Geelong Tree Removal & Pruning
Tree and palm removal and expert pruning in Geelong by a qualified, insured arborist — free quotes, 7 days a week.
- Free quotes
- Fully qualified & insured
- 16+ years
Tree removal and pruning in Geelong, done properly
Geelong homeowners call Aps Tree Removal for three things: a tree that has to go, a tree that needs a proper prune to stay safe, and a palm nobody else wants to touch. We do all three, in Geelong and the neighbouring suburbs of Drumcondra, Newtown and Manifold Heights, with a qualified arborist on every job and a clean-up that leaves the yard tidier than we found it.
The nearest suburbs we also cover are Drumcondra (2 km), Newtown (2 km), Manifold Heights (3 km), so a job in Geelong is often paired with one next door. One of the reviews on this site is from Geelong customers.
A removal starts with a look at the tree, the access and what is underneath it. Api decides whether it can be felled in one piece — rare in a suburb like Geelong — or needs to come down in sections. A climber goes up, the limbs come off and are lowered on ropes where anything sits below, the trunk is blocked down, and the whole lot goes through the chipper on the street. The stump can be ground out the same day.
Palms are their own job. They are heavy for their size, the fronds and seed pods are a mess, and the trunk fibre blunts saws. We take them down in short sections with the rigging set up so nothing lands where it should not, and we take the trunk away rather than leaving you with something that will not burn and will not rot.
Tree Removal & Pruning in Geelong — what we do
Hazardous tree removal
Dead, leaning, split or storm-damaged trees taken down in sections.
Palm removal
Cocos, cotton and date palms removed trunk and all.
Hazard & clearance pruning
Deadwood out, canopy lifted off roofs, lines and boundaries.
Crown thinning & shaping
Wind through the canopy, light into the garden, the tree kept.
A tip from Api
Before you book any tree work in Geelong, check whether the tree needs a permit — the council rule for Greater Geelong is set out below. Api checks it as part of the quote and will tell you straight if a permit is needed before anything is cut.
The full service pages: Tree & Palm Removal and Tree Pruning — every one available in Geelong.
Guides from Api: Tree removal and stump grinding: why they go together and what stump grinding costs · Hedge trimming contracts: what a regular hedge maintenance plan covers in Melbourne
Do you need a permit to remove a tree in Geelong?
Homeowners in Geelong ask this more than anything else, so here is Greater Geelong’s rule as the council publishes it.
Greater Geelong is one of the councils without a private-tree local law: when it reviewed tree protection on private land in 2024 its officers recommended strengthening the planning scheme and asking the state for a state-wide approach rather than a local law or a significant-tree overlay.
That state-wide approach arrived in September 2025 as Clause 52.37. The council publishes its own guide: a canopy tree is more than 5 m tall with a trunk over 0.5 m around at 1.4 m and a canopy of at least 4 m; a permit is needed to remove one anywhere on a vacant residential lot, or within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary where a house already stands. Council officers may assess the application only against the clause’s own purpose and decision guidelines, and a replacement tree — at least 6 m tall and 4 m wide at maturity — is the usual condition.
Vegetation and heritage overlays on the title apply on top, especially along the Barwon and the coast.
Source: City of Greater Geelong — trees on private property. Read 13 September 2026; councils change their local laws, so Api checks the current rule when he quotes.
Across Victoria since 15 September 2025
Clause 52.37 Canopy Trees
A canopy tree is a tree more than 5 m tall, with a trunk circumference over 0.5 m at 1.4 m above the ground and a canopy at least 4 m across. In a residential zone a planning permit is needed to remove, destroy or lop one in a residential zone if the lot is vacant, or, where there is an existing house, if any part of the trunk is within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary.
Dead trees, emergency and safety works, maintenance pruning and listed weed species are exempt; councils usually condition a permit on planting a replacement canopy tree, and most decide these through VicSmart in about ten business days.
What this means for you: tell Api where the tree sits on the block and he will tell you whether a permit is needed before anything is cut — and where one is, we can prepare the arborist assessment the application needs.
