Tree removal contractors: the checks to make before you sign in Melbourne

Every storm season Api gets calls from people who have already been burnt. A bloke with a ute and a chainsaw knocked on the door, quoted a cheap price, took a deposit, and either never came back or left half a tree and a pile of branches on the lawn. Choosing between tree removal contractors is not like choosing a plumber, because in Australia anyone can call themselves an arborist, and the cost of getting it wrong is not just money: it is a fence, a roof, a powerline, or somebody in hospital. This guide sets out the checks to make before you sign anything, in the order a careful homeowner in Melbourne's west would run them.

Api Mariner is a qualified arborist with more than 16 years in the trade, and he has quoted against every kind of operator across Wyndham Vale, Werribee, Point Cook and the inner west. This is what he would want a family member to ask before letting anyone near a tree on their block.

Why tree removal contractors need checking at all

The first thing most people do not know is that there is no licence for tree work in Australia. hipages notes that arborists do not need a specific licence, so the things to look for instead are qualifications, insurance and membership of a body such as Arboriculture Australia ^[1]. That leaves the checking to you, and the industry's own numbers show why it matters. WorkSafe Victoria reported a coroner's finding that 31 people died in Victoria from tree felling or related activity between January 2012 and September 2018, and that 13 of those deaths happened at work ^[2]. Arboriculture Australia, the national industry body, says skills shortages are at critical levels and is proposing an industry verification system based on qualifications, experience and conduct, but it is a proposal, not something you can look up today ^[3].

The gap between a qualified crew and a lopper with a chainsaw is invisible from the kerb. Both turn up in a truck, both own a chipper, and the cheaper one is usually friendlier on the phone. The five checks below are how you see the difference before the first cut.

Check one: qualifications, and what Cert III actually means

Ask what qualification the person running the job holds. The trade-level qualification in Australia is the Certificate III in Arboriculture (AHC30820), which training.gov.au describes as covering climbing arborist, EWP arborist, crane specialist and works coordinator roles, and which includes tree dismantling and removal as high-risk work at height ^[5]. hipages puts it plainly: a Certificate II covers basic work and a Certificate III is what you want for the tricky jobs, along with public liability insurance and membership of a recognised body ^[6].

Why does the paper matter when the bloke has been doing this for years? Because the qualification is where the method comes from. A Cert III arborist has been trained to assess a tree before climbing it, to rig a limb so it lands where it is meant to, and to know when a tree cannot be climbed at all and needs an elevating work platform instead. Experience teaches you what worked last time. The qualification teaches you why, and what to do when this tree is different.

Ask to see it. A qualified arborist is proud of the certificate and will have a copy on the phone. Ask who will be on site too, because on some crews the qualified person quotes and a different crew turns up. Api is the qualified arborist and he is on every job.

Check two: public liability insurance, and the certificate of currency

This is the check people skip because it feels awkward, and it is the one that protects your house. Consumer Affairs Victoria's checklist for home improvements says to ask to see a certificate of currency for public liability insurance, which protects you or third parties against any damage the workers may cause ^[7]. hipages says the same for arborists specifically: they should carry public liability insurance and personal insurance, because nobody licenses them ^[1].

A certificate of currency is a one-page document from the insurer that shows the policy is live today, who it covers, what it covers and when it runs out. A line on a website saying fully insured is not a certificate of currency. Ask for the document, check that the business name on it matches the quote, and check the expiry date is after your job date. If the contractor hesitates, that is your answer.

Aps Tree Removal is fully insured, and Api will show the certificate to anyone who asks, before the quote if you like.

Check three: a written quote that says what is in and what is out

Consumer Affairs Victoria's advice for any home job under ten thousand dollars applies neatly to tree work: get at least three quotes on the same detailed description of the job, have a written contract even for small work, ask for the tradesperson's full name, physical address and registered business name, and understand exactly what each quote covers, because the cheapest may leave things out ^[7]. The same agency tells tradespeople what a quote should spell out: whether transport is included, how the labour is costed, and any call-out, weekend or public holiday rates ^[8].

For tree removal contractors the things most often left out are the stump, the green waste and the chipping, and you find out on the day when the crew packs up and the branches are still on the lawn. A quote that does not mention them is not cheaper, it is incomplete, and leaving a stump behind is the part people regret first.

Consumer Affairs Victoria also points out that you have a contract with the tradesperson whether the agreement was verbal or written, and that they guarantee to work with due care and skill and within a reasonable time ^[8]. A verbal deal still binds them. The problem is proving what the deal was.

Very happy, Api and his team went above and beyond expectations. Trees cut down, removed, stump removal and cleanup, very professional and honest. Definitely recommend and will use in the future

Check four: what a safe method looks like, and how to tell

You do not need to be an arborist to recognise a safe crew. Safe Work Australia's guide to tree work describes the shape of it: before anyone goes up, a visual assessment of the tree by a competent person such as a qualified arborist, covering its condition and structural integrity, and an exclusion zone under the tree with barriers and supervised access so nothing lands on a person or a property ^[9]. WorkSafe Victoria's guidance makes the same point from the other side: plan and prepare, and inspect each tree individually to decide the safest method for the work ^[2].

