Gleditsia triacanthos · Fabaceae
Honey Locust 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 compound leaves that cast light dappled shade and turn clear yellow in autumn. The wild form carries clusters of long branched thorns on the trunk and limbs. Long twisted brown seed pods.
Planted as a shade tree across the Inner West, City of Sydney, Hills District and Blacktown, with the thornless cultivars most common in gardens.
Exempt in Northern Beaches, Hornsby, City of Sydney, Inner West, Woollahra and Georges River. Where the tree has reverted to the thorny form, handling and clean up need particular care.
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 | 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 | 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 | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
Most garden specimens are thornless cultivars. Seedlings from them frequently revert to the thorny wild form, which is why a self sown Honey Locust can be far more hazardous than its parent.
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 Bostonian13 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
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.
