The ACT SES helps when a tree has fallen on or blocked access to your property or driveway, or is at risk of doing so. It makes damage safe, but won't prune trees, carry green waste or do permanent repairs. Nature strip and verge trees are the ACT Government's: you can't remove one without written approval, and you report one that's an immediate public danger to Access Canberra.
Tree removal permits and rules in the ACT: what to do next
We'd measure first: height, canopy spread and the trunk at 1.4 metres. If any one of them reaches the trigger, we'd lodge a tree activity application before booking the work and allow 35 working days. If the tree really can't wait, we'd ring Access Canberra for an urgent authorisation rather than cut first and explain later.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.