Bushfire Precautions

If you take one thing from this guide, let it be this: the trees that cause problems during bushfire season are almost always the ones nobody has looked at in a while. A quick check for deadwood, low branches near your roofline and gaps between canopies is the single most useful thing you can do before spring properly sets in, and it takes far less time than most people expect.

What You’ll Learn About Preparing Your Trees for Bushfire Season

• Why trees can protect your home during a bushfire, and when they become a liability instead
• The exact checks I run on a property before bushfire season starts
• How far your trees should really sit from your house
• What the 10/50 Rule means for your property, and how to check if you qualify
• My honest answer on whether you should remove a tree before summer

I get asked about this most years around now, usually by someone who has just felt the first hot, dry week of spring and started eyeing off the big gum at the back fence. The good news is that getting your trees ready for bushfire season doesn’t usually mean removing anything. In twenty-odd years doing this work across Sydney’s North Shore, the properties that come through fire season best are rarely the ones with no trees at all. They’re the ones where the trees have actually been looked after.

The Pre-Season Tree Checklist I Actually Use

When my team goes out to check a property ahead of bushfire season, we’re looking at three things, in this order:

1. Deadwood and dead limbs in the crown. This is the fuel that catches first and burns fastest.
2. How close branches sit to the roofline, eaves and gutters. This is the most common way embers and flame get a foothold on a house.
3. The gap between one tree’s canopy and the next, since fire can move from tree to tree if crowns are touching or close.

None of this requires removing a healthy tree. Most of the time it’s a prune, not a removal, and it’s a job worth doing well before the Bush Fire Danger Period opens rather than in the middle of it.

How Far Should Trees Really Be From My House?

As a rough rule, CSIRO’s bushfire research recommends keeping trees at least one and a half times their mature height away from a building, mainly so a falling limb or trunk can’t reach the structure. It’s a guideline rather than a guarantee, and it isn’t always achievable on a typical Sydney block, which is exactly why the maintenance side (removing deadwood, clearing low branches, keeping canopies separated) matters just as much as spacing. If your trees are already closer than that, good maintenance does most of the work that distance would otherwise do.

The 10/50 Rule: What It Actually Means for Your Trees

If you’re eligible, the 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Entitlement lets you remove trees within 10 metres of your home and clear other vegetation within 50 metres without needing council approval. I’ll be upfront about the catch: eligibility depends on your specific address, not just your suburb, so it’s worth checking the NSW RFS’s own eligibility tool before assuming it applies to you. I’ve seen people assume they qualify and start clearing without checking first, which can land you in a difficult conversation with your council if it turns out you don’t.

Should You Remove a Tree Before Bushfire Season?

My honest answer is: usually not, and only if it’s genuinely warranted. My approach has always been preservation before removal, and bushfire season doesn’t change that. If a tree is healthy, well clear of your roofline and free of deadwood, removing it is unlikely to make your property meaningfully safer, and you lose the shade, privacy and, yes, the wind and ember protection a good tree provides.

Where I would recommend removal is when a tree is already in poor health, structurally unsound, or so close to the house that pruning genuinely can’t fix the problem. That’s a judgement call worth getting a second opinion on rather than guessing, which is exactly what a proper Tree Risk Assessment is for.

Related Reading

• Tree Risk Assessment: for a proper professional read on whether a tree is a genuine risk
• Emergency Tree Removal: if a tree has already been damaged or is posing an immediate risk
• August Jobs: Getting Ready for Spring: for the rest of your pre-spring garden checklist

FAQs About Preparing Your Trees for Bushfire Season

Do trees make bushfires worse?

Not on their own. A tree becomes a fire risk when it’s carrying deadwood, has branches touching a roofline, or sits too close to another tree’s canopy. A healthy, well-maintained tree with good clearance can actually help shield a home from wind, heat and embers rather than add to the risk.

How far should trees be from my house for bushfire safety?

CSIRO’s bushfire research suggests keeping trees at least one and a half times their mature height from a building, so a falling limb can’t reach it. Where that’s not possible on a smaller block, keeping the tree free of deadwood and low branches matters just as much.

What is the 10/50 Rule and does it apply to my property?

The 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Entitlement lets eligible NSW properties clear trees within 10 metres and other vegetation within 50 metres of a home without council approval. Eligibility is address-specific, so check the NSW RFS’s own online tool before assuming your property qualifies.

When does bushfire season start in NSW?

The NSW Bush Fire Danger Period officially runs from 1 October to 31 March, though some council areas bring it forward. It’s worth having any tree work done before this window opens rather than during it.

Should I remove a tree before bushfire season?

Usually not, if the tree is healthy. Removing a well-maintained tree rarely makes a property meaningfully safer and costs you the shade and protection it provides. Removal is worth considering only when a tree is already unhealthy, structurally unsound or too close to the house for pruning to fix.