Tree issues, pruning and maintenance

Report a Council tree that is unsafe or has caused damage

Use our Report an issue form to report a Council tree that:

• has damaged your private property, such as a building, fence, driveway, or car 
• is unsafe, such as a fallen, unhealthy or diseased tree, a tree with pests, or a tree touching power lines. 

A Council tree is a tree that is on public land, such as a nature strip, park, public garden, or public car park.

Report a tree issue-external site

Or contact us at [email protected] or on (03) 9278 4444.

Find out how to report a beehive or wasp nest in a tree on our Bees and wasps page.

Trees on your neighbour's property

Trees can sometimes cause problems between neighbours. If a neighbour's tree is unsafe, causing problems or damaging your property, talk to your neighbour. This is the first step to resolve the issue.

If you and your neighbour agree to remove the tree, check if you need a permit on our Tree works permits page. 

We can't:

• help settle a dispute with your neighbour
• make them remove a tree. 

For advice on talking to your neighbour about tree issues, visit the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria website-external site. 

Pruning a neighbour's tree

• Check if you need a permit to prune their tree on our Tree works permits page.
• Talk to your neighbour before you start pruning.
• Prune to Australian Standard 4373-2007 Pruning of Amenity Trees to avoid damaging the tree. We recommend you hire a qualified arborist (tree specialist).
• You can prune leaves or branches that hang over onto your property. You have to pay any costs for the work and not damage the tree.
• Only prune from your property up to the common boundary. Do not enter your neighbour’s property to remove branches unless you have their permission.

Your neighbour can also remove or prune branches that hang over onto their property. They can only do this from their property. They can't enter your property without your permission.

You can't prune a Council tree, such as a tree on a nature strip. If a Council tree is hanging over onto your property, email us at [email protected] or call us on (03) 9278 4444.

Managing trees on your property

Hire a qualified arborist (tree specialist) to regularly inspect and prune your trees. We recommend inspections every 3 to 5 years, or more often if the tree has existing issues. 

If your trees or plants hang over onto public or Council land, we can ask you to prune them.

Managing a dangerous private tree

If you believe that a tree on your private property is dangerous, the first thing you should do is engage a private arborist to inspect the tree and provide advice.

A professional arborist will be able to recommend a next step to address the issue. Some options of possible next steps are listed below, but all next steps require you to check whether a permit is required to prune or remove the tree.

Urgent pruning

If urgent pruning is recommended, you will need to confirm if a Tree works permit is needed to prune the tree, and you can find out how to do this on our Tree works permits page. If a permit is needed, you or the arborist can call us on (03) 9278 4888 to notify us of the urgent and dangerous nature of the issue, and email [email protected] the photos and details of the tree. If our Urban Planning Forestry team deem the matter to be urgent, then we can authorise pruning without a permit with 24 hours.

Non-urgent pruning

If non-urgent pruning is recommended, you will need to confirm if a Tree works permit is needed to prune the tree, and you can find out how to do this on our Tree works permits page. If a permit is not required, then your arborist can start pruning works in accordance with Australian Standards. If a permit is required, then you will need to submit an application for a Tree works permit.

Urgent tree removal

If urgent removal of the tree is recommended, you will need to confirm if a Tree works permit is needed to prune the tree, and you can find out how to do this on our Tree works permits page. If the tree is not protected, then it can be removed in accordance with Australian Standards. If the tree is protected, you or the arborist can call us on (03) 9278 4888 to notify us of the urgent and dangerous nature of the issue, and email [email protected] the photos and details of the tree. If our Urban Planning Forestry team deem the matter to be urgent, then we can authorise removal without a permit.

Non-urgent tree removal

If non-urgent removal of the tree is recommended, you will need to confirm if a Tree works permit is needed to prune the tree, and you can find out how to do this on our Tree works permits page. If a permit is not required, then your arborist can start the removal process in accordance with Australian Standards. If a permit is required, then you will need to submit an application for a Tree works permit.

Pruning trees near power lines

Every 2 years we prune street trees to clear branches from power lines. This is part of our tree pruning program.

We comply with Energy Safe Victoria's Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2020, which sets the amount of pruning required around power lines. 

Pruning dates

Estimated completion dates for the next 2 rounds of pruning are listed below.

Some works take us longer to complete, such as:

• pruning in larger suburbs
• specialist works like live line and high voltage shutdowns.

Electric Line Clearance Management Plan

Our annual Electric Line Clearance Management Plan details how we manage tree pruning for low and high voltage power lines.

More information

For more information, contact us at [email protected] or on (03) 9278 4745.