Tree removal permits in Shellharbour
Shellharbour City Council protects what it calls declared trees: 5 metres or more tall, a trunk 30cm or more across at natural ground level, or any tree with hollows (cavities in the trunk or branches). Hollows count on their own. Council's own example is a 4 metre tree with a 28cm trunk that still needs an application because birds nest in it.
A dead tree isn't a way around it. Council's FAQ says the same rules apply to living and dead trees, which lines up with NSW's 2026 changes for dead and dying protected trees. Heritage trees go through a Development Application instead, and so does removal tied to building work. Our NSW permit page explains the state rules behind all this.
Council aims to decide within 30 working days once every document is in, and an approval stays valid for two years.
Tree removal in Shellharbour: what's local
Reserves over the back fence
Council looks after more than 430 hectares of bushland, including Blackbutt Forest, Bass Point and Croom reserves, with bushcare sites from Elizabeth Brownlee Reserve in Albion Park to Warilla Dunes. Pruning or removing a council-owned tree is illegal, so a reserve tree leaning over your fence is a call to council, not a job to book.
The southern run of the escarpment
NPWS says the Illawarra escarpment spans the Shellharbour council area as well as Wollongong and Kiama, and lists erosion and landslips among its greatest threats. On sloping ground, ask how a big tree will come down and what will be left in the soil.
Bushfire edges and the 10/50 Code
Council says residents in some areas close to the bush can prepare under the RFS 10/50 scheme. Following the Code is the owner's responsibility, and it can't be used on a tree a development consent says must stay. Check the RFS tool on the day, and see our 10/50 guide.
Endeavour Energy's lines
Council's tree page sends every tree affected by power wires on public land to Endeavour Energy. On your own land, Endeavour says keeping trees a safe distance from the lines, service line included, is your responsibility.
What council wants to see for common Shellharbour jobs
- Roots lifting paving or cracking pipes: a Vegetation Removal Application, with the damage verified by a plumber, an engineer or a level 5 arborist report (level 5 is the consulting arborist's Diploma).
- A storm-damaged tree: still an application, backed by photos. If emergency work had to be done, report it to council.
- Branches over the fence from next door: an application signed by the neighbour, with pruning to the Australian pruning standard, AS 4373.
- Solar panels in shade: council will consider pruning for this, but not removal.
Trees and power lines in Shellharbour
Stay well back. If anyone is hurt or trapped, call 000. For fallen wires, Endeavour Energy says keep 8 metres away and ring them. The NSW SES helps when a tree has fallen on the house or blocks the driveway, and it asks people not to try removing trees or branches themselves after a storm.
Hiring an arborist in Shellharbour
Measure the tree and look for hollows first, because either can make it a declared tree. If it is, have an arborist look at it and photograph it, then lodge the Vegetation Removal Application with those photos and any report council will want. For a tree on the boundary, get the neighbour's signature on the form before you lodge: council won't accept it without both owners.