What makes a Stonnington tree significant?
Stonnington, the council for Malvern, Prahran and Toorak, protects private trees through Part 14 of its General Local Law 2018 (No.1). There are two tests, and passing either is enough: a tree or palm counts if its trunk is 140 cm or more around at 1.4 m above the base, or 180 cm or more at the base. For a multi-trunked tree, add the trunks together.
Palms are included, not just broadleaf trees. So is a significant tree hanging over your yard from next door: the local law stops you pruning or trimming an overhanging significant tree without a permit.
The local law includes diagrams for measuring single, short, flared and multi-trunked trees, worth a look before you reach for the tape.
What counts as tree work in Stonnington
- Removing, killing or damaging a significant tree.
- Lopping, pruning or trimming it. Pruning means taking off any branch thicker than 50 mm where it meets the trunk or a larger branch.
- Works in its Tree Protection Zone, a circle around the trunk with a radius of 12 times the trunk diameter at 1.4 m.
- Building, trenching, digging, compacting, filling or storing materials inside that circle, including near council-managed trees.
- Directing or allowing someone else to do any of these.
When it's a planning permit instead, or as well
Council says that in a Residential Zone you may need a planning permit to remove, destroy or lop a tree even when the land has no overlays. Under Clause 52.37, as rewritten on 24 September 2026, a canopy tree is one at least 5 metres tall with an average canopy diameter of at least 4 metres.
Stonnington names vacant land, a new single dwelling on vacant land and boundary canopy trees as the 52.37 cases, and says a Tree Works Permit can still be needed alongside. Land in the Yarra (Birrarung) River corridor, along Gardiners Creek (Kooyongkoot) or in the Hedgeley Dene precinct can need a planning permit under its overlay.
Applying for a Tree Works Permit
Check which permit
Council's online permit finder form tells you whether it's a Tree Works Permit, a planning permit or both.
Make sure you can apply
Owners apply directly. An arborist or company needs the owner's letter of authorisation, and an owners corporation needs a manager's letter with its OC number.
Send a plan and two photos
Mark the tree on a site plan or map, and include at least one close-up and one image of its surroundings.
Allow up to four weeks
Stonnington's consultants and arborists inspect the tree. Assessment and approval can take up to four weeks.
If a significant tree is an urgent danger
Anyone in danger: call 000. Trees or branches down on private property: the SES. For an urgent removal or prune of a significant tree, Stonnington wants a qualified arborist to assess it first, then that assessment goes to council by email with the Tree Works Permit application. Keep people out from under it while you wait.
Who's liable if it's cut without a permit?
Council says removing or damaging a significant tree without a permit results in a penalty or fine. The local law also makes the land owner guilty of the offence, unless the owner proves someone else did it without their knowledge.
That matters when you hire someone. Get the permit sorted before the arborist starts, and make sure the quote matches what the permit allows.
City of Stonnington tree removal permits: what to do next
We'd measure at both points before calling anyone, because a tree that misses 140 cm at chest height can still pass 180 cm at a flared base. If it's significant, we'd lodge with the photos council asks for and accept the four weeks, rather than risk an owner offence over a prune.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.