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Cabbage Tree Palm

Livistona australis · Arecaceae
25m
Mature height
0
Councils: no permit needed
0
Councils: exempt under a height limit
20
Councils: permit required
Cabbage Tree Palm (Livistona australis) growing in Sydney
Cabbage Tree Palm · typical mature form

Do you need a permit?

Cabbage Tree Palm is a protected tree in effectively every council Pro Climbing Tree Services covers. Expect to need a tree permit, or a development application where the property is heritage listed or in a heritage conservation area.

How to identify it

A tall slender solitary palm with a ringed grey trunk and a crown of large fan shaped fronds on spiny stalks. Old frond bases persist on younger trunks. Cream flowers on long branched stalks, followed by red black fruit.

Where it grows in Sydney

Native to gullies and moist forest through the Northern Beaches, Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby and the Lane Cove valley, and widely planted in gardens across Sydney.

Common problems

  • Heavy fronds that drop from height
  • Fruit drop that stains paving and spreads seedlings
  • Frequently the only palm excluded from council palm exemptions
  • Crowding in narrow side setbacks

What removal involves

The important point for quoting: Northern Beaches exempts all palms except this one, and Randwick protects every palm regardless of size. So a Cabbage Tree Palm is the palm that needs a permit when its neighbours do not. Removal itself is straightforward, usually climbed and sectioned with minimal rigging.

Council permit rules, council by council

Status below is for a tree on private land that has passed the council’s size threshold. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping and conditions of development consent override every exemption shown here.

Council
Status
What it means
Northern Beaches
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Ku-ring-gai
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Hornsby Shire
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
The Hills Shire
Confirm with Council
Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules
Blacktown City
Permit required
Council does not run a species exemption list. A permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold, and each tree is assessed on its own merits. Official rules
North Sydney
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Willoughby
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Lane Cove
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
City of Ryde
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Hunters Hill
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
City of Sydney
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Inner West
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Woollahra
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Waverley
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Randwick
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Bayside
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Georges River
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Strathfield
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Burwood
Confirm with Council
Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules
Canterbury-Bankstown
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules

Frequently asked questions

All the palms in my garden are exempt on the Northern Beaches. Why not this one?

The Northern Beaches exemption reads all palms other than Livistona australis, the Cabbage Tree Palm. It is the native palm and is specifically carved out of the exemption.

Is it exempt in Randwick?

No. Randwick protects any palm, cycad or tree fern regardless of size, with the Cocos Palm being the notable exception on its exempt species list.

Commonly confused with

Bangalow Palm
Both native palms, but Cabbage Tree is fan leaved and is carved out of the Northern Beaches palm exemption

Related species

Bangalow Palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) growing in Sydney
Bangalow Palm
Archontophoenix cunninghamiana
Cocos Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) growing in Sydney
Cocos Palm
Syagrus romanzoffiana
Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) growing in Sydney
Blackbutt
Eucalyptus pilularis
Blueberry Ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus) growing in Sydney
Blueberry Ash
Elaeocarpus reticulatus

Important note on council rules

This encyclopedia is a practical guide for Sydney property owners, not legal advice. Council tree rules change, and exemptions are frequently overridden by heritage listings, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping, endangered ecological communities and conditions attached to development consent. Always confirm the current rules with your council for your specific address before any tree work begins, or ask us to check it for you.
Photo by John Robert McPherson via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Quick facts

Botanical name
Livistona australis
Also known as
Cabbage Palm
Family
Arecaceae
Origin
Native to eastern Australia
Mature height
10m to 25m
Canopy spread
3m to 5m
Growth rate
Slow
Foliage
Evergreen fan shaped fronds
Typical lifespan
100 years plus
Root habit
Fibrous and compact
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Need council approval? We handle the application.

Most councils will not accept a removal application without species identification, photographs and a stated reason. We prepare and lodge the lot, then carry out the work once it is approved. One call, one invoice, no forms to work out yourself.
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