Claims for damage caused by a tree on public land, including its roots, can be submitted to the ACT Government. They will be considered for reimbursement.
You can prevent future damage to assets by:
- upgrading assets (such as replacing old clay pipes with PVC), or
- through tree management rather than tree removal. This includes the installation of root control barriers and pruning of roots or branches.
Claim for tree damage
Please include as much information as possible in your claim such as:
- a description of the damage
- previous enquiries and maintenance requests/logs for the tree
- weather at the time of the incident
- photographs
- other witnesses to the event
- quotes for the repair of the damage
- whether you have contacted your insurer
- a qualified arborist report
- a report from a plumber or engineer, if relevant.
Claims can be lodged via Fix My Street or mailed to Urban Treescapes, GPO Box 158, Canberra ACT 2601.
Only when a claim is found to be legitimate, and the ACT Government accepts liability, will costs associated with the damage be reimbursed.
Please refer to the following fact sheets for more information:
- Tree damage to private property (PDF 627.1 KB)
- Tree root damage to pavement (PDF 557.1 KB)
- Tree root damage to private property (PDF 490.4 KB)
- Tree root damage to sewer and storm water (PDF 882.9 KB)