Urban Forest Strategy

Who we heard from

Two stakeholder information and engagement sessions were held in July 2025 including:

• a session for government stakeholders on Thursday 17 July
• a session for industry and community stakeholders on Thursday 24 July 2024.

A total of 63 people attended the information and engagement sessions to learn more about the draft Urban Wood Reuse Plan and provide feedback, including woodworkers, landscape architects, community council members, Landcare and community garden volunteers, forestry and design academics and staff from a wide range of ACT government agencies.

24 written submissions were received in total from individuals and organisations, including a submission from a Ngunnawal Traditional Custodian. We also met with key stakeholders who requested a meeting during the consultation period including the Construction Department at CIT and the Woodcraft Guild of the ACT.

What we heard

A summary of feedback received via the stakeholder sessions and written submissions is provided below:

• there is broad support for the draft Urban Wood Reuse Plan amongst internal and external stakeholders
• a wide range of stakeholders are interested in accessing free timber and mulch from Canberra’s urban tree maintenance program but are unsure of how to do this
• increased promotion and improved coordination of wood reuse requests would be helpful, including clear criteria for who is eligible to access free wood and how requests are prioritised and actioned
• salvaging and separating quality timber for reuse is a priority for many stakeholders, including classifying wood and tracking its origins
• there are a number of local organisations eager to access quality local timber to help preserve the history of Canberra through handcrafted timber products
• increasing the amount of wood reused by ACT Government agencies represents a significant cost saving opportunity
• the wood reuse plan presents an opportunity to explore and strengthen partnerships with Landcare and community groups
• retaining fallen logs and dead and dying trees as nesting habitat is a high priority for many stakeholders, i.e. leaving wood in the environment if it is safe to do so rather than removing it
• biosecurity measures need to be carefully considered and managed when recovering and reusing wood
• careful consideration needs to be given to the tree species being planted to achieve the best environmental and economic outcomes for the life of the tree, including at the end of its life when it is repurposed and reused
• improved quality control and classification of wood products is required if the government moves to a cost recovery model and plans to sell wood and mulch
• determining a hierarchy of products would help government maximise the benefit of wood resources including producing and marketing high quality furniture timbers
• installing a biochar kiln on a government site was suggested to provide a range of environmental and economic benefits
• a variety of procurement issues and options were raised for consideration by internal stakeholders including the potential benefit of engaging an established third party to mill timber and distribute wood and mulch on behalf of government
• improved tracking and reporting of the wood being reused would help improve transparency and capture how much wood is being reused by whom, including measuring the cost saving to community and government
• the plan would benefit from a clear action plan with timelines and milestones that could be tracked to evaluate the plan.

Next steps

The draft Urban Wood Reuse Plan will be reviewed and refined, incorporating the feedback we received from internal and external stakeholders. The updated plan will be presented for Government consideration.

When finalised, the Urban Wood Reuse Plan will guide how the ACT Government reuses and repurposes wood collected through its urban tree maintenance programs to achieve the best environmental, economic and social outcomes for the Canberra community.

Urban Forest Act

As well as investing in more trees on public land, we need our legal framework to help us grow and manage our trees.

On 1 January 2024, the Urban Forest Act 2023 replaced the Tree Protection Act 2005 following an extensive review of Canberra’s tree protection laws and the introduction of the ACT Urban Forest Strategy.

The new Act improves tree protection on both public and private land and will help protect Canberra's trees as the city continues to grow. It creates a sound framework to reach our ambitious target of 30% tree canopy cover or equivalent by 2045.

The key changes introduced by the Act are:

• New requirements to ensure trees approved for removal are replaced. Where new planting is not possible, a financial contribution will need to be made to support canopy cover elsewhere.
• Reducing the size requirements for protected trees on private land and to protect dead native trees that provide essential habitat elements for local fauna.
• Classifying all public trees as protected.
• Introducing a tree bond system to ensure trees are not damaged during construction work as our city continues to grow.
• Expanding the ACT Tree Register which celebrates and protects our most significant trees.
• Improving compliance provisions. For example, the introduction of penalties for people caught damaging a tree or breaching a tree protection plan or direction.

Benefits of Canberra's trees

Trees have a range of environmental, social and economic benefits. These include:

• providing shade and cooling our city
• providing habitat for local wildlife
• reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
• improving community health and wellbeing
• increasing property values
• reducing energy costs.

Planting more trees

In keeping with the Urban Forest Strategy, the ACT Government committed to planting 54,000 trees across the ACT from 2020-21 to 2023-24 to increase our tree canopy cover. Planting locations focus on areas where there aren't many trees or where existing trees are ageing or dying.

Our tree planting programs are informed by the online tree planting map. Canberrans can use the map to select a location they would like to see a tree planted. More than 4,300 requests have been made to date.

Shared care of trees

Everybody has a role to play in the management of trees. This includes schools, our community, developers, business and industry.

While many people in the community value trees and the benefits they bring, they are unaware of actions that can cause damage to tree health. For example, many Canberrans may not be aware that parking on street verges is prohibited. It damages the root systems of trees and shortens their lifespan. Placing material such as grass clippings around the trunk of a tree can also have negative impacts. It can increase heat and moisture which can lead to decay and/or insect infestation and a decline in tree health.

Community planting days

We work with volunteer groups who wish to plant and care for trees in public parks. For more information including a map of volunteer groups and how to start a new group, see volunteering.

Other resources

• Urban Tree Canopy Coverage report 2025 (PDF 3.2 MB)
• Report on social, economic and environmental values of street trees (PDF 50.7 MB)