Significant Trees

Please note: legislation is currently before state parliament proposing changes to South Australia's significant tree laws. Information on that amending legislation can be found here (follow link): Development (Regulated Trees) Amendment Bill 2007

South Australia's significant tree controls came into effect on 20 April 2000 through amendments to the Development Act 1993 and the Development Regulations. 

A 'significant tree' is any tree in Metropolitan Adelaide and/or townships in the Adelaide Hills Council or parts of the Mount Barker Council with a trunk circumference of 2.0m or more measured at a point 1.0m above natural ground level (in the case of trees with multiple trunks, it is those with trunks with a total circumference of 2.0m or more and an average circumference of 625mm or more measured at a point 1.0m above natural ground level).

The controls enable councils to require a development application for the removal of, or damage to, any significant tree in the Adelaide metropolitan area and the urban and township areas in the Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker Councils.

Information about SA's significant tree controls is available in the following Community Information Sheet:

'Significant' trees can also be listed in a Development Plan. The City of Adelaide, the City of Burnside, the City of Prospect and the City of Unley currently have additional lists and groups of significant trees in their Development Plans. The controls can be extended to country townships and rural cities at the request of the relevant councils, once appropriate Development Plan policies are introduced for those areas.

More information 

Please refer to sections 4, 23, 39, 54A and 54B of the Development Act 1993 and regulation 6A of the Development Regulations for the current requirements of the significant tree controls.

Up to date versions of the Development Act and Development Regulations can be found online on the SA Legislation website:

For more detailed information regarding the significant tree controls, please also refer to the following: