Tell us the job

Coffs Harbour, New South Wales

Tree removal in Coffs Harbour

Tree removal, pruning, stumps and storm jobs in Coffs Harbour, matched to a local arborist.

In Coffs Harbour, council approval may be needed to remove a native tree, and its fact sheet works through size, hollows, mapping and the Significant Tree Register to decide.

  • We match you with the local arborist who does your kind of job.
  • Tell us the job once, and the arborist who takes it calls you.
  • Storm damage and fallen trees flagged urgent.

Tree job in Coffs Harbour?

What needs doing?

If anyone is in danger, call 000. For storm damage to your home, call the SES. Then tell us the job.

Only one local arborist gets your number.

A ground worker in a helmet and gloves holding a lowering rope and looking up into the tree

Matched by the job, not just the postcode

A big gum over a roof, a stump and a council report are different jobs, so the job comes first.

Only one local arborist gets your number.

Your contact details go to one arborist for your job, so you deal with one person.

Storm jobs flagged urgent

Pick storm damage and the arborist sees it marked urgent. If anyone is in danger, call 000 first.

Council rules before the cut

Many councils protect bigger trees. The permit guides cover every state, so you can check first.

What happens next

A local arborist calls you.

Tell us the job

  1. Tell us the job

    What the tree needs and your postcode. A few taps.

  2. We pass it on

    To a local arborist near your postcode.

  3. They call you

    They talk it through, usually see the tree, and quote in writing. You decide.

Tree removal permits in Coffs Harbour

  • Is the vegetation on private land, and is it on your land rather than a neighbour's?
  • Is the land zoned RU2 Rural Landscape? If so, the Local Land Services Act 2013 applies, run by Local Land Services
  • Is the vegetation native, or mapped as prescribed vegetation?
  • Is it over 15cm in diameter or 5 metres tall?
  • Does it have a hollow over 30mm?
  • Is it on the Significant Tree Register?
  • Is it on the NSW Biodiversity Values Map, in which case a Biodiversity Development Assessment Report may be needed?

How a Coffs Harbour tree application works

Council's approval comes from the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021, the same NSW framework explained on our NSW permit page. The fact sheet's first step is to check the RFS 10/50 online tool, and it points to the Preservation of Vegetation Map in the Coffs Harbour Development Control Plan 2015.

Chapter E1 of the DCP, the biodiversity chapter, lists what to send in with a tree permit application. Council also says compensatory planting may be required, and its Species Selection Guide suggests what to plant.

If the tree is coming out to make way for a house or other work needing consent, the removal is assessed in the development application, whatever the zoning. NSW also changed the rules in 2026 so protected dead and dying trees need a permit, which means a dead tree is still worth asking about.

Tree removal in Coffs Harbour: what's local

Council won't touch private trees

The City of Coffs Harbour says it can't do tree works on private property. Where a tree falls from council land onto a private block, council assesses it and looks at whether a storm or high wind brought it down.

Essential Energy's lines

Essential Energy runs the network across most of regional NSW, its Mid North Coast area included. If branches touch or hang over its lines, call Essential Energy. When planting, it says keep trees at least 15 metres from powerlines, or as far as their mature height, whichever is greater.

Bush fire prone land

Coffs Harbour's bush fire prone land map is prepared by council and signed off by the RFS Commissioner. The RFS tool, council or the property's Section 10.7 planning certificate will tell you whether your block is on it.

Rural Landscape land

Native vegetation on land zoned RU2 is a Local Land Services matter, not a council permit. Ring them before clearing.

Storm damage and fallen trees in Coffs Harbour

If anyone is in danger, call 000. The NSW SES helps when a tree has fallen across a door, road or driveway, or might come down on the house. A tree on a power line goes to Essential Energy, and everyone stays at least 8 metres clear, because the line and the tree may be live.

Hiring an arborist in Coffs Harbour

Work through council's questions with the tree in front of you: is it native, how big is the trunk, can you see a hollow. If any answer is yes, or you're not sure, ring council before booking anyone. It's a short call, and council's answer is the one that counts.

Tree removal in Coffs Harbour: common questions

Do exotic trees need approval in Coffs Harbour?

Council's process is built around native vegetation, but its page doesn't settle every case, and heritage or a development consent can bring other rules in. Describe the tree to council before anyone cuts it.

Who removes a tree that fell from council land onto my property?

Contact the City of Coffs Harbour. It assesses trees that fall from its land into private property and, where reasonable, removes them after talking to the owner.

Is a dead tree treated differently?

Since NSW's 2026 changes, protected dead and dying trees need a permit or approval, and a risk exemption needs council's written agreement first. Ask council before a dead tree comes down.

Need an arborist in Coffs Harbour?

Pick the job and give your postcode, and a local arborist calls you.

Tree job in Coffs Harbour?

What needs doing?

Only one local arborist gets your number.

Tree permits in New South Wales

More on tree removal in Coffs Harbour

Sources

Tree rules change, so check with your council before anything is cut. How we write and check these pages.