Council demolition requirements
Demolishing a house in the Waverley Council area
What Waverley 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 9 suburbs we service across the Eastern Suburbs.
How the council handles demolition approvals
Waverley Council recommends checking a section 10.7 planning certificate and whether a project is exempt or complying development, with a CDC available through the council or a private certifier. Anything else needs a DA.
Heritage items and conservation areas
Waverley has 17 heritage conservation areas. Most work on a heritage property needs a DA, though minor works may use a Heritage Exemption Certificate instead.
Conservation areas the council names: Blenheim Street, Bondi Beach, Botany Street, Brighton Boulevard, Brown Street, Busby Parade, Charing Cross, Collingwood Street, Evans Street, Grafton Street, Imperial Avenue, Mill Hill, Palmerston Avenue, Queens Park, Watkins Street, Woodstock Street, Yenda Avenue.
Trees on the block
A Tree Permit is needed to prune or remove a tree 3 metres or taller and/or with a 3 metre canopy, a registered significant tree, or a heritage item or conservation-area tree; a DA may follow. Approved work needs at least an AQF Level 3 arborist.
Flood and bushfire mapping
Waverley adopted flood planning controls, including flood risk precincts, in May 2024. Its flood study was endorsed in April 2021, and a Flood Risk Management Study and Plan was adopted on 10 March 2026.
Also worth knowing
After a DA or CDC is approved, the Principal Certifier mainly oversees construction, and in Waverley most developments use private certifiers.
Council pages change. Treat this as a starting point and confirm requirements with Waverley Council or your certifier before setting a demolition date. Waverley 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.
Start with your property
Planning a demolition in the Waverley 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.