Government House has only had a dedicated tree management plan since June, according to the ANAO report. Photos: Michelle Kroll.
A tree that injured schoolchildren visiting Government House had a ”Medium” risk and had unclear records on its upkeep.
On 19 February, 2025, several school students were injured and one had to be hospitalised after a tree branch fell on them during a visit to Canberra.
At the time, a spokesperson from the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General said the branch fell from a tree in the area outside the gates of Government House.
It is understood the tree had been judged as being safe within the six months preceding the incident.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General said a comprehensive Comcare investigation into the incident found no instances of non-compliance with workplace health and safety regulations.
A recent report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), examining management and maintenance of two official residences (including Government House), has revealed concerns had been raised about the tree’s condition before it injured the students.
The tree (given the number 349) was last assessed in July 2022, when an arborist assigned it a ”Medium” risk rating.
This means it was judged to have an “unlikely to certain probability of failure” with a “minor to extreme consequence”, the report states. Works for trees in this category would be prioritised in line with available resources.
The arborist recommended that deadwood be removed, but there is no record of this being done. The report also describes records of tree works as being “not complete”.
The ANAO also received information about September 2024 remedial works to several trees at Government House following high winds.
“Records show that two damaged trees were removed and a third tree was ‘tidied’,” the report states.
“Although no assessment was documented, staff attested that tree 349 and two other trees had also been assessed during these works, and it was determined that these trees did not require any remediation works.”
Tree 349 was handed a ‘’failure possible’’ probability and ‘’serious’’ consequence rating, which combined for an overall ”Medium” rating.
The day after the incident (20 February), the office commissioned an arborist to examine the tree. They found damage from “bird browsing” and undertook weight-reduction works.
Further deadwood was removed from the tree over two days in March, in line with recommendations.
The audit report also referenced a March 2024 review by Civica, which was commissioned to assess the condition of 580 trees at Government House.
Civica found 13 ”High” risk trees and 50 ”Medium” risk trees in its assessment, with tree 349 retaining its ”Medium” risk rating in this review.
The company also recommended two of the ”High” risk trees be removed.
“Both trees’ probability of failure was ‘certain’ with a ‘moderate’ consequence,” the report states.
“As at July 2025, the two high risk trees recommended for removal had not been removed.”
The Office of the Official Secretary spokesperson said one of the trees flagged for removal had already been removed, while the second was awaiting approval before it could be removed.
The Government House property spans about 53 hectares (including the gardens).
The ANAO report also reveals that there was no dedicated tree management plan until June 2025.
Instead, Government House tree management was informed by an undated best-practice document, as well as a 2010 to 2015 landscape heritage management plan (which had not been updated as of July 2025).
“The Office advised the ANAO in April 2025 that it also conducts tree inspections following a significant weather event or before a special event, such as an Open Day,” the report states.
An April open day was postponed until works could be carried out, and was instead held on 1 November.
The ANAO made five recommendations to the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, around strengthening its risk management, asset and heritage management planning and policies, management of gifted assets, budget prioritisation, and performance measures.
“The office has accepted all recommendations from the ANAO report — which related to record-keeping rather than the regular maintenance and approach to safety the office has long practised,” a spokesperson for the office said.
Security fence replacement works are also ongoing until August 2026, according to the report, and will involve the removal and replacement of 150 to 300 trees.