Tree removal jobs by Api and the crew
Real jobs, real photos — Api, the crew and the truck, across the Geelong region. Nothing staged, nothing stock.
What Geelong customers say
Jesse F
Geelong · Nov 2022
Quick to respond with quote, able to get to the job promptly, site was left clean and undamaged with the tree over hanging a fence. Would highly recommend them.
Tree removal around Geelong
The same crew, the same day rates, in the suburbs next door:
Other services in Geelong
Tree services made easy
At Aps Tree Removal, we simplify the tree and hedge removal experience with a clear, step-by-step approach.
Contact us
Want to learn more? Call 0422 856 090 or send the form and speak with Api.
Get a quote
Getting a quote is quick, easy, and free.
On-site inspection
A quick, thorough site assessment — species, access and risks.
Professional removal
Clean and safe work, chipped and cleaned up — no mess, no hassle.
What clients across the Geelong region say
V J
29 Aug 2024
Fantastic service! What a great company! Thank you Api and his amazing team. I have a large gum tree out front that had become a menace to my neighbou…
Joseph Faltas
17 Aug 2024
APi is a great guy , honest and knowledgeable
Scott Cooper
16 Aug 2024
I called to have my tree trimmed. API and team done an excellent job they came on time and cleaned up afterwards. They were very polite and friendly I…
utkarsh singh
14 Aug 2024
Api's been amazing in helping us remove hedges off our property. He is quite honest, friendly & reasonable,always wiling to share the best advise for…
Nik Westbury
8 Aug 2024
The job Api performed was top notch. His professional advice on how the job should be done was much appreciated and the clean up after left no sign of…
Taiwo Adebayo
3 Aug 2024
Excellent job on the Yucca removal and the price was good
Trisha Jenkins
26 July 2024
Api and his team were great. Friendly and responsive. Arrived on time and completed the task well. Would highly recommend.
Benjamin Phiri
24 July 2024
Had Api come around yesterday to trim some trees in the backyard that were getting too high. Api's service was well quoted and went above and beyond o…
Stewart Vong
12 July 2024
Api did an amazing job with our trees. He was very friendly and the work was done to a very high standard. I would highly recommend his services to an…
Thi Tran
11 July 2024
Api did a great job, excellent and very friendly. High recomment.
Alex Tsilemanis
12 June 2024
Api and team removed a couple of trees for us from a tricky narrow space. Great job and customer service, highly recommend.
jojo jojo
29 May 2024
Api did a great job removing and stump grinding big yuccas on the narrow side of my house. Turned up to quote and did the job by himself. Reasonable p…
Geelong Tree Removal & Pruning — common questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Geelong?
Greater Geelong has no local law for trees on private land — its 2024 review chose not to introduce one — so the test is the state canopy-tree clause: a planning permit for a canopy tree on a vacant residential lot, or one near the front or rear boundary of a lot with a house, decided through VicSmart in about ten business days. Overlays on the title still apply. Across Victoria, Clause 52.37 Canopy Trees also applies since 15 September 2025: a planning permit is needed to remove, destroy or lop one in a residential zone if the lot is vacant, or, where there is an existing house, if any part of the trunk is within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary. Api checks both at the quote.
How much does tree removal cost in Geelong?
There is no price list because no two trees are the same. What moves the number is height, spread, what is underneath the tree, how far the chipper is from it, and whether the stump is included. Send photos or call 0422 856 090 and Api will come out to Geelong and quote it properly, at no charge.
How long does it take?
Same-week for hazardous trees, normally within a fortnight for everything else. We tell you a date and keep it.
Can you get in if the access is tight?
Yes. If a person can get to it, we can take it down in pieces small enough to carry out. Access affects the time and the quote, not whether it can be done.
What happens to the waste?
Chipped on the street and taken away, or left as mulch if you want it. Larger logs are cut to size and removed unless you ask for firewood.
Can you save the tree instead of removing it?
Frequently. Most “this tree has to go” calls end with a prune, because the real problem was a limb over the roof or a canopy blocking light. A structurally sound tree is worth keeping, and Api says so when it is.