Do I need a permit to prune or remove a tree in Stonnington?

What is protected in Stonnington

Under the City of Stonnington General Local Law 2018, a significant tree is any tree or palm with a trunk circumference of 140 cm or more measured 1.4 m above its base, or 180 cm or more measured at the base. Trees with several trunks are measured the same way with the trunks added together. A Significant Tree Works Permit is required before anyone removes, prunes, damages or destroys a significant tree, including its roots.

Some areas are handled through the planning scheme rather than the Local Law. In the Hedgeley Dene precinct (Neighbourhood Character Overlay Schedule 1) and the Yarra River corridor (Significant Landscape Overlay Schedule 1), tree work needs a planning permit instead, with different size thresholds set by each overlay. Heritage overlays with tree controls and other NCO and SLO schedules can also bring a planning permit into play.

Since September 2025 the Victorian planning scheme also requires a planning permit in residential zones to remove a canopy tree (over 5 m tall, trunk circumference over 0.5 m at 1.4 m, canopy at least 4 m across) that stands within 6 m of the front boundary or 4.5 m of the rear boundary. Stonnington's permit finder tool on its trees page shows which permit type applies to a given address.

What you can do without a permit

Trees below the significant tree thresholds do not need a Tree Works Permit, so most pruning of small and medium trees goes ahead without paperwork. Trees already shown as removed on endorsed plans under an active planning permit do not need a separate Tree Works Permit either.

In the overlay areas, the planning controls set their own exemptions: in the Hedgeley Dene precinct a permit is not needed for a tree under 5 m tall or under 0.5 m trunk circumference at 1 m, for work to keep a tree clear of powerlines under the electricity code of practice, or where a tree presents an immediate risk of personal injury or damage to property. Council asks for an arborist assessment where urgent work is claimed.

What an application needs

Applications are lodged online with Stonnington and must come from the property owner, an owners corporation manager or a company director, with proof of ownership such as a rates notice and proof of identity. A neighbour can apply only to prune an overhanging significant tree, not to remove it. The application needs a site plan showing the tree's location and at least two photographs, one close up and one showing the surrounds.

Fees for 2026/27 are $102 per tree for pruning and $136 per tree for removal, payable on lodgement and not refundable. Council arranges for an arboricultural consultant to inspect the tree and allows up to four weeks for a decision. Applications in the overlay areas go through a VicSmart planning application instead.

Rules and fees change. Check Stonnington's current page before relying on any figure here.

Where the council asks for an arborist report, LumberJord writes them: arborist reports for council permits.

What Jordan does about it

Jordan measures the trunk at 1.4 m and at the base during the quote and tells you straight away whether the tree is a significant tree under the Local Law. Where a permit is needed he sets out what the application asks for, supplies the arborist detail that supports it, and can provide the written assessment Council wants when urgent work is claimed.

Work on a significant tree is scheduled only once the permit has been issued. Trees under the threshold are quoted and booked as usual.