Gold Coast council rules
Tree removal permits on the Gold Coast
Whether the tree is protected under the City Plan comes first. It decides whether the job is a phone call or an application.
What the City Plan protects
The two measurements that decide it
The City of Gold Coast says that Over 90% of trees and vegetation on the Gold Coast are on private land, and that its City Plan protects them. A tree it calls assessable vegetation needs approval before it is removed or pruned.
Height
Vegetation is assessable when it is more than 4 metres in height. That is lower than most people expect, so a garden tree well short of the roof can still be protected.
Girth
It is also assessable when the trunk is more than 40 centimetres around the circumference when measured 1.3 metres above the ground. A tape measure settles that one in a minute.
What the maps add
Remnant vegetation, native understorey, regrowth and wetland are assessable wherever the council's Vegetation Management Overlay Map shows them, whatever the tree measures.
Compared: removal, lopping or pruning, stump grinding or stump removal, council tree rules compared
How it works
Four steps, and the permit comes before the price
Nothing happens without a written quote you have agreed to.
- 1
Call or send the form
Include the suburb, your details and what needs to be done.
- 2
A contractor comes to see it
On site, not off a photo, because access and what sits underneath change the job.
- 3
The permit position is checked
Against the city's vegetation mapping and the koala controls, before a price is given.
- 4
Quoted in writing
The quote sets out the scope, the timber, the stump and the date. Then a date is booked.
Approvals
Exemptions, body corporates and the form
Which trees can go without an application?
The council lists several accepted cases. One is vegetation within 1.5 metres of an existing pool fence. Others cover vegetation along an existing boundary fence or close to an approved building, where the distance depends on the size of the lot.
What about small native growth under bigger trees?
Small native growth is another accepted case, and it turns on three things at once: the growth sits under the canopy of taller trees, the lot is smaller than 1000 square metres, and the plant is under the council's size test. Worth knowing that the council applies that test 1.4 metres above the ground here, and 1.3 metres in its definition of assessable vegetation. Both figures are the council's own.
The tree is dangerous, or it is a pest species. Does that change it?
The council names both as accepted cases, and defines each by who assesses it: a pest species as identified by a Level 3 Arborist, and vegetation actually or potentially dangerous as determined by a Council Level 5 Arborist. Those are the council's own requirements, so the assessment comes before the work.
Does a body corporate change any of this?
No. The council says its guidance applies to trees and vegetation not located on land managed by a body corporate or within a community management scheme. On a lot in a scheme the body corporate decides first.
If an application is needed, what does it involve?
It is an operational works application on the State Government DA form 1, lodged with a site plan for tree works. The council lists four types, including tree works related to a vehicular crossing (driveway), and each carries different fees and supporting information.
Can you tell me which one applies to my tree?
Tell us the tree, the address and what is underneath it. A local tree contractor looks at it, says which of the council's cases it falls into, and quotes the work in writing. The council's own enquiry line is 07 5582 8708 if you would rather ask it directly.
