Tree Removal Permits in Adelaide: A Plain-English Guide to the 2024 Rules

Last updated: 5 May 2026.

In Adelaide, you generally need development approval to remove or damage a tree if its trunk is 1 metre or more in circumference measured 1 metre above the ground. Larger trees (2 metres or more) are significant and have stronger protection. Removing a regulated or significant tree without approval can attract a fine of up to $120,000 under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (PDIA). Some trees are exempt — most commonly trees within 3 metres of a house or pool, dead trees, and a list of declared exotic species — but the rules changed on 16 May 2024 and the old “10-metre rule” no longer applies.

This guide walks through what changed, what’s exempt, what your council in particular cares about, and the step-by-step process to get a tree legally removed in Adelaide.

The 16 May 2024 changes — what’s actually different

Three amendments came into effect on the same day. They all tightened protection.

Item	Before 16 May 2024	After 16 May 2024
Regulated tree threshold	Trunk circumference 2 m at 1 m above ground	Trunk circumference 1 m at 1 m above ground
Significant tree threshold	Trunk circumference 3 m at 1 m above ground	Trunk circumference 2 m at 1 m above ground
Multi-trunk regulated	Total 2 m, average 625 mm	Total 1 m, average 310 mm
Multi-trunk significant	Total 3 m, average 625 mm	Total 2 m, average 625 mm
Dwelling/pool exemption distance	10 metres of a dwelling or in-ground pool	3 metres of a dwelling or in-ground pool

Source: Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) (Regulated and Significant Trees) Amendment Regulations 2024 (SA), commencement 16 May 2024.

The headline change for most homeowners is the dwelling exemption shrinking from 10 m to 3 m. A tree that used to be exempt because it sat 6 m from the back of the house is now regulated again. This catches a lot of mature trees on standard Adelaide blocks that had been planned for removal under the old rule.

Translation: if an arborist gave you advice or a quote on tree removal before 16 May 2024 and you didn’t act, the advice may be wrong now. Get it re-checked.

What counts as a regulated or significant tree

The rules apply to a tree’s trunk circumference — not its height, not its canopy, and not the kind of tree it is (with the species exemptions noted further down).

Regulated tree

• Single trunk: circumference of 1 m or more, measured at 1 m above natural ground level.
• Multi-trunk: total circumference of all trunks adds to 1 m or more, AND the average trunk circumference is 310 mm or more.

Significant tree

• Single trunk: circumference of 2 m or more, measured at 1 m above natural ground level.
• Multi-trunk: total 2 m or more, average 625 mm or more.

A 1 m circumference is roughly the size of a tree where you can just about wrap both arms around the trunk and touch your fingertips. A 2 m circumference is well beyond a hug — about twice that bulk. If you’re unsure, take a string around the trunk at chest height and measure it on the ground; that’s the same method an arborist uses.

You can find the listed significant trees for your council in Part 10 of the South Australian Planning and Design Code on PlanSA. These are individually nominated trees (heritage specimens, landmark species) that are protected regardless of their measurements.

Exemptions — when you don’t need approval

There are real exemptions. Understanding them is the difference between a $120,000 risk and a same-day removal.

1. Dead, dying or unsafe trees

A regulated or significant tree that is dead, dying, or imminently dangerous can be removed without approval. The catch: you need to be able to demonstrate it. Most councils accept an arborist’s report (a written assessment by a qualified arborist with photos and reasoning). Removing a tree on the strength of “it looked dead” without documentation has been the source of more than one conviction.

If a branch or limb is creating an immediate safety risk and you need it gone now — say, a split limb hanging over a driveway after a storm — pruning to make it safe is generally exempt as well. See our storm damage and emergency removal page for after-hours work.

