Trees on your property

Within the Hunters Hill LGA, there are three categories of tree works approval:

• Permits
• Development Applications (DA)
• Exempt species and non-prescribed vegetation

The approvals are administered in accordance with the State Environmental Planning Policy (Vegetation in Non-Rural Areas) 2017 and the Hunters Hill Consolidated Development Control Plan 2013(PDF, 6MB).

Under our Development Control Plan, there are two categories of vegetation:

• Prescribed vegetation (for which you will require Council approval for pruning or removal)
• Non-prescribed vegetation (includes vegetation that does not meet the criteria for prescribed vegetation and thus do not require approval). 

Prescribed Vegetation

Under the Hunters Hill Consolidated Development Control Plan 2013(PDF, 6MB), prescribed vegetation is:

• any vegetation which has a height of 4 metres or more
• any vegetation which has a stem diameter of 200mm or more, measured 1.4 metres above ground level (existing)
• bushland or individual plants which are bushland remnants
• on properties which adjoin Buffalo Creek Reserve or Boronia Park Reserve
• including species that are listed as rare, vulnerable or threatened according to the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, or the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act
• vegetation on lands which are defined by the Hunters Hill LEP 2012 as having biodiversity or high biodiversity significance
• trees which are listed as a heritage item by the Hunters Hill LEP 2012
• trees which are listed by the Hunters Hill Significant Tree Register.

Exempt Species, weeds and dead trees

The exempt species list does not apply to properties that are listed heritage items. If your property is not a heritage item and the specimen is not on the significant tree register, you can prune or remove the tree without Council approval. However, it is a good idea to notify our team of any plans to remove exempt species, as this can help us to answer any enquries from members of the public. This notification should be made via email to info@huntershill.nsw.gov.au

A consent or permit is not required in order to prune or remove the following:

• noxious weeds
• hedges (annual maintenance involving pruning works of less than 500mm in relation to existing height, width or depth, and where branches to be pruned are less than 30mm in diameter)
• dead trees (unless that tree contains nesting hollows for native fauna)
• deadwood (removal of dead branches from any tree in accordance with AS 4373-2007 Pruning of Amenity Trees(PDF, 527KB) is permitted) 
• exempt species

Development Applications

Development Application consent is required if the works include any of the following:

• removal of heritage listed trees
• removal of trees listed in the Hunters Hill Significant Tree Register
• removal of “Prescribed Vegetation" within listed heritage properties
• removal of “Prescribed Vegetation” within heritage conservation areas

All Development Applications (DA) must be lodged via the NSW Planning Portal and be accompanied by the following documents:

• Owners Consent – download a template(PDF, 427KB)
• Site Plan – download a template(PDF, 154KB)
• Statement of Environmental Effects – download a template(PDF, 455KB)

For all other works to prescribed vegetation, you will require a permit.

Permits

Permits are issued under the authority of our Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability department. Apply for a tree permit via our Tree and Vegetation Management Application.

For further assistance, you can contact our customer service team on 9879 9400 or info@huntershill.nsw.gov.au

Exempt Species List

If your property is not a listed heritage item, the following species of trees may be pruned or removed without involving Council. Please note that for five of the listed species this is only the case if the trees are under 10 metres in height.

Table 2.1: Exempt species (extract from Hunters Hill Consolidated Development Control Plan 2013(PDF, 6MB))