ACT tree law
Tree removal rules in Canberra, explained properly
The ACT replaced the Tree Protection Act 2005 with the Urban Forest Act 2023 on 1 January 2024. Here is what is protected, what needs approval, and what you can do without asking anyone.
Free tool
Is your tree protected? Check it in thirty seconds.
Measure three things — or as many as you can — and we’ll tell you where you stand under the Urban Forest Act 2023.
How to measure the trunk properly
Circumference means around the trunk, not across it. Run a tape around the trunk at 1.4 m above the ground — roughly chest height on most adults. If the trunk forks below that point, measure the largest stem. No tape? A piece of string and a ruler works fine.
The short version
Canberra protects a very large proportion of its private trees, and on 1 January 2024 the rules changed. If you are working from advice written before then, it is out of date.
| Situation | Protected? | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Living tree on your block, 8 m+ tall |
Yes | Approval needed to remove, or to cut any limb 100 mm+ in diameter. |
| Canopy 8 m+ wide | Yes | Same as above — the widest spread is what counts. |
| Trunk 1 m+ around at 1.4 m height |
Yes | About 318 mm across. A surprising number of suburban trees pass this. |
| Dead native tree, 1.88 m+ around |
Yes | Dead does not mean unprotected. Big dead natives are habitat. |
| Any tree on public land | Yes, always | Nature strips, parks, verges. No size threshold at all. |
| On the ACT Tree Register | Yes | Protected regardless of size, including while provisionally listed. |
| Planted under a canopy contribution agreement |
Yes, 5 years | Protected for five years from planting. |
| Small tree, under every threshold, on your block |
Generally no | Usually free to remove — but check the Register and neighbouring TPZs. |
What counts as “damaging” a tree
It is broader than cutting it down. Under the Act, a tree damaging activity includes removing the tree, lopping or major pruning, and also things that harm it indirectly — poisoning, ringbarking, root severance, and works inside the Tree Protection Zone.
People are occasionally surprised to learn that a tree quietly killed over a summer is treated the same way as one taken out with a chainsaw, and that the ACT does investigate.
Major pruning versus minor pruning
This is the distinction that catches most homeowners, so it is worth being precise.
Needs approval — major pruning
- Removing any limb 100 mm in diameter or more from a regulated tree. That is only about the thickness of a coffee mug — smaller than most people picture.
Allowed without approval — minor pruning
- Removing deadwood only.
- Fruit tree pruning.
- The first prune of the calendar year, affecting less than 10% of the canopy, without changing the tree’s overall form — and with no limb 100 mm or thicker removed.
Note the wording on that last one: first prune, calendar year, and the form of the tree must not change. It is not a licence for a rolling program of trims.
The Tree Protection Zone
Every regulated tree has a protected area of ground around it. Get this wrong and you can be liable for damaging a tree you never touched with a saw.
The zone is: the area under the canopy, plus a 2 m wide area beyond the canopy edge, plus a 4 m wide area around the trunk measured at 1 m above the ground.
Inside the zone, these need approval:
- Cutting roots more than 50 mm in diameter.
- Excavating or raising the soil level more than 10 cm over an area of 4 m² or more.
- Compacting 10% or more of the zone — which a bobcat, a skip or a stack of pavers does very quickly.
If you are putting in a driveway, a shed slab, a pool or new drainage anywhere near a big tree, work out where the zone falls before the machine arrives. Ben can point out roughly where it falls when he is on site.
How to apply
The application is the property owner’s to make. The form is called a tree activity application and it is lodged online through the Urban Forest Management System. The ACT Government’s tree activity applications page sets out what you need, and its Tree protection laws page covers the rules behind it. What Ben will do is tell you straight, when he looks at the tree, whether he thinks you are likely to get it approved.
The honest bit
Plenty of applications get refused, and they should. If your tree is healthy, structurally sound and simply large, the answer is usually no — and the useful conversation becomes what pruning is permitted to solve the actual problem instead.
