Central Coast Tree Services connects the Central Coast and the Central Coast property owners with qualified, insured local arborists for council rules and related tree work. Tell us what the tree is doing and we'll match it to an operator who covers your suburb — free quote, no obligation.
The structure most people get wrong
Some councils say 'anything over 8 metres needs approval'. Central Coast Council doesn't work that way. Under Chapter 3.5 of the Development Control Plan 2022, tree works need approval unless they fall within one of council's exemptions.
So the useful question isn't 'is my tree big enough to be protected?' It's 'does what I want to do fit an exemption?'
The two exemptions that cover most household jobs
Pruning up to 10% of the tree's foliage in a growing season, carried out to Australian Standard AS4373-2007, and only on branches up to 50mm in diameter. That is a lot less than it sounds — a solid tidy-up of a mature gum will exceed it.
And removing a genuinely dead tree, or taking dead branches out of a living canopy. Council's test for dead is specific: biological function ceased, no leaves, and visible desiccation of the trunk, root plate and canopy.
Where the dead-tree exemption stops
It does not apply if the tree is habitat for native animals — including hollows in the trunk or limbs. A dead tree with hollows stays protected. This is the single most common way people end up on the wrong side of the rules here.
Exemptions never apply to these
Threatened species, habitat for threatened fauna, and endangered ecological communities — those need a Biodiversity Conservation Licence from the state, not council consent. Same for heritage items, Aboriginal objects and places, and any tree inside a heritage conservation area, which covers a fair bit of the older coast.
The paperwork for work that doesn't need approval
Council expects an AQF3 trade or AQF5 consulting arborist to complete their exempt tree works template, with a map showing the tree's position relative to the dwelling and photos evidencing it was dead or dying and not habitat. Keep it for at least six months. You don't lodge it unless council asks.
If you're not exempt
You lodge a Private Tree Works Application with council — one application covers up to five trees. There's a pre-application checklist worth reading first, and an AQF5 arborist report is generally expected in support.
A fee applies, set each year in council's Fees and Charges schedule. We're not going to quote you a figure or a turnaround here, because council publishes those and they change — ring 02 4306 7900 or check the current schedule on council's site. Being approximately right about someone else's fee is worse than sending you to the source.
Areas covered
the Central Coast.
