Council demolition requirements
Demolishing a house in the Canterbury Bankstown Council area
What Canterbury Bankstown Council publishes about demolition approvals, heritage, trees and site conditions, read from its own pages on 21 September 2026. The council or certifier confirms the pathway for your address.
Covers 38 suburbs we service across the Inner West, South West Sydney, St George and Parramatta.
How the council handles demolition approvals
Canterbury Bankstown Council lists demolishing a building as development that needs council approval, with DAs lodged through the NSW Planning Portal. Unauthorised work can bring on-the-spot fines from $3,000 for individuals and $6,000 for companies.
Heritage items and conservation areas
The council names the Ashbury Heritage Conservation Area (most of Ashbury and part of Croydon Park) and six conservation areas in Hurlstone Park. Changing a heritage-listed property needs development consent, though minor works and maintenance may not if written council advice is obtained first.
Conservation areas the council names: Ashbury Heritage Conservation Area.
Trees on the block
Trees over 5 metres that aren’t on the exempt species list need permission for most work; trees within 3 metres of the main house wall are exempt. Approved removals must be replaced 3:1 within 28 days, and work must be done by an AQF Level 3 arborist.
Flood and bushfire mapping
The council’s planning controls manage flood risk on flood prone land, using high, medium and low risk precincts mapped by the Georges River floodplain study. Since July 2021, councils must also consider development impacts in low flood risk areas.
Fees, bonds and public land
All demolition needs a Roads Reserve Damage Inspections work permit, applied for with the owner’s consent. Inspection bookings need the permit number, a $20 million public liability certificate and at least two business days’ notice.
Council pages change. Treat this as a starting point and confirm requirements with Canterbury Bankstown Council or your certifier before setting a demolition date. Canterbury Bankstown Council website
The same across NSW
What applies in every council area
Council requirements sit on top of state rules that do not change from one area to the next.
Approval pathway
Most house demolition needs either a development application to the council or a complying development certificate from the council or a registered certifier under the state Demolition Code. Heritage items and conservation areas are generally excluded from the complying pathway.
Read the approvals guideLicensed demolition
Demolition work is licensed by SafeWork NSW. Gabrael holds restricted demolition licence AD202697 (DE2) and lodges the required notifications for the work it carries out.
How to check a contractorAsbestos
Suspected asbestos must be assessed before the building is disturbed. Our Class B licence AD211249 covers bonded, non-friable material; friable asbestos is removed by our Class A licensed partner.
Asbestos before demolitionUtilities
Water, sewer, electricity, gas and telecommunications are disconnected or abolished through the providers before demolition, and Before You Dig Australia is checked for services.
Utility disconnections guideNeighbours
Approval conditions commonly set working hours and neighbour notice, and a dilapidation report protects both sides where buildings sit close to the boundary.
Neighbours and noticeWaste
Concrete, timber and metals are sorted for licensed recycling and asbestos goes to an approved disposal facility with documentation. Some councils ask for a waste plan with the application.
Where the waste goes
Suburbs we service in this council area
Suburbs that sit across a council boundary appear under each council. We confirm the council for the exact address before preparing an application.
- Ashbury
- Bankstown
- Bass Hill
- Belfield
- Belmore
- Beverly Hills
- Birrong
- Campsie
- Canterbury
- Chester Hill
- Chullora
- Clemton Park
- Condell Park
- Croydon Park
- Earlwood
- East Hills
- Georges Hall
- Greenacre
- Hurlstone Park
- Kingsgrove
- Lakemba
- Milperra
- Mount Lewis
- Narwee
- Padstow
- Padstow Heights
- Panania
- Potts Hill
- Punchbowl
- Regents Park
- Revesby
- Revesby Heights
- Riverwood
- Roselands
- Sefton
- Villawood
- Wiley Park
- Yagoona
Start with your property
Planning a demolition in the Canterbury Bankstown Council area?
Send the property address and what needs to go. We check the council, planning controls and heritage status for the address, then arrange a free site assessment.
7am to 7pm, seven days.