Acacia baileyana · Fabaceae
Cootamundra Wattle 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.
Fine feathery silver blue foliage and masses of bright golden ball flowers in winter and early spring. Usually a small multi stemmed tree that leans and splits with age.
Planted widely and now naturalised through bushland across the North Shore, Hornsby Shire, Northern Beaches and the Hills District, where it hybridises with and displaces local wattles.
Exempt in the Northern Beaches, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Georges River and Canterbury-Bankstown, and generally quick work because the timber is soft and the size modest. Removing seedlings at the same time is worth including in the scope.
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 | 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. |
| 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 | 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. |
| 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 | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| 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 | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Hunters Hill | 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. |
| City of Sydney | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Inner West | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Woollahra | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Waverley | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Randwick | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Bayside | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| 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. |
It is native to a small area around Cootamundra in southern NSW, not to Sydney. In Sydney bushland it spreads aggressively and hybridises with local wattle species, which is why several councils list it as exempt.
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 John Robert McPherson 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.
