Tree owners are responsible for keeping their tree(s) clear of electricity network lines.

 

The first cut or trim of a tree, unless the tree is covered by a previous arrangement or is part of a horticultural shelterbelt, is performed free of charge by the electricity network company. Our arborists will contact the tree owner to arrange for this to be done.  

After the free first cut or trim, the tree owner is responsible for all on-going maintenance costs. Our arborists carry out regular inspections and issue tree owners with a cut or trim notice when their tree is growing into the growth limit notice zone. Once the tree owner has been notified that their tree is encroaching the growth limit zone, the owner must:

Tree owners must comply with the notice in the time stated or they could be fined up to $10,000. They could also be liable for costs if electricity lines or equipment are damaged by a tree.

Work near electricity lines is extremely dangerous and by law only approved utility arborists are allowed to trim trees within 4 metres of a network line. Arborists approved to work near our lines that carry out work on privately owned trees are:

A tree owner can only trim a tree when all parts of the tree are 4metres or more away from network lines, so save the on-going costs of complying with the regulations by having the tree trimmed to where you can maintain it yourself.  

 

A tree owner who does not want to be responsible for keeping the tree trimmed to outside the growth limit zone can declare ‘no interest’ in the tree provided:

To declare ‘no interest’, the tree owner must notify us in writing. After checking that the tree meets the ‘no interest’ criteria, we will take responsibility for keeping the tree clear of power lines. Please be aware the tree may be removed if it is likely to cause a continuing problem.  

 

Service lines (the lines that connect a property to the network lines in the street) are owned by and the responsibility of, the property owner. The regulations do not cover service lines and we are not responsible for checking or trimming trees around them.    

 

For safety and to protect your power supply it makes good sense to keep trees away from your lines. You can hire a professional arborist such as Treescape or you can trim the tree yourself. Service lines are dangerous so, unless you are using Treescape or an arborist qualified to work around live lines, always have your power supply temporarily disconnected before you start:

Trees on public land  Many trees in the community are owned by the local council or other local authorities. These authorities are responsible in the same way as any other tree owner.  

 

In most cases, the council or other local authority will keep trees on public land trimmed and clear of electricity lines. To ensure public safety, they may decide that some trees (especially fast-growing species such as sycamore, pine and eucalyptus), are no longer suitable as street trees and need to be removed completely.

 

Before this happens, and as required by the regulations, we will classify this as an amenity tree and send an Amenity Tree Notice to all residents within a 50 metre radius of the tree giving them the opportunity to declare interest in the tree and to take on-going responsibility and costs for keeping it clear of network lines.  

 

Vector is committed to providing you with a high standard of service and resolving issues quickly and to everyone’s satisfaction. For more information please see our disputes resolution process.