Tree removal in The Basin
In The Basin a tree beside the house is not always exempt. The landscape overlays let it go within 2 m of the roof, but the bushland overlays that cover half the suburb don't.
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Ask for a quoteSherbrooke Forest. Photo: Patche99z, Public domain
The rule in The Basin
We sampled 83 points across The Basin, 250 m apart, all in Knox. Knox's landscape overlays turned up at most of them, SLO4 at 44, SLO2 at 23 and SLO3 at 16. All three use the same test. A permit is needed for a tree that reaches:
- 5 m
- in height, or
- 50 cm
- around the trunk at 50 cm up, on the uphill side. Under SLO4, a Monterey pine is exempt unless it stands in a row of three or more.
- 2 m
- A trunk within 2 m of a home's main roof is exempt from the landscape overlays. The two creek and bushland overlays below have no such exemption.
- 10 m
- The 10/30 rule overrides all of them, for a house old enough. 68 of our 83 points were in a Bushfire Prone Area. Read the conditions.
Get a free property report from VicPlan to see which overlays cover your block.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Knox Planning Scheme, Schedule 4 to Clause 42.03 (SLO4), Knox Planning Scheme, Schedule 2 to Clause 42.03 (SLO2), Knox Planning Scheme, Schedule 3 to Clause 42.03 (SLO3) and Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions).
Two overlays with no 2 m exemption
ESO3 turned up at 43 of our points and ESO2 at 40. Both protect vegetation indigenous to Knox, and neither exempts a tree because it stands close to the house. So a native gum beside the roof can need a permit here even though SLO4 would let it go.
- ESO3 exempts dead vegetation, unless it is a standing tree 40 cm or more across at 1.3 m.
- ESO2 has no exemption for dead trees at all.
Where a house is in a Bushfire Prone Area, the state's 10/30 rule still applies over both. A Bushfire Management Overlay covered 49 of our points, so an older house there can also clear vegetation other than trees out to 50 m.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Knox Planning Scheme, Schedule 3 to Clause 42.01 (ESO3), Knox Planning Scheme, Schedule 2 to Clause 42.01 (ESO2) and Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions).
The oaks and the hedge
Ferdinand von Mueller named the place around 1860 for the bowl of hills around it. Some of the English trees the settlers planted are now protected. Knox's Heritage Overlay puts tree controls on:
- a large oak on Basin-Olinda Road, and another, the Historic Oak Tree, on Sheffield Road
- the hawthorn hedge along Mountain Highway between Albert Avenue and Miller Road
- The Triangle, where the Progress Hall and the fire station stand
- Wicks Reserve
Wikipedia records that William and Kate Chandler planted an acorn on Basin-Olinda Road soon after they settled in 1873, and that the oak still stands. Two of their sons went on to run nurseries in the area.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Knox Planning Scheme, Schedule to Clause 43.01 (Heritage Overlay), Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 43.01 (Heritage Overlay) and Wikipedia: The Basin, Victoria.
Green wedge, not suburb
The Basin sits at the foot of Mount Dandenong, against the national park and Doongalla Forest, and much of it is green wedge. In our sample, 20 points were in the Rural Conservation Zone and 18 in Low Density Residential, against 15 in the Neighbourhood Residential Zone, where the state's canopy-tree rule applies as well. Basin-Olinda Road climbs to Olinda, mostly unsealed.
DDO1 and DDO2, found at 23 and 15 points, limit how much of a block is built on. They don't need a permit for a tree.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Wikipedia: The Basin, Victoria, Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.37 (canopy trees), Knox Planning Scheme, Schedule 1 to Clause 43.02 (DDO1) and Knox Planning Scheme, Schedule 2 to Clause 43.02 (DDO2).
The rule next door
- Kilsyth and Kilsyth South
- Yarra Ranges and Maroondah, where the near-house exemption is 2 m or 3 m.
- Ferntree Gully
- Knox's same 5 m test, on mostly suburban blocks.
The permit guide sets the councils side by side.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 1 to Clause 42.03 (SLO1), Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 23 to Clause 42.03 (SLO23) and Maroondah Planning Scheme, Schedule 1 to Clause 42.03 (SLO1).
Ask for a quote
Tell us where you are and what needs doing. We pass it to a local arborist who works in the hills. They ring you back to talk about the job.