On 27 January 2014, amendments to the Natural Assets Local Law 2003 (NALL) commenced. The amendments help make it easier for residents and businesses to manage protected vegetation on or adjacent to their properties. The changes focus on delivering a balance between protecting the city's natural vegetation and protecting people, property and lifestyle.
The changes simplify and streamline processes and in some cases reduce costs and time for owners of land with protected vegetation. Periodic review of the city's local laws is part of Council's commitment to ensuring services and programs continue to be delivered in a customer-friendly and efficient way.
Changes to NALL
The changes to the NALL and how it works include:
- Reducing the number of protected vegetation categories
- Introducing minor pruning of street trees
- Supporting use of long-term permits
- Dealing with minor infringements and enforcement
- Improving the permit application process
- Providing opportunities for reviewing permit decisions
Affected properties
The amendments to the NALL affect residents and businesses with protected vegetation including street trees on or adjacent to their properties.
Reducing the number of protected vegetation categories
To make it easier for residents and businesses to apply for a permit and undertake work on protected vegetation, Council has simplified the number of protected vegetation categories. The type and extent of vegetation currently protected does not change with the amendments. All protected vegetation now falls into one of four new categories.
The table below outlines how the new categories have been defined.
| New vegetation categories | Existing vegetation categories |
|---|---|
| Council Vegetation | Council Controlled Vegetation |
| Waterway and Wetland Vegetation | Waterway Vegetation Wetland Vegetation |
| Significant Urban Vegetation | Significant Landscape Trees Valued Urban Vegetation Vegetation Protection Order: Individual Tree Vegetation Protection Order: Group of Trees |
| Significant Native Vegetation | Vegetation Protection Order: Vegetation of a Particular Class in a Particular Area Vegetation Protection Order: Vegetation of a Particular Species in a Particular Area Vegetation Protection Order: Vegetation of any Nature in a Particular Area Significant Native Vegetation |
Introducing minor pruning to street trees
To help residents and businesses manage trees on the footpath or in a road reserve in front of their property, Council now provides permits for minor street tree pruning work (under the Council Vegetation category).
Property owners and occupiers can apply for a permit to undertake routine maintenance of trees in front of or adjacent to their property. For example, residents may trim street tree branches that are overhanging footpaths, front fences, letter boxes or driveways.
Once issued, the permit will be valid for an ongoing period, provided the works are consistent with the permit.
Minor pruning will be permitted to street tree branches that:
- can be reached by a person standing on the ground; and
- are less than 25 millimetres thick.
Pruning is restricted to using secateurs (no more than 500 millimetres in length), and/or clean, sharp hand tools. The use of telescopic pruners, electric saws, chainsaws or other powered equipment is not allowed.
All street tree pruning will require a permit from Council.
It is still an offence to interfere with street trees in any other way.
Some documents on this page need Adobe Reader, Microsoft Word or Microsoft Word Viewer installed on your computer to view or print them.
Download the:
- Minor Street Tree Pruning fact sheet (PDF - 800kb)
- Minor Street Tree Pruning fact sheet (Word - 986kb).
Supporting use of long-term permits
Residents and businesses can apply for a long-term permit of up to 10 years to undertake protected vegetation management. This type of permit is appropriate for routine maintenance or hazard management work on protected vegetation.
A Protected Vegetation Management Plan (PVMP) is to be attached to the permit application form and once approved by Council is part of the permit.
Permit applications can be made by lodging an Application to Carry out Works (including interfere with) on Protected Vegetation – Long Term Permit - CC10989 (PDF - 116kb) form with Council.
The existing short-term permits which are currently issued under the application process will remain an option for landowners and Council where a PVMP is not in place and/or the type of vegetation interference proposed requires specialist skills to avoid irreversible impacts to the protected vegetation. In these cases arborist's reports may still be required.
Dealing with minor infringements and enforcement
The NALL amendments have introduced a greater number of options for Council to deal with minor infringements and enforcement.
Council may issue Prescribed Infringement Notices (PINs) for minor interference offences instead of prosecution. The use of PINs is often a more sustainable and efficient form of enforcement for dealing with minor offences, while still retaining the option to pursue more serious infringements in court, through the legal complaint and summons procedures.
When seeking remittance for protected vegetation damaged without a permit, Council has a number of options including rehabilitation, restoration and/or compensation. Council also has the ability to recover costs incurred when it rehabilitates damaged protected vegetation.
Improving the permit application process
Clarifying assessment criteria used by Council
The purpose of this change is to provide greater clarity and awareness of the assessment criteria Council uses to maintain an appropriate balance between the protection of vegetation and community needs.
Council now provides more information up front to assist landowners in completing the Application to Carry Out Works (including interfere with) on Protected Vegetation - CA217 (PDF - 111kb). Council has also improved the way vegetation on sites with approved development applications can be managed. These changes will make the application assessment process more efficient.
Council promotes existing tree management standards which are applied when assessing applications. These include:
- structure and health
- associated risks to life or property
- vegetation values and management costs
- potential nuisance or damage to property.
Arborist's reports
When completing a permit application you should include supporting information to help Council assess your application.
Supporting information can include sketches, photos or an overview of the circumstances surrounding your request to undertake work to protected vegetation.
In some cases, or where more information is required, it may be necessary to obtain an arborist's report to plan the management of protected vegetation on your property. Council will contact you if an arborist’s report is required, although you may choose to include this with your initial application.
Managing protected vegetation in new subdivisions
Council has amended the process for protecting vegetation to ensure that vegetation protected in new subdivisions through the development process has the most appropriate category of protection over it. It gives Council the option to vary an existing NALL category of protection already affecting newly subdivided land to a more appropriate category, if needed.
The change helps to better clarify why the vegetation has been protected and provide affected land owners with the certainty that any ongoing management of the vegetation will be undertaken through the established NALL permit process.
Providing opportunity for reviewing permit decisions
This amendment introduces an additional opportunity for decisions on permits to be reviewed. This provides greater transparency about the process followed and the grounds for decisions being made.
A customer may request an internal review of the original decision. The request must:
- be in writing
- be received by Council within 21 days from the day on which Council gave the applicant notice of the original decision
- state the grounds on which the original decision is challenged, and the facts and/or circumstances relied on in support of those grounds.
If a customer disagrees with a decision, they can request a further review of the internal review decision relating to a permit. The request must:
- be in writing
- be received by Council within 21 days from the day on which Council gave the applicant a notice of the ‘internal review’
- contain a statement of reasons to enable Council to review the decision.
The amendment does not affect a person’s rights under the Ombudsman Act 2001 or the Judicial Review Act 1991 to dispute a permit decision made by Council.
More information
For more information about the NALL or to find out if your property has protected vegetation, you can:
- download the current Natural Assets Local Law 2003 from the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning website : Local laws database
- contact Council
- visit Council.
