Make a claim

As the property owner you are responsible for maintaining the drainage system and pipes:

Sewerage - your sewerage system include all system infrastructure between your property and the Sydney Water Mains. This applies to parts of your system that run under public land.

Stormwater - your maintenance responsibility for your stormwater line continues to the point of water discharge to the gutter in the street.

If pipes become blocked due to tree roots, it will be up to the property owner to contact a plumber to unblock the pipes. Please note that Council is unable to perform any works on private property.

Generally, blockages contributed to by tree roots will only happen if the pipe is already damaged or breaking down and reaching the end of its useful life. As it is up to property owners to maintain their drainage systems, in many cases Council would not consider providing compensation when the roots of Council owned trees enter private drains.

Should you wish to make a claim, you must provide the following in support of your claim in order for Council to give full consideration:

• A copy of the sewer services with the alleged issues highlighted. This is available from Sydney Water Tap in;
• Recent aerial images from Google Maps (or similar) clearly showing your property, structures, and vegetation, as well as surrounding neighbours;
• Tree root samples from the blocked line. Put the sample aside, on site, for inspection by Councils Tree Specialist; and
• A report from a licensed plumber. This report should include:
  • Their business name and details.
  • The address of the property they inspected and a description of the inspection methods they used.
  • Details about the type and age of pipes, their condition, factors that contributed to any damage, and options to repair it.
  • A clear plan of the property’s sewer, showing the location of all pipes, flow directions, the location of the damage, and entry points used for inspection.
  • CCTV footage of the sewer system that shows the damage or blockage.

Upon receipt of the above information, Council may request some additional information and/or appoint an arborist and/or a plumber for further investigation.

For more information, please review the relevant Fact Sheet(PDF, 136KB).

In some cases, damage to a private property that appears to be caused by Council-owned tree roots may in fact be caused by other sources, such as the age of the structure, non-compliance of the relevant Australian Standards, building movement/settlement or gradual deterioration.

Given this, please note that Council does not conduct investigations on private land based on allegations of tree root related damage unless there is evidence to support the claim. The required information is as follows:

• A Structural Engineers report noting the cause of damage;
• Proof of ownership; and
• Two written quotations itemising the works if the damage has not been repaired or a copy tax invoice itemising the works if the damage has been repaired.

Upon receipt of the above information, Council may request some additional information and/or appoint an arborist and/or a Structural Engineer for further investigation.

Should you wish to make a claim for personal injury, please provide Council with the information outlined below to records@woollahra.nsw.gov.au. Upon receipt of this information, Council will be in contact with you and may request further information and/or appoint an external investigator to review your claim.

In order to expedite any alleged claims against Council, we would ask that you provide a detailed description of the incident including:

• The date and time of the incident
• The exact location where the incident occurred including nearest cross street or landmark
• How Council allegedly caused the incident/or is at fault
• Any available photographs of the damage to the property and/or the incident site
• The names and contact details of any witnesses to the incident
• Details of any report made to the police or event number if applicable
• Any other documents that support your claim.

Please note that Council does not have care, control or management over utility assets (such as telecommunication poles, Ausgrid/Telstra pits, Sydney Water infrastructure etc.). Accordingly, if you are injured as a result of such infrastructures, you must report it to the appropriate asset owner.

A summary of contact details for these external parties are as follows:

Ausgrid - 1 13 13 65

Telstra - 13 22 03

Sydney Water - 13 20 92

Council maintains all roads within the Municipality except for New South Head Road, Oxford Street, Syd Enfield Drive and Old South Head Road (south of its intersection with New South Head Road) which are classified as State Roads. For State Roads, please contact Transport NSW - 13 22 13

When dealing with claims for all other roads except State Roads, Council has certain protections from liability under the NSW Civil Liability Act 2002. Accordingly, Council may not be liable for damages arising from potholes and other hazards unless Council was aware of the risk and acted negligently by not addressing the issue.

In order for Council to consider a claim for damages, the following information is required to be submitted:

• Date and Time of the incident
• Location including an image of the pothole
• Current registration papers required to confirm ownership of the vehicle
• Quote/Invoice for repairs including images of the vehicle damage.
• You will also be required to state why you believe Council to be liable for the damages to your vehicle

The Risk team will then review the information supplied and determine liability. The claims process can take 4-6 weeks, however where there is an influx of claims, the process may take longer. In these cases, we recommend contacting your Motor Vehicle Insurer for cases where repairs are urgent.

Occasionally branches from Council trees can fall and cause damage to property and vehicles. However, Council’s ownership of the tree does not create an automatic liability in the event of a tree branch causing damage. There must be some demonstrated act or omission of negligence by Council.

If a tree branch has fallen and caused damage, please contact Council in order for an arborist to be notified to remove the branch and assess the tree. If the branch has caused damages, you will be required to submit further information in order for Council to consider a claim for compensation.

The following information will be requested:

• Images of the damage to your property and/or vehicle
• Image of street tree
• Quote/Invoice for damages to your property and/or vehicle
• You will also be required to state why you believe Council to be liable for the damages to your property and/or vehicle

Council will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident to establish whether or not we have any legal liability.

Your claim will be subject to investigation and assessed on its merits.

We will try to respond to claims as quickly as possible. However, the processing of claims is dependent on the supply of relevant information so assessment of your claim may take some time to complete.

If you are seeking compensation directly from Council you will need to provide the requested below in order for Council to consider your claim

• Time, Date and Location of the incident
• Registration papers in order to confirm ownership of the vehicle
• Quote or Invoice for the repairs along with images of the damages to the vehicle
• Details of witnesses to the incident
• Council drivers name and registration of the vehicle involved in the accident

As mentioned in the Claims Investigation Process Section, if you make a claim against your own insurance policy, you may be required to pay any excesses as stipulated by your insurance provider. You should discuss this with your insurance provider prior to lodging a claim with Council.