That is normally where we end up: a canopy lift, a selective reduction off the roofline, a deadwood clean-out. Same result you wanted, no application, no fine, tree still standing.
Where this comes from — and its limits
This page summarises the ACT Urban Forest Act 2023 and the guidance published by ACT City Services, current as at August 2026. It is general information from a working arborist, not legal advice, and the legislation is the authority. Check the current position with Access Canberra on 13 22 81 before acting on anything here.
Your questions about ACT tree rules
What law covers tree removal in Canberra now?
The Urban Forest Act 2023. It commenced on 1 January 2024 and replaced the old Tree Protection Act 2005. A lot of advice still circulating in Canberra refers to the 2005 Act — if a contractor quotes you the old rules, that is a useful signal about how current the rest of their knowledge is.
What size tree is protected in the ACT?
On leased (private) land, a living tree is regulated once it meets any one of these: 8 m or more in height, a canopy 8 m or more wide, or a trunk circumference of at least 1 m (about 318 mm diameter) measured 1.4 m above natural ground level. A dead native tree is regulated once its trunk circumference reaches 1.88 m at the same height.
Do I need approval to prune, or only to remove?
Both, if the pruning is major. Removing a limb 100 mm in diameter or more from a regulated tree needs the same approval as removing the whole tree. Minor pruning is allowed without approval: deadwood only, fruit-tree pruning, or a first prune of the calendar year that takes less than 10% of the canopy without changing the tree’s overall form — and with no limb 100 mm or thicker removed.
What happens if a protected tree is removed without approval?
It is an offence under the Act, and the penalties are significant. Damaging or being likely to damage a protected tree carries a maximum of 500 penalty units, and breaching an approved tree management plan is a separate offence. The dollar value of a penalty unit is set by ACT legislation and differs for individuals and corporations. Access Canberra on 13 22 81 can confirm the current figures.
How long does an application take?
Assessment can take up to 35 working days. That is roughly seven weeks, so if you have a build, a settlement or a landscaping job depending on it, start early. Applications are lodged online through the Urban Forest Management System and a fee applies.
What about the tree on my nature strip?
That is unleased public land, and every tree on public land in the ACT is protected regardless of size. You cannot prune or remove it yourself. Report problems to Access Canberra on 13 22 81.
My neighbour's tree hangs over my yard. What can I do?
Per Access Canberra’s guidance, the tree remains the responsibility of the owner whose land it grows on, including cleaning up what falls from it. You may generally trim branches that overhang your boundary, but only from your own side — you cannot enter their property without permission, and you should not simply throw the cuttings back over. And if the tree is regulated, a tree activity application is still required before pruning it at all, including the overhanging part.
The tree is dangerous right now. Do I still have to wait?
No. Where a tree presents an urgent safety risk, contact Access Canberra on 13 22 81 and ask for urgent circumstances authorisation for tree removal. An officer can grant approval before work starts. A formal tree activity application must still be lodged as soon as practicable afterwards. If powerlines are involved, call Evoenergy on 13 10 93 first.
What is the ACT Tree Register?
A register of trees with exceptional heritage, landscape or scientific value. Nominated trees receive provisional protection for up to a year while an independent Tree Advisory Panel assesses them; if registered, they carry the same protections as a regulated tree. A registered tree can be well under the size thresholds and still be fully protected — which is why size alone is never the whole answer. You can check the full list on the ACT Government’s registered trees page.
Can I build near a protected tree?
Not without care. A regulated tree has a Tree Protection Zone: the area under the canopy plus a 2 m wide area beyond the canopy edge, plus a 4 m wide area around the trunk measured at 1 m height. Inside it you cannot, without approval, cut roots over 50 mm in diameter, excavate or raise soil more than 10 cm deep over an area of 4 m² or more, or compact 10% or more of the zone. Driveways, slabs, pools and trenching routinely trip this.
Not sure where your tree stands?
Give Ben a call. He will come out, look at the tree and give you a fixed price for the work, free.