Which height applies, 3.6 or 4 metres?
Cumberland's tree page says many woody trees over 3.6 metres high need council's written approval, especially natives. Its Development Control Plan (Cumberland DCP 2021, Part G7 Tree Management and Landscaping) applies the rules to woody plants 4m or greater, measured from the base at ground level to the highest live foliage.
We couldn't confirm which figure council applies in practice. Treat 3.6 metres as the safer number, and ask the Landscape & Tree Management Unit before any work.
Rules that catch people out
Overhanging branches. Pruning a neighbour's branches over your boundary needs the tree owner's written consent and a council permit, whatever the branch size.
Roots. Pruning live roots thicker than 30mm needs consent, whatever the species and wherever the tree stands. Worth knowing before a plumber or landscaper starts digging.
Bigger pruning. Taking off branches over 150mm across, or more than 5% of the live crown, needs a permit and must be done by at least an AQF Level 3 arborist.
Partly dead trees. If any part of the tree is still alive, removing it needs a permit.
After a storm in Cumberland
If anyone is in danger, call 000. For storm damage to the home, call the SES, and keep people and cars out from under damaged branches. Cumberland's DCP lets emergency work go ahead on severely storm-damaged trees once an AQF Level 5 Consulting Arborist has assessed them, with a written and photographic record sent to council afterwards. Where that arborist finds a likely failure and the fall zone can't be cleared, an emergency application can be made to council by phone.
What the Tree Works Application asks for
- Original written consent from all owners, and the Owners' Corporation seal for a strata property.
- A site plan with each tree numbered, plus buildings, structures and nearby streets.
- Each tree's species, the work you want done and your reason.
- Access details, such as whether a dog is on site, and the tenant's contact if it's a rental.
- Your signature, which lets council officers enter the property to assess the trees.
Who's responsible if the job wasn't approved?
You are. Cumberland's 2020 flyer on choosing an arborist warns that if you employ someone to do illegal tree works, you're held responsible and may be fined $3000 as an individual or $6000 as a company, or taken to court.
In May 2016 a company was fined $8,000 plus $14,000 in council costs in Parramatta Local Court for clearing 10 trees at a Smithfield industrial site without consent. The form itself says no work can start until a permit is issued, and a refusal can be appealed to the Land and Environment Court within 3 months.
Our suggestion
Use council's own checklist from that flyer before you say yes to anyone: written council approval, 2 or 3 written quotes, proof of public liability and workers' compensation insurance, the arborist's AQF level, and pruning to AS 4373. If a door-knocker offering to lop the tree today can't show you those, send them on their way.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.