Bambusa and Phyllostachys species · Poaceae
Bamboo is exempt in some councils and protected in others, and several exemptions carry a height limit. Check the table below against the council for your address before assuming a permit is not needed.
Hollow jointed canes in clumps or spreading stands. Clumping types such as Bambusa stay in a defined clump. Running types such as Phyllostachys send rhizomes long distances and emerge many metres from the original planting.
Planted as screening across all of Sydney and a frequent source of boundary disputes, particularly in the Inner West, Eastern Suburbs, Lower North Shore and Canterbury-Bankstown.
Exempt in most councils covered here, including North Sydney, Ryde, City of Sydney, Inner West, Woollahra, Randwick, Bayside, Georges River and Canterbury-Bankstown. The challenge is the rhizome mass, which often needs excavation and follow up treatment, and root barriers where it crosses a boundary.
Status below is for a tree on private land that has passed the council's size threshold. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping and conditions of development consent override every exemption shown here.
| Council | Status | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Beaches | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Ku-ring-gai | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Hornsby Shire | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| The Hills Shire | Confirm with Council | Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. |
| Blacktown City | Permit required | Council does not run a species exemption list. A permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold, and each tree is assessed on its own merits. |
| North Sydney | No permit needed | On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. |
| Willoughby | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Lane Cove | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| City of Ryde | No permit needed | On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. |
| Hunters Hill | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| City of Sydney | No permit needed | On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. |
| Inner West | No permit needed | On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. |
| Woollahra | No permit needed | On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. |
| Waverley | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Randwick | No permit needed | On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. |
| Bayside | No permit needed | On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. |
| Georges River | No permit needed | On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. |
| Strathfield | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Burwood | Confirm with Council | Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | No permit needed | On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. |
Yes, but it takes excavation of the rhizome mass and usually follow up treatment of regrowth over a season. Cutting canes alone achieves nothing. Where it has crossed a boundary the neighbour's side needs addressing too.
This encyclopedia is a practical guide for Sydney property owners, not legal advice. Council tree rules change, and exemptions are frequently overridden by heritage listings, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping, endangered ecological communities and conditions attached to development consent. Always confirm the current rules with your council for your specific address before any tree work begins, or ask us to check it for you.
Photo by Dvellakat via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Our arborists work across 20 Sydney councils every week. We will identify the species, check the rules for your address and handle the permit application if one is needed.
