10/50 Bushfire Tree Clearing in Penrith
When Trees and Vegetation May Be Cleared Under the NSW RFS 10/50 Scheme, and When They Cannot
Some Penrith properties sit within a NSW Rural Fire Service 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Entitlement Area, a designated zone where eligible landowners can clear certain vegetation near their home without Council’s normal tree-removal approval.
Where the Code applies, it allows two different things, not one: trees may be removed within 10 metres of an eligible building, and non-tree vegetation such as shrubs, groundcover and understorey may be removed within 50 metres. These are not the same entitlement, and the 50-metre distance does not extend the tree-removal right.
Being in a bushfire-prone part of Penrith does not automatically mean a property has a 10/50 entitlement. Eligibility is checked parcel by parcel using the NSW RFS online tool. This guide explains what the Code actually allows, how it differs from Penrith Council’s ordinary Vegetation Permit pathway, and where the two schemes intersect.
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What Does 10/50 Actually Allow?
For a parcel of land within a designated entitlement area, the NSW RFS Code allows two distinct clearing rights, on the landowner’s own land.
The 50-metre figure is often misread as extending the tree-removal right. It does not.
Distances are measured from the external wall of the eligible building, which includes permanent attached structures like decks, verandahs, pergolas and garages, but not detached garages, sheds, water tanks, paved or concreted areas, or exempt-development structures such as SEPP-compliant decks built from non-combustible material.
Within 10 metres
of an eligible building, trees and other vegetation may be removed, destroyed by means other than fire, or pruned in accordance with the Code.
Within 50 metres
of an eligible building, non-tree vegetation such as shrubs and groundcover may be removed, destroyed or pruned. A tree whose trunk sits more than 10 metres from the building cannot be removed under the 50-metre entitlement. Branches extending within 10 metres of the building may still be pruned, regardless of where the trunk stands, provided the pruning complies with AS 4373-2007. If achieving a compliant cut would require pruning beyond the 10-metre distance, that pruning cannot be undertaken under the Code.
First Check Whether Your Penrith Property Is Eligible
The 10/50 Code applies only to parcels of land, or cadastre lots, that are wholly or partially mapped as a 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Entitlement Area. As of the current scheme, the entitlement area generally extends up to 100 metres from higher-risk vegetation, but the only reliable way to confirm eligibility for a specific Penrith property is the RFS online tool, not an assumption based on distance from bushland.
The correct sequence:
- Search the RFS online tool for the specific address
- If the property has more than one lot, check each separately, since eligibility can differ between adjoining parcels near the entitlement boundary
- Read the result for mapped exclusions and the current Code of Practice
- Re-check the tool on the day clearing is proposed, since the entitlement area and rules can change and only the rules in force on the day apply
- Keep a copy of the search result as evidence
If a property is not in the entitlement area, or is excluded despite being mapped within one, the standard pathway is Penrith Council’s Vegetation Permit process, not the 10/50 Code.
What Buildings Does 10/50 Apply To?
The Code applies to vegetation adjacent to the external wall of two categories of building.
Residential accommodation or a high-risk facility
Dwelling houses, attached and semi-detached and multi-dwelling housing, group homes, boarding houses, seniors housing, tourist accommodation, caravans in caravan parks, and manufactured homes in manufactured home estates, plus high-risk facilities specifically defined as childcare centres, schools and hospitals, but not universities, colleges or TAFEs.
A farm shed
A building on RU1, RU2 or RU4 zoned land, with a floor area over 50 square metres, used substantially by a primary producer for cultivation, beekeeping, aquaculture, livestock rearing or related processing. Directly relevant to Penrith’s rural and semi-rural properties around Londonderry, Castlereagh, Berkshire Park, Mulgoa, Wallacia and Luddenham.
In both cases, the building must have lawful development consent or other lawful authority for its use. The RFS states that an interim occupation certificate is not treated as lawful authority for occupancy for 10/50 purposes. However, lawful-occupancy requirements can vary depending on when the building was approved, so this is worth confirming directly with Council for a specific property. Clearing also cannot be carried out before the building is actually constructed, even if development consent has been issued.
How Is the 10-Metre Tree Distance Measured?
The 10-metre entitlement is not measured from canopy edge or by eye.
Under the Code, a tree is a perennial woody plant at least 3 metres in height, with one or more self-supporting trunks, at least one of which has a circumference greater than 30 centimetres, measured at 1.3 metres above ground. Multi-stemmed trees are included; shrubs and vines are excluded.
A tree may only be removed where any part of the trunk meeting that definition, measured at 1.3 metres above ground, sits within 10 metres of the external wall of the eligible building. Where a tree is close to this boundary, it should be measured rather than estimated.
