Queensland Consolidated Acts

NEIGHBOURHOOD DISPUTES (DIVIDING FENCES AND TREES) ACT 2011 - SECT 73

73 General matters to consider

(1) QCAT must consider the following matters—

(a) the location of the tree in relation to the boundary of the land on which the tree is situated and any premises, fence or other structure affected by the location of the tree;

(b) whether carrying out work on the tree would require any consent or other authorisation under another Act and, if so, whether the consent or authorisation has been obtained;

(c) whether the tree has any historical, cultural, social or scientific value;

(d) any contribution the tree makes to the local ecosystem and to biodiversity;

(e) any contribution the tree makes to the natural landscape and the scenic value of the land or locality;

(f) any contribution the tree makes to public amenity;

(g) any contribution the tree makes to the amenity of the land on which it is situated, including its contribution relating to privacy, landscaping, garden design or protection from sun, wind, noise, odour or smoke;

(h) any impact the tree has on soil stability, the water table or other natural features of the land or locality;

(i) any risks associated with the tree in the event of a cyclone or other extreme weather event;

(j) the likely impact on the tree of pruning it, including the impact on the tree of maintaining it at a particular height, width or shape;

(k) the type of tree, including whether the species of tree is a pest or weed (however described) or falls under a similar category under an Act or a local law.

(2) For subsection (1) (c) , the circumstances where a tree has historical, cultural, social or scientific value include where the tree—

(a) is, or is part of, Aboriginal cultural heritage under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 ; or

(b) is, or is part of, Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage under the Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003 ; or

(c) is, or is situated in, a Queensland heritage place under the Queensland Heritage Act 1992 .

(3) For this Act, no financial value or carbon trading value may be placed on a tree.