Useful Links — Arboricultural Resources for NSW
Curated resources for owners, builders, developers, architects, planners and asset managers working with trees in NSW. Council DCPs, Australian Standards, peak bodies, regulatory frameworks, and the methodological references we work to every day.
These are the references we work to in our day-to-day consulting practice. If you’re scoping a project, preparing a DA, dealing with a council, or just trying to understand the framework your arborist works within — this is a good starting point.
Hunter Region council DCPs
Each Hunter Region LGA has its own Development Control Plan with tree-protection and assessment clauses. Worth reviewing before lodging a DA on a tree-affected site:
Hunter Region (10 LGAs)
- Maitland City CouncilDCP, tree management, vegetation policies — our home LGA
- City of NewcastleNewcastle DCP, heritage-area tree controls, post-industrial conversion framework
- Lake Macquarie City CouncilLake Macquarie DCP, lakeside and coastal vegetation requirements
- Port Stephens CouncilCoastal DCP, Tomaree NP interface, koala SEPP considerations
- Cessnock City CouncilHunter Valley wine country, dairy-block conversion corridor
- Singleton CouncilCoal-country planning + Singleton Military Base context
- Muswellbrook Shire CouncilUpper Hunter coal-mining DCP
- Upper Hunter Shire CouncilScone equine industry + post-mining rehabilitation
- Dungog Shire CouncilForested upper-catchment country
- MidCoast CouncilTaree-Forster + Manning Valley + rural-coastal hinterland
Central Coast + Mid North Coast
- Central Coast CouncilCentral Coast DCP, Northern Lakes growth corridor, Koala SEPP
- Port Macquarie-Hastings CouncilHastings River catchment + coastal-residential growth
- Kempsey Shire CouncilMacleay River catchment
- City of Coffs HarbourCoffs Coast tourism + subtropical-transition hinterland
Australian Standards
The reference framework we work to on every consulting engagement:
- AS 4970-2025 — Protection of Trees on Development SitesThe current Australian Standard for AIA, TPP, NRZ/TPZ/SRZ calculations, encroachment classification. Cited in every AIA we issue.
- AS 4373-2007 — Pruning of Amenity TreesThe Australian Standard for tree pruning specifications. Cited in every pruning spec we write.
- Standards Australia (main catalogue)For purchasing copies of standards. Most Australian Standards are paywalled by Standards Australia.
Peak bodies & professional associations
- Arboriculture AustraliaNational peak body for arboriculture. Publishes Minimum Industry Standards. Member directory + CPD resources.
- International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)International peak body. Issues the ISA TRAQ certification we hold.
- ISA Australian Chapter (ISAAP)Australia-Pacific chapter of ISA. NSW members directory + local CPD events.
- Institute of Australian Consulting Arboriculturalists (IACA)Australian consulting arborist peak body. Publishes the IACA STAR significance-assessment methodology.
- TreenetAustralian street-tree research network. Useful for urban-canopy and council-asset arboricultural research.
NSW Government & regulatory frameworks
- NSW Department of Planning, Housing & InfrastructureState planning framework. Local Strategic Planning Statements + state-level environmental planning policies.
- NSW Biodiversity Conservation Division (BCD)Administers the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and BAM offset framework. Relevant where habitat-bearing trees are removed.
- Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM)The methodology framework for biodiversity offset assessment. Applies to development triggering biodiversity impacts.
- NSW Koala SEPPState Environmental Planning Policy for koala habitat protection. Relevant on Central Coast and Mid North Coast sites with koala-habitat tree species.
- SafeWork NSWNSW Work Health & Safety regulator. High-risk work licences for arboricultural operations.
Tree valuation & risk methodologies
- Burnley School of Horticulture, University of MelbourneHome of the Burnley Method — the dominant Australian tree-valuation methodology (Moore 1991, revised). Used in our Tree Valuation service.
- ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ)The international risk-assessment framework we use in Tree Risk Assessments. Qualified TRAQ assessors are listed in the ISA directory.
- Treenet research databaseAustralian urban-tree research. Useful for canopy, species and survival data on street trees and council assets.
Court & legal frameworks
- NSW Land & Environment CourtThe court that hears most tree-related civil matters in NSW — boundary tree disputes, illegal removal compensation, biodiversity offset disputes.
- UCPR Schedule 7 — Expert Witness Code of ConductThe legal framework for expert evidence in NSW civil proceedings. Every Expert Witness report we issue complies with this code.
- Supreme Court of NSW — Practice NotesPractice Note SC Gen 11 (Joint Conferences of Experts) governs the conference-of-experts process for tree-related civil proceedings.
Want to dig into the methodology behind our work?
These are the reference materials behind our day-to-day consulting practice. The combination of AS 4970-2025 + ISA TRAQ + Burnley Method + UCPR Schedule 7 is the backbone of nearly every engagement we deliver. If you’re working with us, you’re working inside that framework. If you’re working with another arborist, these are the references that let you sanity-check the methodology being applied.
Got a project? Want a methodology referral?
If you’ve reviewed the methodology above and want to commission work that uses it, get in touch. We deliver under each of these frameworks routinely across NSW.
1300 859 510 Send us an enquiry