It’s a question we get asked almost every week: “It’s my tree, on my land, surely I can just cut it down if I want to?” The honest answer is: it depends, and in some Perth council areas, the rules are stricter than most homeowners realise. Before you book in a removal, or worse, grab a chainsaw yourself, it’s worth understanding exactly where you stand under Western Australia’s planning rules.
The Short Answer
In Western Australia, there’s no single, statewide rule that says you need approval to remove every tree on your private property. In fact, at the state planning level, removing large trees from private land generally doesn’t require development approval at all, which is actually one of the reasons WA has been flagged as having some of the weakest private-land tree protections in the country.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all. Many individual Perth local councils have stepped in with their own Local Planning Policies that require development approval before you can remove or significantly prune certain trees, usually referred to as “regulated” or “significant” trees. Whether you need a permit really comes down to which council area you live in, and how that council defines a regulated tree.
What Makes a Tree “Regulated” or “Significant”?
This is where things get genuinely confusing, because there’s no single, consistent definition across the Perth metro area. Each local government area sets its own thresholds in its own planning policy, which means a tree that’s perfectly fine to remove in one suburb might require a full development application two suburbs over.
That said, most councils that regulate private trees use some combination of the following criteria:
- Height – commonly 8 metres or more
- Canopy diameter – often around 6 metres or more
- Trunk circumference or diameter – frequently measured at 1.4 metres above ground level
- Species – some native or culturally significant species are protected regardless of size
- Location – trees within heritage areas, conservation zones, or on a council’s significant tree register often carry extra protection
For example, some councils set their benchmark for a regulated tree at 8 metres in height or 6 metres of canopy spread, while others define “tree-damaging activity” broadly enough to capture root disturbance and pruning as well as outright removal. The takeaway is simple: don’t assume your suburb follows the same rules as your mate’s place across town.
When You Generally Don’t Need Approval
Most councils carve out some sensible exemptions, even within a regulated tree policy. You typically won’t need approval for:
- Trees that don’t meet the regulated size or species threshold. Smaller ornamental trees, fruit trees, or young plantings are usually fine to remove without a permit.
- Dead, dying, or storm-damaged trees posing an immediate risk. Most councils exempt genuine emergencies, though you should photograph the tree and ideally get a written arborist assessment to back up your reasoning if anyone ever asks.
- Weed species. Trees listed on the State Weed Register or a council’s unwanted species list are generally excluded from protection altogether.
- Routine maintenance pruning. Light, seasonal pruning that doesn’t significantly alter a tree’s shape or remove large limbs is usually allowed without approval, though most policies do cap how much canopy you can take off in a calendar year before it counts as a tree-damaging activity.
When You Almost Certainly Need Council Approval
On the other hand, you’ll generally need to lodge a development application if:
- Your tree meets your council’s height, canopy, or trunk diameter threshold for a “regulated” or “significant” tree.
- The tree sits within a heritage conservation area or is listed on a council’s significant tree register.
- The removal is connected to a building or development project, since planning conditions often require certain trees to be retained.
- You want to remove a healthy tree primarily because it’s blocking a view, dropping leaves, or simply inconvenient. Councils almost universally reject these as valid grounds for removal.
If your situation falls into one of these categories, most councils will also want supporting documentation: photographs, a written justification, and often an arborist’s report, particularly if you’re arguing the tree is unsafe or diseased rather than simply unwanted.
What Happens If You Remove a Tree Without Approval?
This is the part that genuinely surprises people. Removing a regulated tree without the right approval isn’t just a slap on the wrist. Under the Planning and Development Act 2005, unauthorised development (which includes unapproved tree removal in council areas with a tree retention policy) can attract maximum penalties running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for an individual, and considerably more for a business, with the potential for additional daily penalties if the breach continues. On top of any fine, councils can also require you to plant replacement trees, sometimes at a ratio of two or more new trees for every one removed, or pay into a council tree fund if there isn’t room to replant on site.
In short, what feels like a simple weekend job can turn into a genuinely expensive mistake if you skip the paperwork.
What About Trees on the Verge or Nature Strip?
A quick but important note: that tree on the verge in front of your house almost certainly isn’t yours to remove, even though it sits right outside your fence line. Verge and street trees are typically council property, managed and protected under separate rules entirely. If a verge tree is causing you grief, the right move is to contact your council directly rather than handling it yourself.
What About Native Vegetation Clearing Rules?
If your property includes bushland, remnant native vegetation, or you’re in a more regional or peri-urban part of WA, there’s a second layer of regulation to be aware of through the state’s native vegetation clearing framework, which is separate from local council planning policy. Clearing native vegetation without the right permit can be an offence in its own right, regardless of what your local council’s tree policy says. This is particularly relevant for larger blocks, rural properties, or land earmarked for subdivision.
Our Honest Advice: Check Before You Cut
We say this to every customer who calls us asking to “just take that big one down out the back”: check with your local council before any chainsaw touches that trunk. It takes a phone call or a quick look at your council’s website, and it can save you a fine that dwarfs the cost of the removal itself.
If you’re not sure whether your tree is regulated, or you need an arborist’s assessment to support a development application, that’s exactly the kind of thing we help with every week. Our team can have a look at your tree, give you honest advice on whether it’s likely to need approval, and if it does, help put together the documentation your council will be asking for.
How AB Trees Can Help
We’ve been removing, pruning, and assessing trees across the Perth metro area, north and south of the river, for over 10 years. Every job starts with honest advice, not just a quote. If your tree genuinely needs to come down, we’ll tell you. If it doesn’t, or if it’s going to need council sign-off first, we’ll tell you that too.
Give Ben a call on 0424 150 899 or Andrew on 0411 051 272, or request a free, no-obligation quote. We’ll help you figure out exactly where you stand before anything gets cut, with our No Mess and No Damage guarantee on every job we do.
