Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Moreton Bay?
You generally do not need a permit to remove a tree in Moreton Bay. You will only need one if your property is affected by certain zones or overlays, or the tree is a native tree 80cm or more across, and it is not covered by one of the exemptions in Table 1.7.7.1 of the planning scheme.
How to check if a tree is protected in Moreton Bay?
There are three steps to check if your tree is protected in Moreton Bay, and a fourth if you want to be certain.
- 1
Look the property up in My Property Look Up
Search the address in the City of Moreton Bay’s My Property Look Up. It shows the planning scheme maps that affect the property: its zone, any local plan, and the overlays that decide whether a tree is protected.
- 2
Request the State’s vegetation report
Request a free vegetation management property report from the Queensland Government. It shows whether there is regulated vegetation on the property and whether it sits in a koala habitat or priority area, and it is usually emailed within 3 business days.
- 3
Check whether an exemption covers it
If the land is mapped as a High Value Area or Value Offset Area, or the tree is native and 80 cm or more across at 1.3 m, check the 10 m rule first: native vegetation within 10 m of a lawfully established building is accepted development. If that does not cover it, Table 1.7.7.1 lists ten other circumstances (A to K), and the permit checker above walks through them. In the Limited development zone, the Caboolture West green network precinct, the riparian and wetland setbacks and the water supply buffer, the table makes no clearing accepted development.
- 4
Seek professional advice
Mapping and exemptions settle most cases, however there are still state and federal laws that may apply to your tree. Engaging a qualified Level 5 Arborist for a tree protection check could save you thousands in fines.
Penalties for removing a protected tree in Moreton Bay
Clearing assessable vegetation without the necessary development permit is a development offence under section 163 of the Planning Act 2016, carrying a maximum penalty of $777,150 — 4,500 penalty units at the current $172.70 a unit. Council can also issue enforcement notices requiring rectification or replacement planting, and prosecute separately for harm to native wildlife during clearing.
What trees are protected in Moreton Bay?
These are the trees Moreton Bay protects. If yours falls into one of them, assume approval is required until Council confirms otherwise — nothing on the tree itself tells you, and the obligation sits with the owner.
- Native trees 80 cm or more across at 1.3 m from the ground, unless an exemption such as the 10 m rule applies
- Native vegetation mapped as a High Value Area or Value Offset Area on the Environmental areas overlay, unless an exemption applies
- All vegetation in the Limited development zone, the Caboolture West local plan’s green network precinct, the Riparian and wetland setbacks overlay and the water supply buffer
- Significant trees and vegetation listed in the Heritage and landscape character planning scheme policy
- Council vegetation on verges, parks and reserves
- Regulated vegetation and koala habitat mapped by the State, which apply separately
High Value Areas and Value Offset Areas in Moreton Bay
Council’s Environmental areas overlay maps the region’s most important environmental values and sorts them into two categories. On land in either one, clearing a native tree needs Council approval whatever its size, unless one of the exemptions in Table 1.7.7.1 applies, such as being within 10 m of a lawfully established building.
| Area | What it covers | Clearing |
|---|---|---|
| High Value Area | State matters (MSES) such as regulated vegetation, wetlands, protected areas, and koala and wildlife habitat. Council’s own matters (MLES): shorebird habitat, biodiversity priority areas, land protected by a covenant or conservation agreement, and local wetlands. | Council’s position is that these values are protected from development, so approval to clear is the exception rather than the rule. |
| Value Offset Area | State koala offset areas, waterway buffers of 100 m, 40 m or 20 m from the top of the bank depending on the stream, and 100 m buffers around local wetlands. | Clearing can be approved, but it usually comes with an offset: 1:1 for any native vegetation removed from a waterway or wetland buffer, and one for established koala habitat trees in a koala offset area. An offset can be paid as a financial settlement. |
MSES are Matters of State Environmental Significance, mapped by the State and carried into Council’s overlay. MLES are Matters of Local Environmental Significance, which Council maps itself. Some things cannot be mapped at all, such as federally protected matters, habitat trees and priority species like the koala, so Council still assesses them in a development application on land that is not mapped.
