Finding a good arborist (and what they'll actually do)

What an arborist actually does

Arborist work splits into pruning and removal. Pruning covers crown lifting (raising the canopy over paths and driveways), deadwooding (removing failed limbs before they fall on their own) and weight reduction over structures. Removal is exactly what it sounds like, but the method varies enormously — a small tree in an open yard can be felled in one piece, while a tall tree hemmed in by buildings gets dismantled limb by limb, with each section roped down under control.

There's also a consulting side. Qualified arborists write reports for councils on tree health and safety, which you may need if you're applying to remove a protected tree or worried a neighbour's tree threatens your home. If your job is really just hedges, small shrubs and general green waste, a gardener is the cheaper call — arborists earn their rates on trees with real height and real risk.

Why quotes vary so much from tree to tree

Tree work is priced by inspection because two trees of the same species can be completely different jobs. Size drives the base cost — pruning or removing a small tree might sit in the hundreds, a typical suburban removal lands comfortably in the four figures, and a large gum over a house with crane access required can run to many thousands. Treat any figure as indicative until someone has stood under your actual tree.

Access and position are the other big levers. A tree that can be dropped and chipped in an open front yard is quick; one leaning over a pool, a shed and powerlines has to come down in pieces, slowly. Stump grinding is usually quoted as a separate line, and waste removal adds real cost — if you can use the mulch on your garden, say so, because keeping the chip on site saves the arborist tip fees and can trim your price.

Checking you've got a real arborist

Tree work isn't a licensed trade the way electrical or plumbing is, so the checking falls to you. The marker to ask about is an AQF qualification in arboriculture — Certificate III is the standard for climbing arborists — along with current public liability insurance, which matters more here than in almost any other trade because the failure modes involve falling timber.

Two more checks before you book. First, your council: many protect trees above a certain size or species, and removing one without a permit attracts serious fines that land on you, not the contractor. A good arborist will know the local rules and often handles the application. Second, powerlines: only crews specifically authorised for work near live lines can legally touch trees close to them, so if your tree is anywhere near wires, ask the question directly.

Mistakes to avoid

Most tree-work regrets trace back to hiring on price alone. Door-knockers offering cheap same-day tree lopping are a fixture after storms, and "lopping" — hacking a tree back to stubs — is itself the giveaway, because it ruins the tree's structure and creates weakly attached regrowth that fails in the next big blow.

• Hiring a door-knocker after a storm without checking insurance or qualifications
• Skipping the council permit check and wearing the fine yourself
• Asking for topping or lopping — proper pruning keeps the tree safe, stubs make it dangerous
• Forgetting to ask whether stump grinding and green-waste removal are in the quote
• Letting anyone work near powerlines without confirming they're authorised for it
• Attempting a chainsaw job at height yourself — ladder plus chainsaw is how people end up in hospital