[no bill text published] Criminal Offences and Restrictions for Damaging Protected Trees
Urban Forest and Planning Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
Assembly
Links to official parliament websites
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.