Trees and power lines: who's responsible, who to call
In Ausgrid areas, including the Sutherland Shire, you're responsible for your own trees near the service wire on your property; Ausgrid trims council verge trees and neighbours' trees. Anything within 3 m of network lines must be done by accredited workers. Fallen lines are always treated as live.
When a tree comes down on a line
- Stay at least 8 m away (two car lengths). Treat the line as live, and the tree too.
- Call the network: Ausgrid 13 13 88, Endeavour Energy 131 003. Call 000 if anyone is hurt or there's fire.
- Keep others away until the network has made it safe.
- Then call us to remove the tree once the power is off and the network says it's clear.
Two kinds of line
Network lines run along the street on poles and belong to the network operator: Ausgrid in the Sutherland Shire, St George, inner and eastern Sydney, and Endeavour Energy in much of western and south-western Sydney and the Illawarra. Your service line runs from the pole to your house.
Who trims what
In Ausgrid areas: your tree near your service line is your responsibility, up to your boundary; a council verge tree or a neighbour's tree near your service line is cleared by Ausgrid; trees near street lines are Ausgrid's and its contractors'.
In Endeavour Energy areas: you keep trees on your property clear of your service line. If a neighbour's tree is the problem, Endeavour says it will take steps to have it pruned, and warns that if required work isn't done your power may be disconnected.
Under the Electricity Supply Act, a network operator can serve a notice requiring a tree to be trimmed or removed, and do the work itself if the notice is ignored.
The 3 m rule
Ausgrid is blunt about whether homeowners can trim near its lines: no. Any trimming within 3 m of Ausgrid's lines must be done by workers accredited under the SafeWork NSW code. SafeWork's code Work near overhead and underground electric lines (in force since 22 May 2026) sets the distances: anyone not trained for this work stays 3 m from lines up to 132 kV; trained workers with a safety observer can work closer; inside the no-go zone, only people authorised by the network.
"Trees and tree branches can conduct electricity, even in dry conditions." A branch touching a line can make the whole tree live, leaves included.
Our arborists hold Electrical Close Approach licences for work near service lines. Network lines are for the network and its contractors.
Sources: Ausgrid, tree trimming responsibilities; Endeavour Energy, vegetation management; SafeWork NSW code of practice; Electricity Supply Act 1995 (NSW).
Questions people ask us
Who do I call about a tree on a power line?
Ausgrid (Sutherland Shire, St George, inner and eastern Sydney): 13 13 88. Endeavour Energy (western and south-western Sydney, Illawarra): 131 003. Call 000 if anyone is hurt or there is fire.
Do I need council approval to trim a tree near power lines?
Work the network operator requires under a notice isn't an offence under council tree rules. For other pruning, your council's normal rules apply.
Does the 10/50 rule let me clear around power lines?
No. The RFS says the 10/50 Code does not provide for clearing trees or vegetation around power lines.
Can you prune my tree away from the wire to my house?
Yes. Our arborists hold Electrical Close Approach licences for work near service lines, following the SafeWork NSW code. Network lines along the street are for the network and its contractors.
Tree too close to your service line?
Licensed for Electrical Close Approach work. Once the network has made a fallen tree safe, we remove it.