Urban Forest Act 2023

In this Act:

damage a protected tree includes the following:

kill or destroy the tree;

poison the tree;

ringbark the tree (whether partially or completely);

fell or remove the tree;

remove a hollow from the tree;

minor damage or anything else done to or in relation to the tree that—

is likely to cause it to die; or

significantly reduces its life expectancy; or

significantly and adversely affects its health, stability or general appearance.

Examples

1 damage a protected tree’s trunk or canopy by means of a machine

2 damage a protected tree’s root system by cutting or ripping its roots or compacting the soil

3 deface a protected tree by attaching items, such as nails or wire, to the tree or graffitiing the tree

4 contaminate soil around a protected tree by spilling chemicals or washing down construction products, such as cement, around the tree

However, damage does not include—

minor pruning of a regulated tree; or

any cultural heritage practice undertaken in relation to a protected tree.

Example—par (b) scarring or similarly modifying a tree

In this section:

hollow means a cavity in the trunk or branch of a tree.

major pruning, of a tree, means pruning other than lopping, pollarding or minor pruning.

minor damage, to a tree, means—

removing, cutting or breaking a branch of the tree; or

cutting branches or stems of the tree between branch unions (lopping); or

removing branches of the tree to a previously pruned or lopped point (pollarding); or

major pruning of the tree; or

defacing the tree.

minor pruning, of a tree, means pruning that—

only involves removing deadwood; or

does not involve removing any limbs that have a diameter greater than 100mm; or

does not adversely affect the general appearance of the tree; or

for the first pruning of the tree in the calendar year—affects less than 10% of the canopy and does not alter the overall shape of the canopy; or

for a fruit tree—is done for fruit production.