Because the waterway buffers reach up to 100 m from the bank, it is worth checking even if there is no bushland on the property. Search the address in My Property Look Up ↗ and look for the Environmental areas overlay. If Council’s local mapping looks wrong, you can ask Council to correct it without a development application, as the FAQs below explain.
What counts as a habitat tree in Moreton Bay
The planning scheme recognises a native tree more than 80 cm in diameter, measured 1.3 m from the ground, as a habitat tree. Table 1.7.7.1 only lets you clear a native tree without approval while it is under 80 cm, so from 80 cm it needs approval unless an exemption covers it.
That applies even where no overlay is mapped on your property, so a large native tree in an ordinary back yard can need approval.
Start with the 10 m rule: a native tree within 10 m of a lawfully established building can be cleared without Council approval, whatever its size. If that does not cover it, the table lists ten other exemptions, among them an approved development footprint, clearing for a boundary fence, maintenance within a registered easement, and a risk of serious injury or damage to infrastructure that pruning a limb cannot reasonably remove. None of these exemptions, the 10 m rule included, apply in the Limited development zone, the Caboolture West green network precinct, the riparian and wetland setbacks or the water supply buffer, or to a tree listed in the Heritage and landscape character planning scheme policy.
Measure the trunk’s diameter 1.3 m from the ground. If a tape is easier, run it around the trunk and divide by 3.14: 80 cm across is about 2.5 m around. Brisbane measures at 1.4 m, so the height is an easy one to get wrong.
How to apply for a tree removal permit in Moreton Bay
In Moreton Bay, approval to clear protected vegetation is a development application for operational works under the planning scheme, rather than a local law permit. Fees start at $865 and rise with the area cleared, and you should allow 6 to 8 weeks from lodgement.
- 1
Check if you need a permit
This is the main check: it shows the zone and overlays on your property. Look your address up in Council’s My Property Look Up.
If none of these apply, it generally means you don’t need a permit:
- The Limited development zone, or the Caboolture West green network precinct
- The Riparian and wetland setbacks overlay, or a water supply buffer
- A High Value Area or Value Offset Area on the Environmental areas overlay
- A listed significant tree or heritage place
- A native tree 80 cm or more across, 1.3 m above the ground
If one does, an exemption such as the 10 m rule may still cover it. The permit checker at the top of this page works it through.
- 2
Get an Arborist Report
If step 1 came up clear: you likely don’t need one. To be safe, check with us or Council before any work.
If step 1 showed protection: get an arborist report. Council assesses the application on its justification, and the report sets out the tree’s species, size, health and structure and why the work is needed. Council may also ask for vegetation and fauna management plans, which a pre-lodgement meeting will tell you.
- 3
Lodge the application
If step 1 came up clear: there’s likely nothing to lodge.
If you need a permit: book a pre-lodgement meeting, which Council highly recommends, then lodge with your arborist report and the plans Council asks for. Council approves the plans before any work starts. Fees start at $865 and rise with the area cleared.
Reports and plans Council asks for, and who can prepare them
| Report or plan | When Council asks for it | Who can prepare it |
|---|---|---|
| Ecological assessment report | Development in or next to the Environmental areas overlay | Someone with tertiary qualifications in ecology or a related field |
| Vegetation management plan | Any clearing of native vegetation | An ecologist, or a qualified arborist with flora and fauna survey experience |
| Fauna management plan | Clearing native vegetation, or development that could affect wildlife | An ecologist, or a qualified arborist with flora and fauna survey experience |
| Habitat tree management plan | Habitat trees on the development site | An arborist with at least a Level 5 qualification |
| Nest box management plan | Clearing native vegetation with hollows | Someone with tertiary qualifications in ecology or a related field |
| Ecological restoration plan | Revegetation is planned | Someone with tertiary qualifications in ecology or a related field |
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Not sure where to start?
