St Kilda Tree Removal & Pruning
Tree and palm removal and expert pruning in St Kilda by a qualified, insured arborist — free quotes, 7 days a week.
- Free quotes
- Fully qualified & insured
- 16+ years
Tree removal and pruning in St Kilda, done properly
Whether it is one overgrown tree in a St Kilda backyard or a whole block that needs clearing, Aps Tree Removal quotes it free, explains what is involved, and books it for a day that suits you. Api is a qualified arborist with more than 16 years on the tools, and the business is fully insured.
The nearest suburbs we also cover are Balaclava (about a kilometre), Windsor (about a kilometre), Elwood (2 km), so a job in St Kilda is often paired with one next door.
Where a tree is over a house, a shed or a neighbour’s yard, nothing free-falls. A climber sets rigging points, each limb is tied off, cut and lowered under control, and the trunk comes down in short blocks. It is slower than felling and it is the only safe way to do most St Kilda backyards.
Storm-damaged and dangerous trees get priority. A split trunk, a hung-up limb or a tree that has started to lean gets assessed the same day where we can, made safe, and then either removed or reduced depending on what is left of it. Api will tell you honestly whether a damaged tree in St Kilda can be saved.
Tree Removal & Pruning in St Kilda — 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
If you are thinking about removing a healthy tree because it is messy or shading the garden, ask about a reduction or a canopy lift first. It is often cheaper, it keeps the value and shade a mature tree adds to a St Kilda property, and it avoids the permit question entirely for many trees.
The full service pages: Tree & Palm Removal and Tree Pruning — every one available in St Kilda.
Guides from Api: Tree removal and stump grinding: why they go together and what stump grinding costs · Tree removal insurance: what home insurance covers when a tree comes down
Do you need a permit to remove a tree in St Kilda?
The rule that applies to a tree in a St Kilda garden is the Community Amenity Local Law 2023 — here is what it says.
Port Phillip’s Community Amenity Local Law 2023 requires a significant-tree permit before pruning or removing a tree or palm on private land with a trunk circumference of 150 cm or more measured 1 m from its base — a multi-stemmed tree counts if its exterior stems add up to 150 cm, and so does a stump of that size.
The application takes a site plan, photographs or diagrams of the proposed work and, for a body corporate, the committee’s consent; the council arborist reviews it and the council asks for ten business days. Some pruning is exempt under the local law itself.
This permit is in addition to any planning permit: the council also publishes a clear guide to the state canopy-tree clause, and an online checker for both tests.
Source: City of Port Phillip — trees on private property, 03 9209 6424. 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 Melbourne’s inner bayside. Nothing staged, nothing stock.
Tree removal around St Kilda
The same crew, the same day rates, in the suburbs next door:
Other services in St Kilda
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 Melbourne’s inner bayside say
beachcomber cafe
20 May 2024
Amazing company Highly recommend the boys did an amazing job .
jay a
14 May 2024
Excellent service.
Adriana Sonda
30 Apr 2024
Had Api and he's crew cut some trees down and mulch the stumps, great job, would recommend him,he is a gentleman and honest, good price too.
Riki Paiti
15 Apr 2024
Big Thanks to Api and his team, for the pruning and cutting of Trees/Bushes on my property. As well as giving me a hedge I never knew existed or could…
Ring Tones
15 Apr 2024
Friendly team. Excellent service. Budget friendly. Recommend ✌️
Nives Trento
1 Apr 2024
Api removed 3 tree stumps and cut down 1 tree at my home in Werribee. Api is a very polite person, reliable, hard working, professional and very reaso…
John G
4 Mar 2024
I can't speak highly enough of Aps Tree Removal, especially Api, who was an absolute gentleman throughout the entire process. From the moment he arriv…
robyn gilbert
4 Mar 2024
My parents got 4 large trees removed Api was amazing very high quality job carrying for my parents who are pensioners excellent communication my paren…
Pat Bullen
19 Feb 2024
We employed AP's Tree REMOVAL to cut and prune our trees and can only say how happy we are with the work there did. It was a pleasure from start to fi…
Beata
19 Feb 2024
PROFESSIONAL and HONEST!!! Api did an amazing job with pruning and removing our trees as well as thoroughly cleaning when finished with the job. Highl…
Ahbo Sar
12 Feb 2024
A Big Shout out to APS & Teams , Can’t thank enough for their beautiful work that have done in my yard. What an awesome , humble and honest people tha…
Monty
26 Nov 2023
I highly recommend Aps tree removal,
St Kilda Tree Removal & Pruning — common questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in St Kilda?
Yes, if the trunk is 150 cm around or more measured 1 m from the base (or the exterior stems of a multi-trunk tree add up to that): Port Phillip requires a significant-tree permit, decided by the council arborist in about ten business days, on top of any planning permit. The state canopy-tree clause applies to smaller trees near a boundary. 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 St Kilda?
Ask for the quote to include stump grinding and green-waste removal so you are comparing like with like. Api’s quotes do; some do not, and the difference shows up on the day.
How long does it take?
A morning for most trees, a full day for the big ones. We do not leave a job half-done overnight.
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?
Everything goes through our chipper on site. You can keep the mulch for the garden — it is good mulch — or we take it, along with the logs, and it goes to a green-waste recycler.
Can you save the tree instead of removing it?
Often, yes. Deadwooding, a crown reduction or a canopy lift solves most of the reasons people want a tree gone — it is dropping branches, it is over the roof, it is blocking light. Api will tell you which option makes sense for the tree in front of him.