How Manningham protects private trees
Manningham's own tree pages wouldn't load for us when we checked on 3 November 2026, so everything here comes from the Manningham Planning Scheme itself. We didn't find a separate local law for private trees, but confirm that with council's statutory planning team before relying on it.
The scheme works through overlays. Each overlay has a schedule spelling out exactly what's protected, and two state clauses sit on top: Clause 52.37 for canopy trees in residential zones, and Clause 52.17 for native vegetation.
Manningham overlays and what they cover
| Where | What needs a permit to remove, destroy or lop | |
|---|---|---|
| VPO Schedule 2 | Templestowe Vegetation Protection Area | Victorian native vegetation; any exotic or Australian native tree over 0.35 metre around at 1.3 metres or over 6 metres tall; some dead eucalypts |
| SLO Schedule 1 | Significant low density residential landscape areas | The same three tests as VPO2 |
| SLO Schedule 2 | Yarra (Birrarung) River corridor environs | Vegetation generally, apart from small non-native plants and limited pruning the schedule lists |
| VPO Schedule 5 | Trees and gardens in the Statements of Tree and Garden Significance (2006) | The vegetation those statements identify |
| ESO Schedule 5 | Core and buffer conservation areas inside residential zones | Victorian native vegetation |
Why the Templestowe tests catch so many trees
In VPO2 and SLO1 the trunk test is 0.35 metre around at 1.3 metres, and the height test is over 6 metres. Meeting either one is enough, so a tall, slender tree counts and so does a shorter one with a thick trunk.
Dead trees aren't automatically outside it. A dead eucalypt more than 20 metres from a building, and greater than 1 metre around at 1.3 metres, still needs a permit in those two overlays.
Canopy trees and native vegetation
In Manningham's residential zones, Clause 52.37 covers trees at least 5 metres tall with an average canopy of at least 4 metres across. Where there's already a house on the lot, it's limited to boundary canopy trees, with a trunk within 6 metres of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 metres of the rear boundary.
Clause 52.17 covers native vegetation, dead native vegetation included, with its own list of exemptions. Ask council how it applies to a block of your size.
Checking a Manningham tree before any work
Find your overlays
Look up the address on VicPlan and write down every overlay and schedule number on the property.
Read the schedule
Most Manningham schedules end with a table of species they treat differently. Have the tree identified properly and confirm the species with council.
Ask council in writing
Contact Manningham's statutory planning team and get its answer in writing before anyone cuts.
Add an arborist's report where it helps
For VPO5 trees, council's decision guidelines include the need for a qualified arborist's report on why the tree should go and whether alternatives are practical.
Manningham Council tree removal permits: what to do next
We'd start with VicPlan, not a tape measure. In Templestowe or the low density areas, the 6 metre height test catches a lot of established garden trees, so we'd assume a permit is needed and ask council to confirm it in writing. Then we'd brief an arborist who works in those overlays before booking a removal.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.