Trees on Council and private land

Trees and plants are one of our Region’s greatest assets. Some plant species are protected according to the Nature Conservation Act 1992. For information on your legal obligations involving the protection of native plant species and laws surrounding the commercial use of protected species contact us.

Protecting Council's trees

Street and park trees are extremely valuable assets that are offered protection under Local Law 1 (Administration). It is considered an offence to prune, remove or interfere with our trees above and below ground.

You can assist Council to protect our precious environment by:

  • reporting sick, dead or damaged Council-owned trees;
  • not planting trees on Council land;
  • not piling lawn clippings against tree trunks; and
  • reporting unlawful pruning or removal of trees.

Private tree removal and vegetation clearing

The protection of trees and vegetation is governed by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines and Department of Environmental and Heritage Protection (DEHP). An exemption or permit may be required depending on the circumstances.

Land development regulations and vegetation

The Toowoomba Regional Planning Scheme identifies when development requires approval from Council. The Planning Scheme lists standards a development needs to meet for an application to be approved.

The current Planning Scheme does not require Council approval to remove significant vegetation where there is no development proposed. At the time the Planning Scheme was prepared in 2010/2011, vegetation protection controls administered by the Queensland State Government were considered sufficient.

Environment Policy review

There have been calls by community members to pass regulations to review the current 2.82 Environment Policy(PDF, 198KB) to prevent loss of significant vegetation that is not affected by a development application.

The preparation of the new Planning Scheme includes the review of all existing policies relating to development, including Council’s Environment Policy. You can stay up-to-date with Council news via our media releases.

Heritage protected vegetation/trees

Where a property is heritage listed it is possible that the vegetation may be protected for historical purposes. This aspect is largely governed by the Department of Environmental and Heritage Protection. For further information on the heritage status of a property, please refer to the DEHP website or call 137 468.

Development applications involving tree removal

Questions that relate to tree removal as part of a development application should be directed toward the Parks and Recreation Branch.

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