What does Parramatta council protect?
Parramatta's rules sit in its Development Control Plan (DCP) 2023, Chapter 5.3.4 Tree and Vegetation Preservation, which works under the NSW Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP (the NSW permit page explains that layer). Council lists four kinds of tree that may need permission.
Height. Any tree or palm 5 metres or taller, whatever the species. The bar drops to 3 metres if the tree was planted on purpose, or a development consent or earlier tree permit required it to be planted and kept.
Mapped land. Trees on land shown as Biodiversity on the Parramatta LEP 2023 map. Trees in an Endangered or Critically Endangered Ecological Community can need permission at any size, and council wants an Assessment of Significance from a qualified ecologist with the application.
Heritage and consents. Trees that are part of a heritage item, sit in a Heritage Conservation Area or on an Aboriginal heritage site, or that a development consent says must stay.
Council also publishes a list of works it treats differently, but nearly every item carries a condition: evidence, written consent, or land that isn't mapped. Read that list as a reason to ring council, not as a green light.
What won't Parramatta accept as a reason?
Council's assessment principles say the focus is on keeping trees unless there are strong reasons to remove them. Reasons it usually won't support include leaves, fruit or bark dropping, views, shade on solar panels or washing lines, possums, droppings, and worry that a healthy tree might fall.
What it may consider: poor health or structure, likely failure that can't be fixed with remedial work, or substantial structural damage to a dwelling or retaining wall.
Council also can't approve a removal because of a development you're planning. It assesses the tree on its arboricultural merits, and for Complying Development it points you to a Duty Planner appointment instead of the tree form.
What to have ready before you apply
- Every owner's signature. Tenants can't give permission, and strata or company title needs an authorised officer or the body corporate.
- Evidence that matches your reason: an arboricultural report, a structural engineer's report or a plumber's report.
- For roots in pipes: a sewer diagram and a plumber's report showing the damage is serious and keeps coming back.
- A heritage check of the property on the NSW ePlanning spatial viewer.
How to apply to the City of Parramatta
Pick the right path
Non-heritage land uses a Tree Permit Application. A heritage item, Heritage Conservation Area or Aboriginal heritage site needs a Development Application for Tree Works through the NSW Planning Portal, though minor pruning can still use the standard form. Heritage enquiries go to council.
Lodge it
Online through council's Online Portal (Lodge an Application, then Development, then Tree Permit Application), or on the PDF form at the Customer Contact Centre.
Council's arborist inspects
One of council's qualified arborists assesses the application and carries out a tree inspection.
If the answer is no
You can appeal to the Land and Environment Court within three months of receiving the determination.
What if a tree comes down without approval?
Council says penalties, including fines, may be issued to any person or company found guilty of breaching its tree controls. Before any cutting, ask to see the permit or council's written answer.
City of Parramatta tree removal permits: what to do next
If the tree is anywhere between 3 and 5 metres, or your street has any heritage listing, we'd ring council before booking anyone. If removal is the plan, get an arborist's opinion on the tree's health and structure first, because that's the ground council assesses on. An arborist who writes arborist reports can tell you whether you have a case before you lodge.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.