Tree removal permits in Western Sydney
| Size the rules start at | Reports and who does the work | |
|---|---|---|
| Penrith | 3.5 metres tall, or a trunk over 100mm at 1400mm | Pruning by AQF Level 3 or above, to AS 4373-2007 |
| Blacktown | Over 3 metres tall, and/or a trunk over 200mm at 1.0 metre | Only an AQF Level 5 consulting arborist can declare a tree dangerous or dying |
| Parramatta | 5 metres or taller, or 3 metres if it was planted on purpose | AQF level 5 risk assessment where a tree is said to be an imminent risk |
| Cumberland | 4m tall under the DCP; its tree page says 3.6 metres | AQF Level 3 for big pruning, AQF Level 5 for emergency assessments |
| Fairfield | Any removal; pruning a tree over 4 metres tall or with a branch span over 3 metres | AQF Level 5 written and photo record for emergency work |
| Campbelltown | Over 3 metres tall, 500mm around at ground level, or a 4 metre crown spread | A qualified arborist's report for any tree over 10 metres |
Find your suburb
We've written pages for the busiest parts of the west: Penrith, Blacktown, Parramatta, Liverpool, Fairfield, Campbelltown and Merrylands. Each goes into that council's process and the jobs that come up there.
Further out, see Camden, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains. The council permit pages for Penrith, Blacktown, Parramatta, Cumberland and Campbelltown have the full rules.
Tree removal in Western Sydney: what's local
Mostly Endeavour Energy
Endeavour Energy covers Sydney's Greater West, including Blacktown, Penrith, Liverpool, Fairfield, Campbelltown, Camden and the Hawkesbury. Parramatta, Cumberland and The Hills appear on Ausgrid's council list as well, so check which network your street is on before reporting a tree on a line.
Cumberland Plain gums
Much of the region sits on the Cumberland Plain, whose woodland of Grey Box and Forest Red Gum on heavy shale clay is critically endangered, with only 9 percent left intact. Parramatta says a tree within an endangered community may need permission whatever its size.
Heat and thin canopy
Penrith's canopy was 17% in 2024-25 and Blacktown's 17.1%, NSW Planning says, with about 49% of Penrith's neighbourhoods and 29% of Blacktown's rated highly heat vulnerable. A healthy shade tree is worth a second opinion before it goes.
Bush on the fringes
Where the RFS online tool puts an address in a 10/50 area, its clearing rules may apply. Blacktown points out they don't apply on heritage-listed properties, Biodiversity Values Map land or land on its LEP conservation maps.
Hiring an arborist in Western Sydney
We'd confirm the council on the rates notice, then read that council's test, not a neighbour's: two streets apart, the same tree can land on different sides of the line. If it's a big old gum, we'd ask the arborist whether it could be remnant Cumberland Plain Woodland before anyone talks about removal.