Council rules
Tree removal rules, council by council
The single most common — and most expensive — mistake in South East Queensland is assuming a tree on your own land is yours to remove. Whether you need approval depends on your council, and the rules differ sharply between them.
- Read from each council's own local law, not from a summary
- Thresholds, exemptions, fees and penalties for all 7 councils
- Every page dated, so you can see when it was last checked
Brisbane
Most detailedNatural Assets Local Law 2003 (NALL)
Brisbane has some of the tightest vegetation protection rules in South East Queensland, and they apply to trees on your own property. Interfering with protected vegetation without a permit is an offence — so the first question is never "who removes this tree", it is "is this tree protected, and do I have grounds".
- Application fee
- Free. Brisbane City Council does not charge to apply for a protected vegetation permit.
Moreton Bay
City of Moreton Bay planning scheme — environmental areas and corridors
Moreton Bay regulates clearing through its planning scheme, so the question is whether the work counts as accepted development. That turns on whether the tree is native, its size, how your property is mapped, and whether an exemption applies.
- Application fee
- Charged on cost recovery. Vegetation and landscaping application fees in Council’s 2025-26 schedule start at $865 and rise with the area cleared.
Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 — Vegetation management code (9.4.9)
The Sunshine Coast does not have a separate tree protection local law. Tree removal is regulated as operational work under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014. This means that where trees are protected, it’s mostly because of environmental overlays and property mapping, not their species.
- Application fee
- Charged as an operational works application rather than a flat permit fee.
Gold Coast
Gold Coast City Plan — Vegetation Management Code
Tree removal rules on the Gold Coast frame tree work as a development question. Your proposed work is either accepted development, requiring no application, or assessable development, requiring approval — and identifying which one you are in is the whole exercise.
- Application fee
- Charged as an operational works application rather than a flat permit fee, so it scales with the work.
Redland
Redland City Plan — Environmental Significance overlay
Redland protects trees mainly through the City Plan’s Environmental Significance overlay, which covers native vegetation. Even inside it, most urban lots can clear up to 500 m² without approval. A covenant, an approval condition or one of the few remaining Vegetation Protection Orders can also protect a tree.
- Application fee
- A Local Law 6 permit fee is set in Council’s annual fees and charges. Clearing under the City Plan is charged as an operational works application.
Logan
Logan Planning Scheme 2015
Tree removal rules in Logan are based on the mapping overlays on your property rather than the species of your tree. Logan City Council has generous exemptions for blocks under 5,000 m², so use our free permit checker to see if your tree needs a permit to remove.
- Application fee
- The first application each financial year is free for up to 5 trees or 50 m², whether or not koala habitat is mapped.
Ipswich
Ipswich City Plan 2025 and Local Law No. 49 (Protection of Important Vegetation)
Tree removal rules in Ipswich are governed by the Ipswich City Plan 2025, which uses property overlays to protect trees, and by Local Law No. 49, which protects trees under a Vegetation Protection Order.
- Application fee
- Around $160 for a Local Law 49 permit. Clearing under the City Plan is charged as an operational works application.
At a glance
How the 7 councils differ
Three of the seven measure the trunk, one measures the distance to your foundations, and three do not measure anything at all — the mapping decides it. This is where most self-assessments go wrong.
| Council | What's protected | Measured | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | Ten named species at 60, 80 or 100 cm, plus anything mapped or under a vegetation protection order. | Trunk diameter at 1.4 m above natural ground. | Free |
| Moreton Bay | Native trees 80 cm or more across, native vegetation in mapped environmental areas, and all vegetation in a few protected zones and overlays. | Trunk diameter at 1.3 m — a different height from Brisbane. | From $865 |
| Sunshine Coast | Any vegetation, living or dead, unless an exemption covers it: within 3 m of a building, up to 600 m² on small lots, and more. | Distance from buildings (3 m), lot size (1,000 m²) and the area cleared. | Scales with the works |
| Gold Coast | Vegetation the City Plan classes as assessable, plus anything under a vegetation protection order. | Distance from the trunk to your foundations, not trunk size. | Scales with the works |
| Redland | Native vegetation in the Environmental Significance overlay, beyond the zone’s allowance. | The total area cleared since the City Plan began: 500 m² in most of the urban area. | Set annually by Council |
| Logan | Native vegetation in a mapped management area, and any tree with a hollow at any size. | Trunk circumference at 1.3 m — around it, not across it. | First one each year free |
| Ipswich | Native vegetation in mapped Matters of Environmental Significance or the waterway overlay, and anything under a Vegetation Protection Order. | Distance from a lawful building: 3 m, or 10 m on a lot of 8,000 m² or more. | About $160 (Local Law 49) |
Fees and rules change. Each council page notes when it was last reviewed, and links to the official council source — always confirm before acting.
When state law applies as well
Council rules are not the only layer. The Vegetation Management Act 1999 is Queensland legislation that regulates the clearing of native vegetation separately from anything your council does, and it is administered by the State rather than by the local government.
In practice it bites on acreage, rural-edge blocks and larger lots carrying mapped remnant or regulated vegetation, and rarely on a suburban back yard. The two approvals are independent of each other: a council permit is not a State exemption, and clearing that is exempt under the State framework can still need council approval.
If your block is large, semi-rural, or carries mapped native vegetation, check both before anything happens. The Vegetation Management Act 1999 explained — what it covers, how to check your property, and where it overlaps with your council.
Council tree rules — common questions
Do council tree rules apply to trees on my own property?
Yes, and this is the assumption that costs people the most. Owning the land does not make the tree yours to remove — every council in South East Queensland protects some vegetation on private property, whether through a local law, a planning scheme overlay or a vegetation protection order. What varies is how much. Plenty of ordinary garden trees are exempt, but the only way to know is to check your address rather than assume.
Which council is my property in?
Your rates notice names it, and so does the property search on any council website. Boundary suburbs are where people get it wrong: a single suburb can straddle two local government areas, so the suburb name alone is not enough. Check the address rather than the postcode or the suburb.
What if my property straddles two councils?
It is rare but it happens on large or rural-edge lots. The rules that apply are the ones for the local government area the tree sits in, not the one your house or your letterbox sits in. Where a boundary runs through the middle of a block, both councils can have an interest and it is worth confirming with each before any work — an approval from one is not an approval from the other.
Do these rules apply to trees I planted myself?
Usually yes, which surprises almost everyone. Protection generally attaches to the tree’s species, size or location, not to who put it in the ground or how long ago. A tree you planted twenty years ago that has since reached a protected size, or that sits inside mapping applied after you planted it, is protected like any other. Planting it does not reserve you the right to remove it.
Do I need an arborist report to apply?
It depends on the council and on what triggered the application. Brisbane requires one for a significant landscape tree; several councils require one where construction affects a root zone; and any council can ask for one in an information request after you lodge. For a straightforward removal on clear grounds, often not. If you are unsure, ask before you pay for one — the honest answer is sometimes that you do not need it. What an arborist report includes.
I’m outside these seven councils — can you still help?
Yes. These seven are the areas written up in depth here because they cover most of the enquiries, but consulting work extends across South East Queensland and the assessment itself does not change with the postcode. What changes is the local instrument the report has to be written against, and that is research rather than an obstacle. Tell us the address and you will get a straight answer on whether the area is covered — same business day.
Not sure what you need?
Describe the situation and you will get a straight answer about which report your council actually requires — including when the answer is that you do not need one.