Latest update – 13 August 2025

At a Services Delegated Committee meeting of Councillors on Monday 11 August, Councillors reviewed community feedback on the Significant Tree Register Update.

At the meeting, 13 community members shared their views on the proposed updates to the Register. After hearing these contributions, Councillors referred their decision to adopt the updated register to a future Council meeting.

Next steps
At this future meeting, a report will be presented to Councillors about options to support property owners who have significant and canopy trees on their land. The report will also include options to support neighbours of these property owners too.

We’ll update this page as soon as the meeting date is confirmed. Council aims to publish the agenda and updated draft guidelines to our website 10 days beforehand.


Trees provide environmental, social, and aesthetic value to the landscapes, streetscapes and community of Boroondara.

What is a significant tree?

Significant trees are evaluated on their history, age, type, amenity contribution, habitat and size. Including them on the Tree Protection Local Law Significant Tree register provides Council with greater oversite about their pruning, removal or adjacent works.

The Significant Tree Register was established in 2001 to recognise trees in the municipality that meets the National Trust criteria for significant trees, including size, rarity, amenity value and historical significance.

Since 2001, the significant tree register has been updated periodically. See our existing Significant Tree List.

What happens if a tree is added to the register?

A tree on or adjacent to your property has been recognised as potentially significant by an independent assessing arborist.

If the tree is included on the Significant Tree Register, you’ll need a Local Law Permit to remove the tree (see Tree works permits application), prune any branches greater than 5 cm in diameter or to carry out works within the Tree Protection Zone. The Tree Protection Zone is established once the tree has been added to the register.

Please locate the trees which are on or adjacent to your property using the interactive map 🔍︎ which shows the locations and details of the proposed new significant trees within Boroondara.

Growing our tree canopy

  • We're updating the Significant Tree Register to align with community interests that were captured in the Canopy Tree Strategy. It includes the key target of increasing Boroondara’s tree canopy cover to 27% by 2040.

    We protect significant trees as they make the air cleaner, help people feel better and make our cities more liveable. Trees are considered important assets to meet predicted climate challenges.


How to have your say

Submission

We asked you to complete a feedback form on this consultation page. Submissions closed on Thursday 5 June 2025.

You needed your unique tree identifier, which was found on your letter, to be able to submit your feedback.

Additionally, in person

All submitters have been invited to share their feedback with Councillors at a Services Delegated Committee meeting.

If you wanted to speak at the meeting in person, you needed to select "Yes" to Question 7 in the feedback form. To ensure fairness, each resident is invited to speak for 2 minutes only.