2. Within 3 metres of a dwelling or in-ground pool (with species exceptions)

A regulated or significant tree on the same allotment as your house or in-ground pool, with any part of its trunk within 3 metres of the building or pool, is exempt — unless it’s one of these species:

• Eucalyptus (any species — sugar gum, river red gum, lemon-scented gum, blue gum, etc.)
• Corymbia (formerly classified as eucalypts — bloodwoods, lemon-scented gum)
• Angophora (smooth-barked apples)
• Agonis flexuosa (willow myrtle / WA peppermint)

These four genera are protected even when they’re within 3 m of the house, because they’re the species the SA Government most wants to keep in the urban canopy. Practically: a sugar gum next to your back wall is still a regulated tree even if it’s 1.5 m from the brickwork.

This is the exemption that changed most. Pre-May 2024 the radius was 10 m. The new 3 m rule means a tree at the bottom of a typical 600 m² Adelaide block, 8 m from the house, is now back inside the regulated regime.

3. Within 20 metres of a dwelling in a Bushfire Protection Overlay

If your property is in a Medium or High Bushfire Risk Hazards (Bushfire Protection) Overlay — most of the Adelaide Hills, parts of Mitcham foothills, parts of Tea Tree Gully — a regulated tree within 20 m of a dwelling is exempt for bushfire safety. Caveats:

• Significant trees still require approval, even in the bushfire zone, unless individually exempt.
• Native vegetation under the Native Vegetation Act 1991 is a separate regime and has its own clearance rules. In the Hills, this is often the rule that matters more than the regulated tree rule.
• The exemption is for clearance for bushfire protection, not for landscaping convenience. Councils take the view that the exemption is intended for genuine fire-fuel reduction.

4. Listed exempt species

The Minister maintains a list of declared exempt species — generally short-lived, weedy, structurally poor, or invasive trees. This list includes (but isn’t limited to):

• Box Elder (Acer negundo)
• Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
• London Plane (Platanus x acerifolia) — note: protected if individually listed in Part 10
• Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica)
• Cocos / Queen Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana)
• Cotton Palm (Washingtonia)
• A range of declared weed species

The list is updated by ministerial notice — confirm against the current PlanSA fact sheet before relying on it. Olive trees, Plane trees that are individually listed, and “old” trees of any species should not be assumed exempt without checking.

5. Maintenance pruning

Light pruning that doesn’t materially affect a tree’s health or appearance is exempt. So is the removal of deadwood and dangerous limbs up to 30% of the crown, but only once every five years. Anything beyond that on a regulated tree needs approval.

What does “tree-damaging activity” actually cover?

Approval isn’t just for full removal. Under the PDIA, “tree-damaging activity” includes:

• Killing or destroying the tree (including by poisoning the soil)
• Removing the tree
• Severing branches, limbs, stems, or the trunk
• Ring-barking
• Topping or lopping
• Cutting or damaging the root system
• Any other substantial damage

In practical terms: if a contractor offers to “lop” a 1.5 m circumference plane tree without a permit, that’s the activity the regulations are designed to catch. See arborist vs tree lopper for why the distinction matters.

The penalty — what you actually risk

The maximum penalty for unauthorised tree-damaging activity on a regulated or significant tree under the PDIA is $120,000. That’s the legislative ceiling, not the typical fine. Recent SA prosecutions have run in the $5,000–$15,000 range, with court costs on top.

The most-cited recent precedent: on 18 February 2025, the City of Burnside secured a conviction and $10,000 fine in the Adelaide Magistrates Court against the contractor (operating as Great Fellers Tree Services) who had illegally felled a 2.1-metre circumference regulated gum tree at Rosslyn Park. Both contractor and property owner can be charged for an offence of this kind under PDIA — the Feb 2025 case named the contractor because the contractor took the work on knowing it was a regulated tree. Burnside’s CEO Julia Grant publicly framed the outcome as a deterrent. (Source: Norman Waterhouse Lawyers case note, “By gum! Lopper prosecuted for tree-damaging activity”.)