Can I Use My Neighbour’s House for the 10/50 Distance?
Sometimes, but only with written consent.
The entitlement applies regardless of whether the qualifying building sits on the landowner’s own land or on adjoining land. Where a landowner does not have an eligible building on their own property and is relying on a neighbour’s building to establish the entitlement, written consent is required from that adjoining landowner. If buildings on more than one adjoining parcel are relied on, written consent is required from each.
The vegetation being cleared must still be on land the person owns or is authorised to clear. This consent authorises use of the neighbour’s building as the measurement point, not clearing on the neighbour’s land itself.
Irrespective of where a tree’s trunk is located, branches extending within 10 metres of an eligible building may be pruned under the Code, provided the pruning complies with AS 4373-2007. This applies to overhanging branches from a neighbour’s tree as much as a landowner’s own. Where carrying out the required pruning involves entering or working on adjoining land, the relevant neighbour’s permission is still required for that.
Being Eligible Does Not Mean Every Tree Can Be Cleared
Even within a mapped entitlement area, several categories of vegetation remain excluded from the Code. The RFS online tool identifies most of these against the specific property, but the responsibility to confirm sits with the landowner.
Mapped exclusions
Clearing is not permitted where the land is wholly or partially within an area identified as wetlands, coastal or littoral areas, or specified Koala habitat; critically endangered plants or ecological communities, including several that occur within the broader Sydney Basin Bioregion relevant to Western Sydney such as Cumberland Plain Woodland and Shale Sandstone Transition Forest; National Parks and Wildlife Act reserved land, World Heritage areas, or land of high environmental significance; an Aboriginal Place, or a NSW State or local heritage listing; or other mapped environmental or cultural constraints identified by the RFS online tool.
Not mapped, but still excluded
Mangroves and coastal saltmarsh, and Aboriginal culturally modified or scarred trees, which the landowner must independently assess against the Office of Environment and Heritage field manual once the online tool flags a parcel as a potential match.
A note on mapping accuracy
For several of these categories, the Code specifies that if a parcel is incorrectly mapped as falling within a protected category, the exclusion does not actually apply. The onus is on the landowner to demonstrate the mapping is wrong, not to assume it.
For Penrith properties, this matters most on the LGA’s larger rural, semi-rural and bushland-interface land, including Mulgoa, Wallacia, Londonderry, Castlereagh and similar areas already covered on our ward pages, where these ecological and heritage categories are more likely to be genuinely present. The RFS online tool identifies the specific exclusions attached to a given property; this page summarises the categories rather than reproducing the Code’s full statewide list.
What Happens Near Rivers and Lakes?
The 10/50 Code does not permit clearing of trees or other vegetation within 10 metres of a river that is 2 metres or more wide between its highest opposite banks, or within 10 metres of a lake, a definition that also captures wetlands, lagoons and saltmarsh.
The buffer is measured from the highest bank, or the tidal limit where no defined high bank exists, and applies on either side.
This riparian buffer sits independently of the standard 10-metre building-based entitlement. A tree can be within 10 metres of an eligible building and still be protected if it also sits within 10 metres of a qualifying watercourse.
What if the tree is on a steep slope?
Additional restrictions apply where land exceeds 18 degrees of slope. Tree removal is not permitted except in accordance with a Geotechnical Engineer Assessment Report prepared for that purpose, and pruning is only permitted where at least 75 per cent of the original canopy is retained, unless that report specifies otherwise. Slope should be professionally established rather than estimated visually where there is any uncertainty.
Soil erosion and landslip conditions apply on any slope being cleared under the Code: no disturbance of the soil profile, no removal of vegetation below the soil surface, retention of a protective ground cover, and all topsoil kept in place. Graders, ploughs, dozers, excavators or similar heavy machinery are not permitted.
Landowners retain a duty of care for erosion and landslip risk regardless of compliance. Operating within the Code does not remove liability if a landslip causes loss to another party.
Does 10/50 Override Penrith Council Tree Controls?
Partially, and with an important limit.
Where clearing is genuinely carried out in accordance with the 10/50 Code, it overrides a local Tree Preservation Order. The landowner is not required to advise Council first, and trees that would otherwise be protected can be cleared.
But 10/50 cannot be used inconsistently with specified legal obligations protecting vegetation, including a condition of Development Consent or other approval under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 that identifies and requires vegetation to be retained and managed for conservation purposes. Where a Penrith DA condition of that kind applies, for example a condition requiring specified trees to be retained as part of an approved landscape or tree-protection plan, clearing cannot proceed under 10/50 contrary to it. The same protection extends to Court orders, registered conservation covenants and several categories of conservation agreement.
