Clause 52.37 Canopy Trees: what the clause requires after VC315, and where applications come unstuck

Clause 52.37, introduced into every Victorian planning scheme by Amendment VC289 on 15 September 2025 and rewritten by Amendment VC315 on 24 September 2026, requires a planning permit to remove, destroy or lop an existing canopy tree in most residential zones. It also sets a canopy cover percentage for the site and confines Council to a short list of decision guidelines.

This article was revised on 15 October 2026 for VC315. The June 2026 version described the clause as introduced by VC289, which still governs applications lodged before 24 September 2026. The change itself is covered in Amendment VC315: what changed in Clause 52.37 and the canopy standards. What follows is the clause as it now stands.

What counts as an existing canopy tree?

An existing canopy tree has a height of at least 5 metres above ground and an average canopy diameter of at least 4 metres (Clause 52.37-1). The average is the mean of two drip-line measurements taken at right angles to each other. That is the whole test. The trunk circumference criterion in the original clause is gone, so a tall, slender or multi-stemmed tree that was previously outside the clause may now be inside it.

The clause draws a second line that catches people out. A boundary canopy tree is an existing canopy tree with any part of its trunk within 6 metres of the narrowest street frontage, or within 4.5 metres of the rear boundary (Clause 52.37-1). It is treated differently from other canopy trees because the two main carve-outs from the permit requirement do not apply to it.

A new canopy tree is one proposed to be planted that is expected at maturity to reach a height of at least 6 metres and a canopy diameter of at least 4 metres (Clause 52.37-1).

Where the permit trigger bites

The clause applies in the Mixed Use, Township, Residential Growth, General Residential, Neighbourhood Residential, and Housing Choice and Transport zones (Clause 52.37-2). Low Density Residential, Commercial and Industrial zones are out.

Two carve-outs do most of the work (Clause 52.37-2). A canopy tree on a site developed with an existing dwelling does not need a permit. And a canopy tree identified for assessment in an application under Clause 54, 55, 57 or 58 is dealt with in that application rather than under a separate 52.37 permit, provided the tree is not removed until the permit issues.

Neither carve-out applies to a boundary canopy tree. On a single-dwelling site, removing or lopping a tree whose trunk sits inside the 6-metre front or 4.5-metre rear buffer still needs an application under Clause 52.37. A designer who assumes "existing dwelling, so we're exempt" is wrong the moment the tree is in a buffer. The practical move is to have the feature survey show trunk positions and canopy spread, then plot the two buffers before the driveway and the building footprint are set.

The exemptions table (Clause 52.37-8) also matters. The ones that come up on residential sites are a dead tree, emergency works limited to the part of the tree presenting an immediate risk, maintenance pruning of no more than one third of the foliage that does not touch the trunk or take the tree below 5 metres in height or 4 metres in canopy diameter, a noxious weed declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994, an environmental weed as determined by the responsible authority, and land covered by an approved precinct structure plan incorporated into the scheme. The dead tree, emergency and pruning exemptions each turn on the tree's condition at the time, so a dated photographic record before the work is done protects both the owner and the Council.

What can Council actually consider?

When Council assesses an application under this clause it is exempt from the Clause 65 decision guidelines and from parts of section 60 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Clause 52.37-4). Neighbourhood character, local policy and the general "orderly planning" arguments a planner would normally weigh are off the table.

The assessment is confined to the guidelines in Clause 52.37-7. For removal, those are the health and stability of the tree, whether it is causing or at risk of causing damage to a building, works or infrastructure, the number, size and location of the canopy trees being retained, whether a development has been sited and designed to minimise the impact on canopy trees, and the cumulative effect where canopy trees have been removed from the site in the past 12 months. For new trees, Council looks at the suitability of the deep soil or planter proposed, whether the species suits the site's soil, whether landscaping or design measures are needed to protect buildings, and, since VC315, the suitability of providing deep soil within an easement.

Where the case for removal rests on health or stability, the application must include an assessment by a suitably qualified person (Clause 52.37-6). Council cannot refuse on a wider planning narrative, but it does not have to accept an unsupported claim that the tree is failing either.

How much canopy cover does the site need?

Clause 52.37-3 sets the canopy cover requirement as a percentage of site area, in three bands (Table 1): at least 10 per cent for sites of 1,000 square metres or less, 15 per cent for more than 1,000 up to 1,500 square metres, and 20 per cent above 1,500 square metres. Where existing cover is already above 20 per cent, the requirement rises to 20 per cent plus half of the existing cover above that figure. The clause's own example is a 2,000 square metre site with 30 per cent existing cover, which must keep 25 per cent.

The requirement can only be met by retaining existing canopy trees, planting new ones, or both, within the site. The clause now says what counts. The whole canopy of an existing canopy tree counts, including the part overhanging a neighbour. For a new tree, only the canopy inside the site counts, plus any part over a public road or public open space. Canopy over or under a building on the site counts. Overlapping canopy is counted once. A neighbour's tree overhanging the site does not count at all.

At least one existing or new canopy tree must be in the front setback, unless a single retained tree outside the front setback meets the whole requirement on its own (Clause 52.37-3). That tree competes for space with the crossover, service pits and the front fence, so it is best placed at concept stage.

How much soil does a new tree need?

Deep soil and planter sizes are set by the species' expected canopy diameter at maturity (Clause 52.37-3, Table 2). A tree expected to reach a canopy of 4 to less than 5 metres needs 12 square metres of deep soil with a 2.5 metre minimum dimension, or an 8 cubic metre planter 0.8 metres deep. At 8 to less than 9 metres it is 49 square metres or a 30 cubic metre planter 1 metre deep. At 14 metres and above it is 144 square metres or a 92 cubic metre planter 1.5 metres deep. Species selection therefore sets the soil budget, and on an infill lot that will push designers toward smaller species.

Where two or more new trees share one area of deep soil, the required area can be reduced by 5 per cent for two trees up to 25 per cent for six or more (Table 3). Deep soil can take up to 10 per cent impervious surface, up to 50 per cent unroofed decking with minimum board gaps of 4 to 8 millimetres depending on board width and deck height, and an eave up to 600 millimetres wide. Deep soil itself is now defined in Clause 73.01 as soil at ground level that supports plant growth and is not encroached by a building above or below ground, so basements and footings rule it out.

Which version applies to your application?

The clause as it stood before VC315 continues to apply to any permit application lodged before 24 September 2026, and to a section 72 amendment where the original application was lodged before that date (Clause 52.37-9). Under the earlier version a canopy tree also needed a trunk circumference over 0.5 metres, the canopy requirement for smaller sites was a tree count rather than a percentage, and deep soil was a flat 12 square metres. Check the lodgement date on every job before deciding which rules you are working to.

Does Clause 52.37 replace the overlays?

No. A Vegetation Protection, Environmental Significance or Significant Landscape Overlay still applies in parallel, and local laws keep operating where they cover matters outside the clause. That interaction is where most applications come unstuck, and it has its own piece: Clause 52.37 didn't switch off the overlays: how the tree controls now stack.

What this means for you

Clause 52.37 catches a large class of residential trees that previously fell only under local law, confines Council's discretion to a short list, and puts a canopy percentage on the site. A tree schedule that records height, both canopy spreads and their average, trunk distance to the narrowest frontage and the rear boundary, canopy area, and whether each tree is retained or lost against AS 4970:2025 encroachment is what lets a planner check the application without reading the whole report. Get the survey and the buffers sorted before the footprint is fixed, and most of the trouble goes away.