Tree removal in Upwey
Bushfires have reached Upwey ten times since 1922, and most of it sits under the township tree rule: a permit for any tree more than 50 cm around the trunk.
We connect you with a local arborist who works in the hills.
Ask for a quoteSherbrooke Forest. Photo: Haworthia Ihlathi, CC BY-SA 4.0
The rule in Upwey
Most of Upwey is Low Density Residential, under Yarra Ranges' township landscape overlay, SLO22: it came up at 18 of the 25 points we sampled around the centre. SLO22 needs a council permit to remove indigenous vegetation of any size, and any tree over this size:
- 50 cm
- around the trunk, 1.3 m up. A tape around the trunk at chest height settles it. A 50 cm trunk is about 16 cm across.
- 2 m
- Within 2 m of a building, SLO22 does not apply. Branches over the house or shed can be cut back to 2 m clear.
- 10 m
- The 10/30 rule. Every point we sampled was in a Bushfire Prone Area. For a house built or approved before 10 September 2009, trees within 10 m and other vegetation within 30 m can be cleared whatever the overlay says. Check the conditions.
Dead vegetation, pruning to help a plant regrow, and Yarra Ranges' listed environmental weeds are exempt from SLO22.
Get a free property report from VicPlan to see which overlays cover your block.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 22 to Clause 42.03 (SLO22) and Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions).
A suburb that has burned
Bushfires reached parts of Upwey in 1922, 1938, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1980, 1983, 1997 and 2009. Houses were lost in 1969, and the fires of 21 January 1997, which started in the foothills of the western face, destroyed 43 houses across Upwey, Ferny Creek, Kalorama and Mount Dandenong. Blackened trees from 1969 still stand along Glenfern Road, south of Morris Road.
That history is why the 10/30 rule matters here, and why the Bushfire Management Overlay covered every point we sampled. If your house is in that overlay and was built before 10 September 2009, the clearing for everything except trees reaches 50 m.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Wikipedia: Upwey, Victoria.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions).
Other rules on some blocks
- Erosion Management Overlay, at 11 of the 25 points. It needs a permit to remove vegetation, but not a tree 50 cm or less around, anything within 2 m of a building, dead vegetation where the ground is made good, or lopping for a tree's health or stability.
- The canopy-tree rule, in the Neighbourhood Residential Zone (4 of the 25 points). On a lot with a house, a tree at least 5 m tall with a 4 m canopy needs a permit if its trunk is within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary.
- Design and Development Overlays (DDO6, and DDO13 in the town centre) shape buildings and lot sizes. They do not need a permit to remove a tree.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule to Clause 44.01 (EMO), Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 3 to Clause 44.01 (EMO3), Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.37 (canopy trees), Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 6 to Clause 43.02 (DDO6) and Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 13 to Clause 43.02 (DDO13).
Working on the ridge
Glenfern Road runs along the ridge, with views over the city and the Lysterfield Valley. On a sloping block, a tree near the house usually comes down in sections rather than in one piece. Say if the block is steep or the access is narrow when you ask for a quote. The name the area once had, Mast Gully, came from ship masts cut there in 1850.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Wikipedia: Upwey, Victoria.
The rule next door
- Ferny Creek, Tremont and Sherbrooke
- The ranges overlay, SLO1, at every point we sampled: trees over 1.1 m around, native vegetation of any size, 4 m from a building.
- Upper Ferntree Gully and Ferntree Gully
- Over the line into Knox, where the council and its overlays change. Upper Ferntree Gully straddles Knox and Yarra Ranges, so the property report says which applies.
The permit guide has each council's overlays.
Checked 7 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedule 22 to Clause 42.03 (SLO22) and Yarra Ranges 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.