Council demolition requirements
Demolishing a house in the Woollahra Municipal Council area
What Woollahra Municipal 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 10 suburbs we service across the Eastern Suburbs and Sydney City.
How the council handles demolition approvals
Woollahra Municipal Council requires a demolition report from a qualified heritage consultant with any DA to fully or substantially demolish a building, as unlisted buildings may still have heritage significance. Demolishing a heritage item or a building in a conservation area needs a statement of heritage impact instead.
Heritage items and conservation areas
Woollahra’s heritage controls cover heritage items, conservation areas and archaeological items, and the council must consider heritage effects before approving certain work. Minor works may use a heritage works without consent application, and some complying development is allowed in conservation areas under extra standards.
Trees on the block
Woollahra notes that development can affect trees on the site, next door and in the street, and requires DAs to include tree reports by appropriately qualified professionals.
Flood and bushfire mapping
Flood studies are underway for the Double Bay, Paddington, Rose Bay, Rushcutters Bay and Watsons Bay catchments, and the council publishes an estuary planning levels database for properties.
Fees, bonds and public land
Woollahra’s road and footpath permits cover road openings, standing plant and construction work in public roads, and there is a form to apply for a security bond refund.
Council pages change. Treat this as a starting point and confirm requirements with Woollahra Municipal Council or your certifier before setting a demolition date. Woollahra Municipal 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 Woollahra Municipal 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.