Street and park trees

Brisbane City Council helps care for Brisbane's urban forest through its management of the city's street and park trees. This includes protecting, planting and maintaining street and park trees.

Urban trees provide benefits that are important to our city's liveability, identity and prosperity. Shady, attractive streets help give Brisbane's suburbs character and support our outdoor, subtropical lifestyle.

Use this page to find out about how we are protecting, planting and maintaining street and park trees.

Benefits of street and park trees

Brisbane's street and park trees help to:

  • provide cooler, shadier, greener, more comfortable pathways for walking and cycling and encourage healthy outdoor lifestyles
  • provide the natural structure of Brisbane's subtropical landscape character
  • improve air quality by producing oxygen, taking in carbon dioxide and storing carbon, which helps reduce greenhouse gases
  • provide shelter, habitat and food for wildlife
  • connect us to nature, which improves mental health and wellbeing
  • reduce stormwater runoff and manage erosion
  • improve property values, boost tourism and the economic vitality of business centres.

How Brisbane residents value our street and park trees

In 2020, we invited Brisbane residents to have their say on (a) what they most valued and (b) what most concerned them about street and park trees in our urban environment.

Overall, Brisbane residents:

  • are satisfied with trees in Brisbane, but would like more of them
  • are aware of the benefits of trees and see them as important to our city's lifestyle and subtropical feel
  • want more shade trees at bus stops
  • want to know more about how we manage trees to reduce damage caused by tree roots and limb failure.

Residents also expressed that they prefer:

  • medium-sized trees
  • umbrella-shaped or spreading trees
  • non-deciduous trees
  • native tree species.

Protecting street and park trees

Street and park trees are valuable community assets with protection under the Natural Assets Local Law 2003 (NALL). Because of this, it is an offence to trim, remove, or interfere with Council trees above and below the ground without Council's permission.

Resident permits - minor street tree pruning

Street trees are those trees growing in the road verge. Property owners need a permit to undertake minor pruning on any street tree directly outside their property. Minor street tree pruning includes removing small branches overhanging the front fence, driveway, or footpath. Council prunes all other street trees, including park trees.

Council provides guidelines to permit holders to ensure trees are pruned correctly and safely.

To apply for a permit, submit an Application to carry out works on protected vegetation by:

Permit holders should keep a copy of the permit which is to be made available upon request by an authorised Council officer.

If more significant works are required that are beyond what is permitted through the minor street tree pruning permit, contact Council to request an inspection.

Private works affecting street or park trees

Residents undertaking work on private property that will affect street or park trees must obtain Council approval. 

  1. Driveway crossover - Where there is an existing street tree, you must provide a minimum two metre clearance to your new driveway or more where the tree has buttresses. See our driveway technical standards, specifically BSD-2022.
  2. New Power Connection – Where interference with a Council tree or its root system is required to access a property to connect power for a new house, a NALL permit is required. Please call Council’s Contact Centre on 07 3403 8888.
  3. Relocating houses - When you are relocating a house, you will need to check and obtain planning approval (if required), building approval and a footpath permit. See our Demolishing, removal and relocating page.
  4. Undertaking excavation works within a tree's critical root zone - Any excavation works within a Council tree's critical root zone requires Council approval under the Natural Assets Local Law. See our Brisbane Standard Drawings, specifically BSD-9081.

Planting street and park trees

Council is committed to growing Brisbane's urban forest through the planting of additional street and park trees across the city.

Council carefully selects species and planting locations to ensure the right tree is planted in the right place.

Council chooses trees to:

  • provide shade, amenity, beauty and colour
  • suit site conditions
  • not interfere with underground or overhead services such as powerlines
  • not obstruct visibility for road users and pedestrians
  • complement the character of an area
  • provide habitat for local wildlife.

Council ensures new street trees will not impact on existing infrastructure such as electricity, water supply, fire suppression, traffic signals, footpaths, pedestrian crossings and bus stops, or obstruct visibility for road users and pedestrians.

View the tree species selection that Council currently uses.

Council's tree planting program

Council prides itself on planting over 13,500 street and park trees each year. Council's proactive approach towards tree planting targets those suburbs that need shade trees to provide shade to our streets and parks, as well as supporting the reduction of heat where needed in those hotter areas of the city.

Community tree planting

Council's community street tree planting program invites the community to plant street and park trees at fun and informative local events. Help contribute to a cleaner, green Brisbane by planting new trees with your neighbours and enjoy a barbecue and cold drink afterward. These plantings target sunny and open footpaths in residential suburbs to increase shade in local neighbourhoods.

Suburbs selected for community tree planting events as part of the Greener Suburbs program in 2023-24 include Banyo, Kedron and Wishart.

View all future community tree planting events.

Greener Suburbs program

Council's Greener Suburbs program aims to improve the clean, green feel of locations across Brisbane through increased tree planting and landscaping.

As part of our commitment to growing a greener Brisbane, we're planting more street and park trees and installing subtropical boulevards along our arterial roads and local precincts to enhance the liveability of our neighbourhoods.

Request street tree planting

If you would like a tree planted on the Council verge outside of your house, phone Council on 07 3403 8888.

Unlawful tree planting

Council does not permit residents to plant trees on Council land. Any planting of this kind will be considered unlawful street tree plantings and trees will be removed.

Council does support the planting of verge gardens.

Maintaining street and park trees

Council is committed to nurturing and maintaining street and park trees for the duration of their life.

Pruning and other maintenance

Council delivers street and park tree maintenance programs in Brisbane suburbs throughout the year. All pruning works are in accordance with best arboricultural practice and Australian Standards. 

Council's maintenance program also manages tree health against fungal diseases and parasites and clears up damage from severe weather events.

Trees near powerlines

Energex is responsible for pruning branches of street trees that are within one metre of, or making hard contact with, overhead powerlines.

Maintenance inspection requests

Residents with concerns about a Council tree, can request a tree maintenance inspection. Tree inspections are conducted by a qualified arborist, who will assess the tree and determine the best course of action (if any), based on Council’s guidelines. A tree inspection will be completed within 30 days. Where the works are urgent, Council will attend within five hours.

Requests can be submitted for concerns about:

  • accidental damage (e.g. by a passing vehicle, rubbish collection truck)
  • a tree posing an imminent risk to public or property.
  • blocking a footpath, road, sight lines to traffic signals or signs. 
  • diseased, dead or unhealthy trees.
  • allergies associated with a tree – must have supporting declaration from allergy specialist only.

Council does not undertake works for the following concerns: 

  • leaf, fruit, seed or flower drop - this is a natural process of the tree. Certain species of tree will shed all their leaves at the same time and others will shed their leaves throughout the year. This includes Leopard trees. 
  • shading of private swimming pools or solar panels – when trees were planted prior to the installation of the pool or solar panels.
  • improvement of views from private property

Maintenance inspection outcomes

A qualified arborist will decide the outcome following the inspection resulting in: 

Works timeframes

If works are required, Council will prioritise the scheduling of works as follows:

  • low-risk works – Council will deliver these works within 90 days from the date of your request.
  • high risk works – Council will prioritise these works to be delivered within an appropriate timeframe, including undertaking works within 24-hours for urgent work.

Report it: tree trimming/maintenance

Residents can request street or park trees requiring maintenance works by completing a Report it: Tree maintenance form.

Community tree planting events

No events found.
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Brisbane City Council acknowledges this Country and its Traditional Custodians. We pay our respects to the Elders, those who have passed into the dreaming; those here today; those of tomorrow.