Tree removal permits in the Eastern Suburbs
| Council | When you need to apply | Also worth knowing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waverley | To prune or remove any part of a private tree 3 metres or taller, with a canopy spread of 3 metres or more, or on its Significant Tree Register. | Register trees are protected under DCP Part B3, and owners must preserve and maintain them. | |
| Woollahra | Most species taller than 5m, or with a crown spread over 3m whatever the height, under Chapter E3 of its DCP 2015. | Trees on the Significant Tree Register or listed as heritage items need a development application. | |
| Randwick | 5 metres or taller, a canopy 4 metres or wider, or a trunk circumference of 1 metre at 1 metre high. | Any palm except a cocos, cycads, tree ferns, bushland and hollow-bearing trees are covered at any size. |
Your neighbour's tree: three councils, two answers
Woollahra says you can apply to prune branches overhanging your side without the tree owner's consent, though you can't apply to remove the tree without it. Waverley and Randwick both want the tree owner's written consent for work on a neighbour's tree.
Don't expect council to referee, though: Woollahra says it doesn't mediate neighbour tree disputes. If talking fails, the neighbours' trees guide sets out the NSW process.
Tree removal in the Eastern Suburbs: what's local
Salt-laden wind
Waverley's street tree masterplan has a Frontline Coastal zone for streets directly exposed to strong salt-laden winds with little or no protection. A ragged, wind-burnt crown there isn't always a sick tree, so get an arborist's opinion before a council application.
Banksia scrub on old sand
Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub grows on ancient wind-blown sand and is critically endangered, with over 90% cleared. Remnants survive at Malabar and La Perouse, and a deep-sand form is recorded in Woollahra.
Heritage and significant trees
All three councils keep a significant tree register. In Woollahra and Randwick, heritage listings push big work into a development application, and Randwick's updated register is due in late 2026.
Power lines
Ausgrid's crews were trimming in Bondi, Paddington, Edgecliff, Woollahra, Randwick, Kensington and Queens Park in October and November 2026. A tree on a street line is Ausgrid's: call them.
Tree pruning and lopping in the Eastern Suburbs
Plenty of people here search for loppers when they want a tree made smaller, lighter or clear of the house. Lopping to stubs leaves a tree throwing bushy regrowth, and AS 4373, the Australian pruning standard, lists lopping and topping as unacceptable practice. Ask for an arborist who prunes to that standard, and the result usually lasts longer.
Hiring an arborist in the Eastern Suburbs
We'd check the council on the rates notice first, then measure the tree against that council's test, since Waverley's 3 metre line catches smaller trees than its neighbours' tests. If it's near the coast and looking ragged, we'd get an arborist to tell wind damage apart from real decline before anything goes to council.