What changed in Randwick in 2026?
Randwick reviewed its Development Control Plan in two stages. The Stage 2 draft put out for comment would have cut the tree permit threshold from 6 metres to 3 metres. After consultation, council settled on 5 metres instead.
Those changes have been in effect since 27 July 2026. They renamed Part B5 of the DCP to Preservation of Trees, updated its exemptions and added species to the undesirable species list.
Older summaries online may still quote 6 metres. That was the threshold before the review, so check the date on anything you read.
What Randwick's tree page covers
- Trees 5 metres or taller.
- A canopy 4 metres or wider.
- A trunk circumference of 1 metre, measured 1 metre above the ground.
- Any palm except Cocos palms, any cycad and any tree fern, whatever the size.
- Any tree in recognised bushland.
- Any hollow-bearing tree (one with holes that birds, possums or bats can live in).
Significant trees and heritage
Trees on Randwick's Significant Tree Register need development consent, not just a tree permit, to be significantly pruned or removed. Volume 4 of the register lists significant trees in private ownership, and council says an updated register is expected in late 2026.
Major work on heritage items and in Heritage Conservation Areas also goes through development consent.
How to apply in Randwick
Get consent first
You need the property owner's written consent before you lodge. For strata or company title, attach the minutes of the Body Corporate or Executive Committee meeting that agreed on the tree. A tree next door needs its owner's written consent.
Lodge
Apply through council's online services or on the Tree Permit Application form. Development applications for tree works go through the NSW Planning Portal.
Back it up
For a dying, dead or dangerous tree, council wants an arborist report as evidence.
Ask if unsure
Ring council's enquiries line.
Randwick City Council tree removal permits: what to do next
With rules this new, we'd check the tree against council's current page and ring before booking any work, especially for palms. Because a palm that isn't a Cocos needs consent at any size here, it catches people who think of palms as garden plants rather than trees.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.