ACT Easier Way to Remove Regulated Trees and Fines for Damaging Protected Trees

Urban Forest and Planning Legislation Amendment Bill 2026

12 Jun 2026: A parliamentary committee is reviewing this bill and can call for public submissions, before reporting back to parliament — this can take up to six months.

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Topics

criminal penalties environment environmental protection land development land management land use nature conservation tree protection tree removal urban forestry urban planning +6 more

Introduced by: The Hon Tara Cheyne MLA (ALP) — Attorney-General, Minister , Minister for City and Government Services, Minister for Human Rights, Minister for the Night-Time Economy

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

A person commits an offence if they break a condition of a tree removal approval.
People are banned from performing groundwork in a protected tree's protection zone; this includes poisoning soil, damaging roots, or excavating more than 100mm deep over a large area.
Causing minor damage to a protected tree is a strict liability offence.
The Conservator can order a person to fix or remove a tree on leased land if it threatens safety or property.
Failing to follow a rectification direction or a tree protection direction is a strict liability offence.
Authorised workers can enter land to carry out a rectification direction if the owner fails to do so; the owner must then pay the Territory for the cost of the work.
Developers can apply to remove regulated or public trees independently of a full development application.