For a Penrith property with retained-tree conditions, landscape conditions or tree-protection requirements attached to a Development Consent, those conditions remain binding regardless of 10/50 eligibility.
If 10/50 does not apply, because the property is not in the entitlement area, the vegetation is excluded, or a Development Consent condition prevents it, Penrith Council’s ordinary Vegetation Permit and development pathways remain the relevant route.
Council and NSW RFS information last verified: 30 August 2026. Council and NSW RFS requirements can change. This page provides general guidance current as of the date above. For a determination specific to your property, confirm current requirements with Penrith City Council, the NSW RFS or arrange a site assessment.
10/50 Is Not a General Tree-Removal Exemption
The scheme exists specifically for bushfire preparedness, not as a substitute pathway for ordinary tree removal simply because a property is near bushland.
Being generally bushfire-prone is not, by itself, evidence that eligibility, distance, exclusions and any Development Consent conditions have all been checked.
Work through those questions, covered in the sections above, before clearing proceeds.
When an Arboricultural Assessment Can Help
An AQF Level 5 Arborist Report is not automatically required simply because a property sits in a 10/50 entitlement area. The Code is a self-assessment scheme, and landowners can, in principle, work through it themselves using the RFS online tool.
Arboricultural assessment tends to add genuine value where there is uncertainty about:
- whether vegetation meets the Code’s specific tree definition
- accurate trunk measurement against the 10-metre boundary
- species identification near an exclusion boundary
- multiple trees where some may qualify and others may not
- pruning compliance with AS 4373-2007 where a tree straddles the 10-metre line
- whether the entitlement interacts with an existing Development Consent condition, or whether Penrith Council’s ordinary Vegetation Permit pathway applies instead because 10/50 does not
Where the relevant issue is primarily slope, heritage, Aboriginal cultural heritage or ecological significance, other appropriately qualified professionals such as a surveyor, heritage consultant or ecologist may be the more relevant specialist rather than an arborist.
Request an assessmentFrequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the 10/50 clearing entitlement in Penrith.
Is every bushfire-prone property in Penrith eligible for 10/50 clearing?
No.
The scheme applies only to land within the specifically designated entitlement area. Proximity to bushland or a bushfire-prone land classification does not by itself confirm eligibility. Check the RFS online tool for the specific parcel.
Can I remove any tree within 10 metres of my house?
No.
The land must be within the entitlement area, the tree must meet the Code’s height and trunk-circumference definition and distance requirement, and no exclusion, whether heritage, ecological, waterway, slope or an applicable Development Consent condition, can prevent the clearing.
Can I remove trees within 50 metres?
No.
The 50-metre entitlement allows removal of non-tree vegetation, not trees. A tree whose trunk is beyond 10 metres from the building cannot be removed under that entitlement. Branches extending within 10 metres of the building may still be pruned in accordance with AS 4373-2007, regardless of where the trunk sits, subject to the Code’s pruning restrictions.
Do I need a Penrith Council Vegetation Permit if 10/50 applies?
Generally not, where the clearing is genuinely carried out in accordance with the 10/50 Code.
Normal Council tree-preservation approval generally is not required and Council does not need to be advised first. However, other restrictions, particularly an existing Development Consent condition, can still prevent the clearing regardless of 10/50 eligibility.
Can 10/50 override a Development Consent condition protecting vegetation?
Not where the condition falls within the Code’s protected legal obligations.
This includes a Development Consent or approval condition that identifies and requires vegetation to be retained and managed for conservation purposes. The consent should be checked before relying on 10/50.
Should I check the RFS map once and keep using the result?
No.
The RFS instructs landowners to check the online tool again on the day clearing occurs, because the entitlement area, exclusions and rules can change, and only the rules in force at the time of clearing apply. Keep a copy of each search result for your records.
Does 10/50 apply to my farm shed, not just my house?
It can.
The shed must meet the Code’s specific definition, including the applicable rural zoning, floor area over 50 square metres and genuine primary-production use. This is separate from, and in addition to, the residential-accommodation entitlement.
Can I burn cleared vegetation under 10/50?
No.
The Code covers clearing methods other than fire. Burning vegetation requires separate approval and is not authorised by the 10/50 Code.
Not Sure Whether 10/50 Applies to Your Tree?
Before relying on the 10/50 Scheme, confirm the property’s entitlement status, the tree’s measured distance, any applicable exclusions, and whether an existing Development Consent condition affects the tree.
If you need help assessing the tree itself, confirming a borderline measurement, or determining whether Penrith Council’s ordinary tree-removal pathway applies instead, we can assess the circumstances before work proceeds.
AQF Level 5 Consulting ArboristsQTRA & TRAQ Qualified32+ Years’ Arboricultural Experience