The Monash Vegetation Protection Overlay test
Monash's tree page sets out planning scheme controls, and the Vegetation Protection Overlay (VPO) is the one most residents run into. Inside a VPO area, a planning permit is needed to remove or destroy vegetation that is both higher than 10m and has a trunk circumference greater than 50cm (about 16cm across) at 120cm above ground.
Measure at 120cm, not the 1.4 metres other councils use. The council's map shows whether your property sits in the overlay. If you're in a VPO area and unsure whether your tree meets the test, Monash offers residents an arboricultural assessment to check, though not for developments of more than one dwelling.
Canopy trees in residential zones
Clause 52.37 canopy tree controls apply in the Residential Growth, General Residential, Neighbourhood Residential, Housing Choice and Transport, and Mixed Use zones. Monash describes the trigger as a tree at least 5m tall with a canopy at least 4m across.
On a vacant site that covers the whole block. Otherwise it's trees within 6 metres of the front boundary or 4.5 metres of the rear. Monash notes that cutting into the trunk, or pruning a tree below 5m tall or 4m wide, isn't treated as maintenance.
Gardiners Creek (SLO1)
Some properties in Ashwood and Burwood along Gardiners Creek sit in Significant Landscape Overlay Schedule 1. There, a permit is needed to build within 50m of the creek's top bank, and the overlay has its own vegetation rules. Applications need a survey plan showing distances from the bank.
What happened in Glen Waverley
Monash publicised a case worth knowing. A resident poisoned an established 18m lemon-scented gum on land in a VPO. On 5 June 2025 at Ringwood Magistrates' Court, the resident was found guilty without conviction and fined $9,000, and the council was awarded more than $4,000 in costs.
The council says illegal tree removal can lead to fines and/or legal action. Note that the Glen Waverley gum wasn't cut down: it was poisoned, and that still breached the planning scheme.
Have these ready for a Monash application
- A current Certificate of Title.
- A site plan marking each tree.
- A statement justifying the removal, or a cover letter for a canopy tree application.
- An arborist's or other qualified assessment if the reason is the tree's health or stability.
- For SLO1 land, a survey plan showing distances from the creek bank.
Which Monash application fits?
One VPO tree
VicSmart can handle it, but only one VicSmart application is allowed in 12 months.
Two or more VPO trees
That's a full Tree Removal Application.
A canopy tree
Canopy tree applications go through VicSmart, and the council says they're usually decided within 10 business days.
Replacement planting
In most circumstances, the council says, a permit will be conditional on planting replacement canopy trees. Leave room for them.
City of Monash tree removal permits: what to do next
We'd check the overlay map, then measure the trunk at 120cm and estimate the height. If it's close on either count, we'd use the council's arboricultural assessment before paying for anything else. We'd also tell any arborist quoting the job which permit applies, so the quote says who lodges it.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.