What does Northern Beaches Council protect?
Trees on private land are protected under Chapter 2 of the NSW Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021, and council's Development Control Plans add protection for trees, native vegetation and bushland. Clearing understorey (the shrubs and groundcover under the trees) needs consent too. Our NSW permit page explains the state layer.
A permit is always needed for heritage items and trees in a heritage conservation area, threatened species and their habitat, endangered ecological communities, and any tree a development consent says must be kept.
Council also lists situations where it doesn't ask for a permit, including trees under 5 metres tall, species on its Exempt Tree Species List, and trees within two metres of an existing approved building (decks, pergolas, sheds and patios don't count). Each comes with conditions, and the species list never covers heritage items or areas. Ask the Tree Management Team before relying on any of them.
When does the Native Vegetation Panel decide instead?
Some removals aren't council's call at all. Council says a permit from the state's Native Vegetation Panel is likely when the property sits inside the Biodiversity Values Map area, the tree is native to NSW and healthy, it isn't habitat for native animals, and the removal isn't part of a development application.
If your block has native bush on it, check this early. Applying to the wrong body only adds weeks.
Reasons council says it won't approve
- A healthy, stable tree you'd simply rather not have
- Views or solar access
- Leaf, fruit or sap drop, or bird and bat droppings
- Fences, footpaths or driveways
- Lopping or topping (cutting branches back to stubs)
- Pruning that goes against the Australian pruning standard, AS 4373
- Raising or lowering soil within the tree's root zone
- Any request without the owner's or agent's signature
What council may approve
Council says it may permit removal of a significant tree where a qualified arborist report supports it, a hazardous tree, or a tree in conflict with a building once engineering alternatives have been considered. In practice that means evidence about risk or damage, not preference.
How to apply on the Northern Beaches
Read council's lists first
Check the exemptions and the exempt species list on council's page, and call the Tree Management Team if you're unsure.
Complete the site plan
Fill in the Tree Removal Site Plan with the tree details and the owner's consent.
Lodge the application
Use the online Tree Removal and Pruning application, or paper Form ID 4000 at a Customer Service Centre.
Put the permit on display
If it's approved, display the permit at the front of the property while the work is underway. It expires 12 months after issue, and its conditions set the replanting.
Dangerous trees and fines
For a tree in imminent danger, council's page asks for written confirmation from an AQF Level 5 arborist, or equivalent, that it's high risk and removal is recommended, with a copy sent to council. If anyone is in danger right now, call 000 first.
Council warns you could still be charged for unauthorised work on your own property. The Land and Environment Court can impose fines of up to $1.1 million, plus a daily amount while the offence continues, and you may be directed to replant.
Northern Beaches Council tree removal permits: what to do next
We'd ring the Tree Management Team before paying anyone, with photos and the real reason you want the tree gone. If that reason is on council's won't-approve list, a short call saves a wasted application. If the tree is a genuine risk or is damaging the house, an arborist's report is what turns it into a case council can say yes to.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.