Victoria's protected trees and native vegetation: where to look it up

The question we get asked more than any other on a site visit is whether a tree can come out. In Victoria the honest answer is that native vegetation is protected by default, and the exemptions are what let you clear, not the other way around. That's the opposite of how most people assume it works.

What counts as protected

Native vegetation means indigenous trees, shrubs, grasses and groundcover, whether it was planted or came up on its own. Around Bendigo and Central Victoria that usually means River Red Gum, Grey Box, Yellow Box, Red Ironbark, Yellow Gum, Red Stringybark, Red Box, Buloke and Drooping Sheoak, plus the wattles and understorey that grow with them. Large old trees, standing dead trees with hollows and remnant patches carry extra weight because of the habitat they provide.

Introduced species are a different story. Pines, willows, ash, elms and pepper trees generally aren't protected as native vegetation, though a council can still have a local tree control rule or a significant tree register covering them. Declared weeds like blackberry, gorse and boxthorn are the one group you're actually obliged to control.

How to identify what you've got

Don't guess from a photo on a phone. The Victorian herbarium runs VicFlora, which has verified photos, distribution maps and a plant identification key for every species in the state, and NatureKit maps what's modelled to occur on your property. Between those two you can usually put a name to a tree before anyone quotes on it.

• VicFlora, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

  Verified photos, descriptions and an identification key for every native plant in Victoria. The most reliable place to confirm a species.

• NatureKit, Victorian native vegetation mapping

  Interactive map of modelled native vegetation, EVCs and habitat values for any address in Victoria.

• Native vegetation removal regulations, DEECA

  The state guidelines, assessment pathways and offset rules that councils apply.

• VicPlan planning maps

  Shows the planning zones and overlays sitting over your property, including vegetation and bushfire overlays.

• Weeds and pests, Agriculture Victoria

  Declared noxious weeds in Victoria and the landholder obligations that come with them.

What you can usually do without a permit

Victoria has a set of exemptions that cover most day to day property work. The common ones are clearing within 10 metres of an existing house, keeping grass and low fuel down, maintaining an existing fence line, complying with a council fire prevention notice, removing declared weeds, and emergency works to remove an immediate risk to life or property. Each exemption has conditions attached, and the conditions are where people come unstuck.

Slashing, mulching regrowth, cutting grass, clearing blackberry and grading an existing track almost never need a permit. Taking out mature native trees, clearing a remnant patch or opening up a new area of bush usually does.

When you need to ring the council

If the work involves removing native trees beyond an exemption, the council planning department is the first call, not the last. They'll tell you which pathway applies, what's needed with the application and whether offsets come into it. Councils in our area include Greater Bendigo, Mount Alexander, Loddon, Campaspe, Macedon Ranges and Central Goldfields.

We won't remove protected native vegetation without the paperwork in place, and we'll say so at the site visit. It isn't us being difficult, penalties for illegal clearing in Victoria run into serious money and they land on the landholder.

Rules, overlays and mapping change. We check the links in this article regularly, but always confirm the current requirements with your council or the relevant Victorian department before you clear anything.

Got a job in mind? Send your address and we'll come out, have a look, and put a written quote together. No obligation.