Damage caused by a public tree

While Council maintains trees on public land, this does not make us automatically liable if a tree causes damage.

Blacktown City Council is responsible to manage a large number of public trees and trees are essential green infrastructure assets that are critical in creating health and liveability of our city.

Our qualified arborists carry out inspections in response to reported concerns and schedule maintenance based on the priority. However, it is not possible to regularly inspect every tree, and resource limits can affect how quickly work is completed. Our trees are inspected using ground-level visual assessments to identify visible defects or signs of stress, meaning some issues or defects may not be detectable during an inspection.

While trees can sometimes cause damage, for Council to be held liable it must be proven that we have breached our duty of care and therefore acted negligently.

Below are some common types of tree claims—choose the icon that best matches yours to see how Council manages these situations.

Fallen tree and branches

Trees and branches can fall at any time—even from healthy trees. A failure however does not automatically mean the tree is unsafe or defective, or that a tree poses a risk simply because of its size, height, location, or prior branch failures.

Most failures are unforeseen, unexpected, and outside Council’s control. Even with regular inspections, pruning, and maintenance to our trees, it cannot always prevent such incidents from occurring.

Therefore, it is unlikely we will be liable for damage caused by fallen trees or branches in situations such as:

failure during or after strong winds or storms;
unexpected tree failure which occurs after a recent inspection that found no health or structural issues;
unexpected branch failure where a recent inspection found no branches at imminent risk of failing;
failure of a tree or its branches which has not been inspected and where Council had no prior knowledge of any defects.

Tree root damage

It is important to understand that Council cannot investigate private property damage.

Property owners are responsible to investigate to determine the cause of the damage to their property and provide evidence to Council if roots from a public tree are identified to have caused damage. Photos are insufficient evidence proving causation; you may need to engage a qualified expert (e.g. structural engineer, plumber or AQF Level 5 arborist) to investigate the cause, which may include excavation to expose the roots or CCTV to inspect the internal condition of the pipe.

Please download the relevant information sheet below depending on your concerns regarding tree roots for guidance on what steps you may need to take and Council’s responsibilities in these situations.

Tree root damage to property structures(PDF, 169KB) Tree root interference with pipes(PDF, 165KB)

How are compensation claims assessed?

To be eligible for compensation for damage caused by tree roots, or by the failure of a public tree or one of its branches, you must demonstrate that we had prior actual knowledge of the defect or issue before the incident occurred or before the damage first arose and that we failed to take reasonable action to mitigate the risk within the resources available to us.

All compensation claims are investigated to determine if we are legally responsible for damage caused by a public tree. In determining our legal liability, we consider the legal provisions under the NSW Civil Liability Act 2002 as well as any other relevant case law and legislation.

Can Council arrange repairs?

No. Council cannot arrange repairs to private assets or pay repairers or suppliers directly.

If Council is legally liable, we will compensate or reimburse the property upon receiving sufficient evidence of the loss or repair costs (e.g. invoices, receipts, or two comparable quotes).

Payments are made without admission of liability and require a signed Release Agreement.

How long does a claim take to be assessed?

Claims may take up to 6 weeks or longer, depending on the information required and any complexities of the claim.

If you have insurance, we recommend you consider lodging a claim with your insurer first who can provide immediate assistance, as the lengthy task of proving negligence under your own insurance is not required. Your insurer may then consider recovering costs from Council on your behalf if negligence can be proven.

If you disagree with our decision of your claim

If you disagree with our decision of your claim and wish to seek a review, you will need to provide new or additional documentary evidence or proof to support your position. We will not review our decision if no new or supporting information is provided.

A review of our decision regarding your claim may be considered where:

the information on which the original determination was based is incorrect or insufficient, or
new evidence becomes available that could reasonably change the outcome of the claim.

If you remain dissatisfied with our decision, we suggest you seek independent legal advice.

How to lodge a compensation claim

Lodging a claim:

All compensation claims must be lodged in writing along with supporting evidence. If you wish to proceed in lodging a claim, you can do so by:

Completing the online compensation claim form below; or

You can download our compensation claim form(PDF, 769KB) and send us your completed form via either:

Email: council@blacktown.nsw.gov.au
Post: PO Box 63, Blacktown NSW 2148

If you are unsure whether you can claim for your damage or loss, we suggest you seek independent legal advice.

Evidence required:

Please ensure you attach all supporting evidence which may include, but not limited to:

map/diagram marking the exact location where the incident occurred
photographs highlighting the exact tree responsible for causing damage
photographs of the damage to the property or vehicle
expert reports and/or evidence confirming causation of damage caused by tree roots as outlined in the attachments ‘Tree roots and property damage’(PDF, 169KB) or ‘Tree roots interference with pipes’(PDF, 165KB)
a copy of the vehicle registration certificate valid at the time of the incident confirming the registered owner of the vehicle, if applicable
a photocopy of the driver licence of the person driving the vehicle at the time of the incident, if applicable
2 quotes to repair the damage to the property or vehicle or receipt/invoice for the costs incurred to repair the damage