The short version is in the same guide: tree trimming and removal should not be done from ladders, and contact with any electric line, whether it carries 400,000 volts or 230, can be fatal without the line ever being touched, because an arc can jump to a person standing close to it ^[9]. If the quote involves a ladder and a tree near a line with no mention of either, you are looking at the wrong operator. Energy Safe Victoria adds that only authorised powerline pruning contractors should prune trees touching or close to powerlines, and that trees should be cleared before they grow within one metre of an insulated service line ^[10]. A contractor who shrugs about the line to your house is telling you something.

Api takes the site walk seriously because it is where the price and the method are decided together. The long version of how a professional crew brings a tree down, from the first look at the trunk to the last rake of the lawn, is worth reading before you compare quotes, because it tells you what to listen for.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Stars I recently hired Aps tree removal company and couldn’t be more impressed with their work. From start to finish, Api and team was professional, punctual, and highly skilled. They removed a large tree from my front yard quickly and safely, leaving the area spotless afterward. Communication was clear throughout the whole process, and they made sure we were completely satisfied before wrapping up. Their attention to detail and care for the surrounding property really stood out. Highly recommend them to anyone in need of tree services—an absolutely amazing job!

Check five: the permit, and whose job it is

Consumer Affairs Victoria's checklist is direct on this: contact your local council to find out whether the work needs a permit, because as the homeowner it is your responsibility to make sure planning and building permits are obtained ^[7]. A good contractor checks anyway, because a tree removed without a permit is a fine and a replacement tree for you.

Since 15 September 2025 every Victorian planning scheme has carried the canopy-tree clause: a permit is needed to remove, destroy or lop a canopy tree (taller than 5 metres, with a trunk more than 0.5 metres around at 1.4 metres above ground and a canopy at least 4 metres across) anywhere on a vacant residential lot, or within 6 metres of the street frontage or 4.5 metres of the rear boundary of a lot with a house on it ^[11]. Some councils add a local law on top, and some, like Wyndham, have no local law for trees on private land at all, so the position depends on where you are ^[12]. Api checks the council position on your title as part of every quote and tells you before the job is booked. A contractor who cannot tell you whether the tree needs a permit has not looked, and if they have not looked at that, ask what else they missed.

The red flags, starting with the knock on the door

Consumer Affairs Victoria warns against people who knock on your door or telephone unexpectedly offering cheap deals on jobs around the home ^[7], and in Melbourne the knock comes after a storm. VICSES responds to around 20,000 requests for help from storms each year, close to 80 per cent of everything it attends, and much of the damage comes from tree branches and falling overhanging limbs ^[4]. The morning after, there are utes doing laps of the streets with a chainsaw on the tray, and a tree over your carport makes the cheap price sound reasonable.

It is not, for two reasons. The first is that a storm-damaged tree is the most dangerous kind: VICSES says heat, fire or recent storms can make trees unstable and more likely to fall ^[4]. Safe Work Australia's assessment step exists because split or hung-up timber cannot be climbed or cut the way a healthy tree can ^[9]. The second is that the person at the door has no reason to come back if it goes wrong. If a tree has already come down, the steps to take after a tree falls are simple: keep everyone at least eight to ten metres from any fallen powerline, because you do not have to touch a line to get a shock, photograph the damage, and call your insurer before authorising work ^[13].

One more that catches careful people: the very cheap third quote. If two quotes are close and one is half the price, it is not a bargain until you can see what it left out. Usually that is the stump, the waste, the insurance or the safe method, and each one is a cost that comes back to you. It helps to understand how tree removal is priced before you compare, because a quote that ignores what moves a price stands out.

Running the checks in order: a simple sequence

Put together, the Consumer Affairs checklist and the arborist-specific checks make a short sequence for vetting tree removal contractors that fits inside a week. For finding tree removal near you in the first place, start with the Google and hipages reviews of operators who work your suburb, then run every name through the steps below.

Consumer Affairs Victoria suggests checking references too: did the tradesperson start and finish on time, communicate clearly, and did the price increase, and if so was that reasonable and agreed ^[7]. For tree work, reviews do this job if you read them for specifics. A review that says great job tells you little. One that says they turned up when they said, showed the insurance, ground the stump and left the lawn clean tells you everything.

What you get when you hire Api

We are not the cheapest crew in the west and we do not try to be. What you get from our tree and palm removal service is the five checks answered before you ask. Api is a qualified arborist. The business is fully insured and the certificate is available on request. Every quote is a site visit followed by a fixed written price that lists the stump separately and includes the chipping, the clean-up and the green waste. The method is explained on the day it is quoted, and the council position on your title is checked before the job is booked. The crew that quotes is the crew that turns up, 7 days from 6am, with the truck, the chipper, the climbing gear and an elevating work platform where a tree cannot be climbed.

The cheapest tree removal contractors are the ones whose mistakes you pay for. The right one costs what the job costs, and nothing after.

That is what the checks are for: to make sure the person who touches your tree is the person you thought you were hiring, and that if something goes wrong, it is their problem and not yours.