Water Industry Competition Act 2006

If a registered operator has reasonable cause to believe that a tree is destroying, damaging or interfering with the registered operator’s water industry infrastructure, the registered operator may, by written notice, require the owner of the land on which the tree is situated, within a reasonable period specified in the notice, to remove the tree, including all roots of the tree that are or may be destroying, damaging or interfering with that infrastructure.

The registered operator must reimburse the owner for the reasonable expenses of any action taken by the owner under this section unless the registered operator establishes that—

after the water industry infrastructure was first constructed, an owner or occupier planted the tree, or caused or permitted the tree to be planted, in, on or near the infrastructure in circumstances in which the owner or occupier should have known that destruction of, damage to or interference with the infrastructure would result, or

the water industry infrastructure is located, within the land on which the tree has been planted, on land that was the subject of an easement in favour of the registered operator (or a predecessor of the registered operator) or an easement for water or sewerage service purposes when the tree was planted.

An owner given notice under this section may, with the consent of the registered operator and without destroying, damaging or interfering with the registered operator’s water industry infrastructure, take steps, other than removal of the tree, to eliminate the cause of the destruction of, damage to or interference with that infrastructure and any reasonable expectation of the destruction, damage or interference occurring in the future.

No compensation is payable by the registered operator to a person for the expenses of taking steps under subsection (3).

If, in circumstances other than those referred to in subsection (3), an owner fails to comply with a notice under this section within the period specified in the notice or within any extension of that period allowed by the registered operator in writing, the registered operator may remove the tree at its own expense.

The registered operator may recover from an owner the cost of removing a tree under subsection (5), but only if the registered operator establishes—

that the tree was planted during the ownership of that owner, and

that—

an owner or occupier should have known that the planting of the tree would result in the destruction of, damage to or interference with the water industry infrastructure concerned, or

the tree was planted on land that was then the subject of an easement in favour of the registered operator (or a predecessor of the registered operator) or an easement for water or sewerage service purposes.

This section applies despite the existence of any tree preservation order or environmental planning instrument, but does not apply to any tree that is the subject of or is within an area that is the subject of—

an interim heritage order, or a listing on the State Heritage Register, under the Heritage Act 1977, or

an order in force under section 136 of the Heritage Act 1977, or

an interim protection order under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, or

a protection conferred by any similar law.

Nothing done by an owner of land in compliance with a notice under this section, or by a registered operator under subsection (5), constitutes an offence against any law under which a tree preservation order or environmental planning instrument relating to the land is made.

In this section, tree includes shrub or other plant.