Storm damage and fallen trees in Cairns
Call 000 if anyone is hurt or trapped. Treat any fallen power line as live, stay well clear and call 000 or Ergon Energy. The SES takes storm damage calls by phone, or through the SES Assistance QLD app when the phone lines are jammed. Keep everyone out from under split or hanging branches until an arborist has seen them.
Tree removal in Cairns: what's local
Over 7.5 metres is a Significant Tree
CairnsPlan 2016 defines a Significant Tree as one greater than 7.5m tall, measured from natural ground to the top of the crown. Plenty of established backyard trees clear that, so don't assume yours is too ordinary to count.
Clearing means more than cutting
The scheme's definition of vegetation damage covers removing, cutting down, ring-barking, pushing over and poisoning, and even destroying vegetation by burning, flooding or draining.
Council trees need council's permit
Residents can't modify, prune or remove public trees without a permit from Cairns Regional Council, and council says it won't prune, top or remove its trees for nuisance alone. Report a problem tree online or in the MyCairns app.
Jasper showed what the wet can do
Cyclone Jasper crossed near Wujal Wujal on 13 December 2023 as a Category 2 system. Then more than 2.2 metres of rain fell in the Cairns catchment and the Barron River hit a record 4.4 metres. Soil that wet loosens root plates, which is when big trees tip.
Tree removal permits in Cairns
Check first; it doesn't take long. Under CairnsPlan 2016, assessable vegetation damage on private property is operational works and needs a development permit. Whether your tree is assessable depends on things like the vegetation type, the zone and any overlay over the lot.
Council's Property Report tool shows the planning scheme information for your address, overlays included. Run it, then ring council if you're unsure, before anything is cut. That goes for a dead tree and a storm-damaged one too.
State rules sit on top. Protected native plants can need a clearing permit under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992, and all marine plants, mangroves included, are protected under the Fisheries Act 1994. Our Queensland tree permit page explains the state layer.
Tree pruning and lopping in Cairns
Cairns Regional Council says the cyclone season officially runs from 1 November to 30 April each year. Its disaster guide asks residents to keep the yard clear, clean the gutters and trim trees and overhanging branches before then.
Council has offered four no-fee green waste disposal periods a year at its transfer stations, and added an extra one from 6 to 14 January 2024 after Jasper. Line your pruning up with the next one; council's site has the dates.
If an arborist is pruning before the season, ask for a lighter, balanced crown. Lopping (cutting branches back to stubs) leaves bushy regrowth that's often poorly attached, which is the last thing you want in a cyclone.
Which trees hold up in a Cairns cyclone?
Alexandrian laurel has a long reputation as cyclone resistant. Cairns City Council described it that way back in 1986, and surveys after Cyclone Yasi largely backed it up. Sea almonds, common in beachfront parks, are more mixed: views run from wind resistant to prone to severe failure, and broken branches are the usual damage.
Species is only part of it. A tree that's been lopped, split or had its roots cut for a driveway is weaker whatever it is, and an arborist will look at those things before the name on the tag.
Common tree jobs in Cairns
Pre-season pruning, removals of tall trees close to the house, palm and fig work, and the clean-up after a storm: limbs off roofs, trees through fences and the stumps left behind. Our Cairns stump grinding page covers what happens after a tree comes down, and the storm damage page covers the first few hours.
Hiring an arborist in Cairns
Run the CairnsPlan Property Report for your address first, so you know whether a planning rule touches any tree on the lot. Then have an arborist look at anything over 7.5 metres near the house before November, and ask for an arborist qualified to at least AQF Level 3, which is what council recommends for private tree work.