Two practical points:

1. Councils are looking. Burnside has a dedicated City Development and Safety team and has stated publicly it is increasing both legal-removal application fees and illegal-removal penalty pursuit. Other premium-east councils — Unley, Walkerville, Norwood Payneham & St Peters — are similarly active.
2. Replacement orders can dwarf the fine. A court can order replacement plantings as part of the penalty. For a mature significant tree, the cost of supplying and establishing replacements has run into tens of thousands on top of the fine.

Council-by-council — how strict is your area?

The state law sets the floor. Individual councils vary in how aggressively they enforce, how they treat the application paperwork, and how many trees they have on the Significant Tree register.

Eastern Suburbs

City of Burnside (Burnside, Beaumont, Glen Osmond, Rosslyn Park, Magill, Mt Osmond, Stonyfell, Toorak Gardens, Tusmore, Wattle Park, Waterfall Gully foothills). The most active enforcer in metro Adelaide. Holds the most-cited recent conviction (above), publicly lobbied the State Government for the May 2024 reforms, and runs the highest-touch tree-management strategy in the eastern suburbs. Assume permits are required until an arborist inspection confirms otherwise. See our Burnside service page for context on how we approach jobs in this LGA.

City of Unley (Unley, Unley Park, Goodwood, Wayville, Hyde Park, Malvern, Parkside, Fullarton). Operates a Significant Tree Register with several hundred individually listed trees published in Part 10 of the Planning and Design Code — councils update the register periodically, so the working assumption on any sizeable specimen in Unley is that it’s listed until an arborist inspection confirms otherwise. Heritage character zone with dense regulated-tree concentrations on King William Rd, Goodwood Rd and the Wayville/Mile End corridor. Application processing is structured but not adversarial. See Unley.

City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters (NPSP). Manages around 27,000 council-owned trees and runs a published Tree Strategy 2022–2027. Strict on private regulated trees, particularly mature jacarandas and plane trees that define the streetscape. The Parade and the St Peters Cathedral district are saturated with regulated specimens.

Town of Walkerville. Smallest council in SA but one of the tightest tree regimes — heritage suburb, full Part 10 register applies, and council expects detailed arborist justification for any application.

City of Campbelltown. Less aggressive than Burnside or Unley but still operating under the standard PDIA framework. Heritage gardens and mature olives mean trunk circumference often surprises owners.

City of Mitcham (Belair, Blackwood, Eden Hills, Brown Hill Creek, Mitcham village). Foothills location means the Bushfire Protection Overlay does a lot of heavy lifting. Council generally requires either an arborist report or a structural-engineer letter for non-exempt regulated tree applications.

Western Suburbs

City of Charles Sturt (Henley Beach, Grange, Findon, Lockleys, West Lakes, Fulham). Standard enforcement of the state regime; coastal salt-tolerant species (Norfolk Island pines, eucalypts, palms) often hit the regulated-tree threshold.

City of West Torrens. Standard PDIA application process; less heritage-tree density than the eastern councils.

City of Holdfast Bay (Glenelg, Brighton, Somerton Park, Seacliff). Coastal premium suburb; Norfolk Island pines on the foreshore are routinely listed significant trees. Palm removal (Cotton, Canary Date, Cocos) is the most common application — many palms are exempt species, but check before assuming.

Northern Suburbs

City of Port Adelaide Enfield. Heritage tree register at Semaphore. Otherwise standard PDIA application process; commercial and residential mix means a higher proportion of removals are pre-development clearance.

City of Salisbury (Salisbury, Mawson Lakes, Parafield Gardens, Salisbury North). Operates a Living City strategy; less aggressive on private regulated trees than the premium-east councils, but the regulated tree rule still applies.

City of Tea Tree Gully (Modbury, Highbury, Hope Valley, Wynn Vale). Foothills suburbs (Anstey Hill side) carry the Bushfire Protection Overlay, which expands the 20 m exemption for regulated trees. Significant trees still require approval.

