Is this the right Central Coast Council?
This page is for the NSW council, with offices in Gosford and Wyong. Tasmania has a Central Coast Council too, and its rules are different.
What does Chapter 3.5 control?
Council's tree controls are in Chapter 3.5 Tree and Vegetation Management of the Central Coast Development Control Plan 2022, made under the NSW SEPP (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021. Across NSW, vegetation a DCP protects generally needs a council permit, unless the clearing is large enough to trigger the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (then the Native Vegetation Panel decides) or it's part of a development application.
The chapter includes a list of Exempt Tree Works. Council says those exemptions don't reach threatened species, habitat for threatened animals, endangered ecological communities, or heritage items and heritage areas. Where an exemption's requirements can't be met, the answer is a Private Tree Works Application.
We couldn't read the chapter's own size thresholds at the source when we checked, so this page quotes none. Ask council for the current figures that apply to your tree.
What council's pre-application checklist asks about
- The Local Land Services native vegetation map, which can send some land to a different approval body
- Biodiversity values and threatened species on or around the tree
- Whether the property is in the RFS 10/50 vegetation clearing area (our 10/50 guide explains it)
- Any heritage listing or Aboriginal significance
- Whether the tree is part of building work, which can turn it into a development application
- Who owns the land: council says only the owner can authorise removing a tree on their property
If the tree looks like it could come down
Keep everyone clear
Move people and cars away from the tree. If anyone is in danger, call 000. For storm damage to the house, call the SES.
Know what council calls imminent risk
Council describes it as a tree with a clear and immediate potential to harm people or damage property because of a sudden change in its stability.
Get an arborist onto council's form
Council says the imminent risk exemption is claimed by the resident and a Trade (AQF3) or Consulting (AQF5) arborist completing council's Exempt Tree Works form, with photos.
Keep the evidence
The landowner must keep the arborist's written record of the tree's species and condition for six months after removal, and show it to council if asked.
If no arborist can come in time
Council allows an urgent Private Tree Works Application with Imminent Risk selected. Note who you rang and when, and call council.
Does council prosecute unapproved clearing?
Yes. On 18 September 2024, council reported that a landowner in the Mangrove Mountain area was given a penalty of $55,000 and more than $5,000 in court costs for clearing vegetation without approval.
Central Coast Council tree removal permits (NSW): what to do next
We'd ring council before collecting quotes, describe the tree and the lot, and ask which pathway it takes: exempt works, a Private Tree Works Application, or a development application. Then we'd ask any arborist who quotes to record the species and condition in writing, because council leans on that evidence either way. Our page on dead and dangerous trees covers what to watch for while you wait.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.