Not sure whether you need an arborist report? Book a consultation so we can discuss your plans, your trees and what council has asked for. You’ll get a straight answer and a fixed quote.
Habitat tree management plans in Moreton Bay
When a development site has habitat trees on it, native trees more than 80 cm across at 1.3 m, Council asks for an approved habitat tree management plan. It sets out how the habitat trees being kept will be protected and looked after, and Council’s policy says the needs of large or hollow-bearing trees have to be considered at the design stage.
Council’s environmental areas policy is explicit about who can write one: it “must be prepared by an arborist with a minimum level 5 qualification”. Ours are prepared by an AQF Level 5 arborist, so yours meets that requirement from the start.
What a habitat tree management plan includes
- The location and extent of all the works, including earthworks and clearing, referenced to the development plans and their version
- Tree species
- Size: height and canopy spread
- Estimated age
- Location on the site
- Hollow abundance and estimated sizes
- The native species most likely to be using the hollows
- Tree protection zones and structural root zones
- Procedures for any incursion into those zones
- Vigour, such as canopy condition
- Current risks to the tree’s health
- Utilities above and below ground
- Immediate protective actions required
- Maintenance and future management actions
- An inspection program
- Diagrams or images of each tree, its location and its protection zone
Vegetation management plans in Moreton Bay
Where an application involves clearing native vegetation, Council asks for a vegetation management plan. It sets out how the vegetation will be managed before, during and after the works. It is part of the application, not a way around it: Council approves the plan before any work starts, and the work then has to follow it.
Council’s policy lets an ecologist, or a qualified arborist with experience in flora and fauna surveys and assessments, prepare it, based on a tree survey under AS 4970, the standard for protecting trees on development sites. Ours are prepared by an AQF Level 5 arborist with flora and fauna survey experience.
What a vegetation management plan includes
- A3 maps, at a scale not greater than 1:5000, of everything below
- The location and extent of all the works, referenced to the development plans and their version
- All native vegetation to be removed, kept and restored
- Its type and value: remnant and regrowth regional ecosystems, habitat trees, and juvenile and non-juvenile koala habitat trees
- Tree protection zones and structural root zones
- Procedures for any incursion into those zones
- Staged clearing plans where needed, to meet the State’s koala rules
- Plans to reuse the native vegetation that is removed
A fauna management plan usually goes with it. Council asks for one wherever native vegetation is cleared or wildlife could be affected: a fauna spotter-catcher inspects before clearing and stays on site while it happens, with set procedures for relocating animals, caring for injured ones and recording what was found. The same qualification rule applies, and Council approves it before work starts too.
Get a fixed quote for vegetation and fauna management plans →
Nest box management plans in Moreton Bay
Clearing native vegetation with hollows means putting up artificial nest boxes, so the habitat lost is at least temporarily replaced. Wherever boxes go in, Council asks for a nest box management plan, so wildlife use of the boxes is monitored to check they are working.
Council’s own worked example: removing an 80 cm habitat tree with four hollows, two small ones for bats, a medium one for gliders and a large one for an owl, takes four nest boxes of various sizes. The same tree with no visible hollows still takes three, for the hollows it would have formed.
The policy requires the plan itself to be prepared by someone with tertiary qualifications in ecology, conservation biology, natural resource management, environmental science or a related discipline.
What a nest box management plan includes
- An assessment of the target species
- What those species need
- The types of nest box
- How they are installed
- Where each box goes, with its GPS location and the owner’s consent
- A monitoring and maintenance regime, including how fallen or broken boxes are replaced
Putting the boxes up is arborist work, usually at height in the trees being kept. Council’s policy also encourages salvaging hollows from trees that come out and fitting them into retained trees. We install nest boxes and salvaged hollows to the plan your ecologist prepares.