We are responsible for trees on City-controlled land as well as implementation of our Urban Forest Strategy, which seeks to protect, preserve and enhance the leafy character and natural biodiversity of our City. Find out more below.
Verge Trees
We are responsible for planting, pruning, replacing and maintaining verge trees. You cannot plant, prune or remove a verge tree without our approval.
Request a Free Verge Tree
You can request a free tree for your verge as part of our Urban Forest Strategy. Trees will be planted in the winter planting season for requests submitted before December the previous year. We have 9 common street trees that are planted within our City. To view more information on these trees see the Common Street Trees within our City below.
Request free verge tree
Request Tree Pruning or Maintenance
To request pruning or maintenance of a verge tree fill in our online form. We aim to respond to all requests within 5 working days.We will not prune trees for the following reasons:
- The tree is disliked
- The tree partially or wholly obstructs views
- The tree is perceived to present a risk of harm
- The tree is perceived to aggravate health concerns
- The tree produces leaf litter, flowers, fruit and bark
- The tree attracts unwelcome fauna and associated issues
- The tree is perceived to be inappropriate for the site
Request street tree pruning or maintenance Request Removal of a Verge Tree
A tree will be considered for removal if:
- The tree is deemed unsafe by us
- The tree is dead or in irreversible decline
- The tree is damaged beyond remediation
- The tree is inappropriate for the site
Contact us to request the removal of a verge tree.
Disputing a Rejected Request for Removal of a Verge Tree
If we reject your request for the removal of a verge tree you can approach your
ward councillors and Mayor to discuss the concerns about the tree. If the ward councillors and Mayor agree with the request, we will prepare a report for Council, who will then decide whether the tree is removed.
Report Health of a Tree
If you are concerned about the health of a tree please let us know so we can investigate.
Report the health of a street tree Our Urban Forest Strategy
The Urban Forest Strategic Plan 2017-2036 was created to bring our
Urban Forest and Green Spaces Policy to life, looking to protect, preserve and enhance the leafy character and natural biodiversity of our City. Since it's adoption in 2017, the City of Melville has taken steps to help renew our aging tree population and increase canopy cover in targeted areas.
In October 2024, the
Urban Forest Strategy Review was adopted by Council. This review acknowledges our achievements, addresses ongoing challenges, and underscores the vital role of collaboration between the City and the community in managing our urban forest.
Read the full report This review sets new targets, including the ambitious goal of boosting City-wide canopy cover from 12.5% to 15% over the next decade. Alongside these ambitions, the review highlights that a joint effort between the City and the community is essential to sustain our urban forest and achieve a green, sustainable future, with 45% of our urban forest located on private land.
It’s why we’re currently seeking community input as part of our Tree’s on your land community engagement, to better understand public preference to how these trees are managed.
Click here to read more or take part in the community engagement.
Tree Expansion Program
Our tree expansion program involves planting trees on vacant verges and other public land to increase our overall canopy coverage. Planting trees on public land helps build climate change resilience within our community by helping to reduce urban heating.
Each year we focus on different suburbs for our tree expansion program. Through this program we plant a variety of tree species to assess the ability of different trees to survive in a warming and drying climate. This information is used to inform our future planting programs and ensures a healthy and diverse urban forest
In 2024 we are focussing on selected streets in the following suburbs:
Tree Succession Program
Our tree succession program provides for the replacement of trees that have come to the end of their life span due to age or declining health. Tree succession involves planting a young tree next to an aging tree to enable the younger tree to grow to a substantial height before the mature tree completely declines, however if space is limited, we may need to remove the aging tree which would be replaced with a young tree.
See garden guru, Sabrina Hahn explaining our tree expansion and succession programs in this short video.
Tree Vandalism and Unauthorised Tree Removal or Pruning
It is an offence to purposefully vandalise or damage any trees on City-controlled land, including pruning or removing trees located on verges.
If you see a vandalised tree or someone vandalising a tree please
contact us so we can investigate.
If you prune or remove a street tree without our permission, we may issue an infringement and you may be liable for all costs associated with remediating any damage or removing and replacing the tree. For further information on infringements see our
Tree Policy.
Trees on Private Land
We do not currently regulate trees on private land, though we encourage retention where possible as these trees form a significant part of our urban canopy.
Whether a tree on a private property is cut down, or not, is the decision of the property owner. We can only investigate trees on private land if they pose an immediate safety risk.
Issues with Encroaching Roots and Branches
If the tree is located on private property, then this would be classed as a civil matter.
For civil matters, we suggest contacting the Citizens Advice Bureau. They can be contacted via phone on
(08) 9221 5711 or via email on
queries@cabwa.com.au.
On their website they also have a page dedicated to issues with encroaching roots and branches. For further information, view the page
here.
Trees and Developments
We have certain rules surrounding the protection of verge trees when developing a site. It is the responsibility of the developer to ensure all contractors and site managers are aware of our rules as to avoid any infringements.
For more information about our rules around trees and developments see our
Tree Policy.
Common Street Trees within our CitySwipe to see more
Botanical Name | Common Name | Species Guide |
---|
Agonis flexuosa | WA Peppermint | Peppermint tree species guide |
Brachychiton populneus | Kurrajong | Kurrajong tree species guide |
Eucalyptus cladocalyx | Sugar Gum | Sugar Gum tree species guide |
Jacaranda mimosifolia | Jacaranda | Jacaranda tree species guide |
Liquidambar styraciflua | Liquidambar | Liquidambar tree species guide |
Lophostemon confertus | Queensland Box Tree | Queensland Box tree species guide |
Platanus x acerifolia | London Plane Tree | London Plane tree species guide |
Ulmus parvifolia | Chinese Elm | Chinese Elm tree species guide |
Corymbia ficifolia | Albany Red Flowering Gum | Albany Red Flowering Gum tree species guide |
Sapium sebiferum | Chinese Tallow | Chinese Tallow tree species guide |
Fraxinus griffithii | Evergreen or Flowering Ash | Evergreen or Flowering Ash tree species guide |
Eucalyptus sideroxylon | Ironbark | Ironbark tree species guide |
Angophora costata | Sydney Red Gum | Species Guide not available |
Brachychiton acerifolia x populneus | Bella Donna | Species Guide not available |
Bauhinia spp. | Bauhinia | Species Guide not available |
Callistemon harkness | Bottlebrush 'Harkness' | Species Guide not available |
Callistemon KPS | Kings Park Special Bottlebrush | Species Guide not available |
Callistemon viminalis | Weeping Bottlebrush | Species Guide not available |
Citharexylun spinosum | Fiddlewood | Species Guide not available |
Corymbia eximia | Yellow Bloodwood | Species Guide not available |
Cupaniopsis anacardiodes | Tuckeroo | Species Guide not available |
Eucalyptus meliodora | Yellow Box | Species Guide not available |
Eucalyptus todtiana | Prickly Bark | Species Guide not available |
Eucalyptus torquata | Coral Gum | Species Guide not available |
Eucalyptus victrix | Western Coolibah | Species Guide not available |
Gleditsia 'Shademaster' | Shademaster | Species Guide not available |
Melalueca leucadendra | Fine leaf Paperbark | Species Guide not available |
Melalueca viridiflora | Weeping Red Flowering Paperbark | Species Guide not available |
Pistachia chinesis | Chinese Pistachio | Species Guide not available |
Pyrus sp. | Ornamental Pear | Species Guide not available |
Quercus suber | Cork Oak | Species Guide not available |