Southern Suburbs

City of Mitcham (also covers some southern foothills — see above).

City of Marion (Marion, Mitchell Park, Oaklands Park, Edwardstown, Glengowrie). Operates a Significant Tree Strategy with urban canopy cover targets. Standard PDIA application; council is generally cooperative on genuine safety cases.

City of Onkaparinga (northern fringe — Reynella, Christies Beach, Morphett Vale, Hackham). Standard PDIA enforcement; lower-density regulated tree register than the metro east.

Adelaide Hills

Adelaide Hills Council (Stirling, Aldgate, Crafers, Bridgewater, Hahndorf, Mylor, Heathfield, Mt Lofty district). The regulated tree rules apply, but the Native Vegetation Act 1991 also applies across most of the council area. That’s a separate, often stricter regime — clearance generally requires Native Vegetation Council consent and isn’t covered by the regulated-tree exemptions. The 20 m bushfire exemption matters more here than anywhere else in the metro: most properties sit in a Medium or High Bushfire Risk Overlay. See our Adelaide Hills service page.

Mount Barker District Council. Townships are treated like the rest of metro Adelaide for regulated tree purposes; rural areas fall under the Native Vegetation Act.

Step-by-step: how to get a tree legally removed in Adelaide

If you’ve worked out (or you suspect) your tree is regulated or significant, here is the actual sequence.

1. Measure the tree

String around the trunk at exactly 1 m above natural ground level. Note the circumference. If it’s under 1 m, it’s not regulated under the state rule (but might still be a listed Part 10 significant tree — check below).

2. Identify the species

Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Angophora and Agonis flexuosa are protected under the regulated regime even within 3 m of the house. The 24-or-so listed exempt species (Box Elder, Silver Maple, etc.) can usually go without approval. Anything else of regulated size needs further checks.

3. Check Part 10 of the Planning and Design Code

Search your council’s name plus “Significant Tree Register” or look at Part 10 on PlanSA. If the tree is individually listed, it’s protected at the significant level regardless of its measurement.

4. Check the exemptions

Is the tree dead or dying (with arborist report)? Is it within 3 m of an existing dwelling or in-ground pool on the same allotment, and not a Eucalyptus / Corymbia / Angophora / Willow Myrtle? Is it within 20 m of a dwelling in a Bushfire Protection Overlay (and not a significant tree)? Is it on the listed exempt species list? If yes to any of these, you may be able to proceed without approval — but get it in writing from your arborist before you cut.

5. If you need approval, get an arborist report

A development application for tree-damaging activity needs a justification. The standard package is an arborist report (preferably from an AQF Level 5 consulting arborist) addressing tree health, structural condition, risk to property and people, and whether less-invasive options have been considered. We cover this on the arborist reports service page.

6. Lodge through PlanSA

The application goes through the PlanSA portal as a development application. Your council assesses it — usually within 4–8 weeks for residential cases. Expect questions; expect to provide additional photos or arborist commentary. Your contractor can lodge the application on your behalf, or you can lodge it directly.

7. Wait for the decision before cutting

This is where convictions happen. People lodge an application, decide the wait is too long, and instruct the contractor to start. Don’t. No cut until the decision is in writing.

8. Use a qualified arborist for the work

Removal of a regulated or significant tree should be performed by a qualified arborist (Cert III at minimum for the climber; AQF Level 5 for any consulting work and applications). Verify the contractor’s public liability insurance and current Certificate of Currency. See our tree removal page for the standard scope and what to expect on the day.

Common mistakes that turn into council problems

Patterns we see again and again:

• “I trimmed it back, I didn’t remove it.” Topping, ring-barking, severing major limbs, and pruning beyond the maintenance exemption all count as tree-damaging activity. The trunk doesn’t have to come down to trigger the rules.
• “The tree was clearly dying.” Without documentation. Get the arborist report before the chainsaw.
• “My neighbour wants it gone.” Approvals attach to the property, not the neighbour. If the trunk is on your land, you decide; if it’s on theirs, they do (within the rules). Overhanging branches you can prune to the boundary, but only within the regulated tree rules and only if it doesn’t kill or destabilise the tree.
• “The contractor said it was fine.” Council enforcement falls on the property owner, not the contractor. If it’s wrong, it’s your fine.
• “I’m in the Hills, the rules don’t apply.” They do — plus the Native Vegetation Act, plus the Bushfire Overlay regime. The Hills is more regulated, not less.

How much does the application cost?

Council application fees for tree-damaging activity sit in the $200–$500 range depending on the council and whether the tree is regulated or significant. Burnside has explicitly increased its application fees as part of the post-2024 enforcement push — confirm the current fee on your council’s website.

The arborist report typically runs $400–$800 for a residential single-tree assessment. For pricing on the removal itself, see our tree removal cost guide.

FAQs about tree removal permits in Adelaide

Do I need a permit to remove a tree from my own property in Adelaide? You need development approval to remove a tree if its trunk is 1 metre or more in circumference (measured 1 m above the ground), unless an exemption applies. The most common exemptions are: the tree is dead or dying, the tree is within 3 m of an existing dwelling or in-ground pool on the same allotment (with eucalypt/corymbia/angophora/willow myrtle excluded), the tree is within 20 m of a dwelling in a Bushfire Protection Overlay, or the tree is on the listed exempt species list.

What’s the fine for cutting down a tree without permission in SA? The maximum penalty under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 is $120,000. Recent prosecutions have run in the $5,000–$15,000 range, plus court costs and possible replacement-planting orders. The City of Burnside secured a $10,000 conviction against the contractor (Great Fellers Tree Services) in February 2025 for the unauthorised felling of a 2.1 m circumference regulated gum tree at Rosslyn Park — both contractor and owner can be charged under PDIA.

What changed in May 2024? On 16 May 2024, the regulated tree threshold dropped from 2 m to 1 m circumference, the significant tree threshold dropped from 3 m to 2 m, and the dwelling/pool exemption distance dropped from 10 m to 3 m. Older arborist advice based on the previous rules is no longer reliable.

Are eucalyptus trees protected even close to the house? Yes. Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Angophora and Agonis flexuosa (willow myrtle / WA peppermint) species are excluded from the 3 m dwelling exemption. A regulated-size eucalypt within 3 m of your house still needs approval to remove.

How long does a council tree removal application take in Adelaide? Most residential applications are decided within 4–8 weeks. Premium-east councils (Burnside, Unley, NPSP, Walkerville) tend toward the upper end and may request additional information.

Can I remove a dead tree without a permit? Yes — dead and dying trees, and trees that present an imminent safety risk, are exempt. But you need to be able to demonstrate the condition. Get an arborist report with photos before removal so you have documented justification if council asks.

What if the tree is on a fence line between two properties? Ownership follows the trunk, not the canopy. If the trunk is on your side, you decide (within the rules). Overhanging branches can be pruned back to the boundary by the affected neighbour, but only in a way that doesn’t kill or destabilise the tree, and only within the regulated-tree pruning limits.

Sources

Primary sources cited in this guide:

• PlanSA — Significant and regulated trees
• SA.GOV.AU — Regulated and significant trees
• Law Handbook SA — Significant and Regulated Trees
• SA Legislation — Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) (Regulated and Significant Trees) Amendment Regulations 2024
• SA Planning Commission — New rules to protect Adelaide’s tree canopy (16 May 2024)
• City of Burnside — Council achieves conviction and $10,000 fine for illegal tree removal (Feb 2025)
• Norman Waterhouse Lawyers — Significant changes to Significant and Regulated Tree protections

This guide reflects the law as we understand it on 5 May 2026. It is not legal advice. For a specific tree, get an arborist’s assessment and, where the application matters, legal advice on your council’s particular position.