Right now: keep everyone safe
Call 000 if anyone is trapped, injured or in danger. Keep people, pets and cars out from under split or hanging branches: strong winds weaken trees and dislodge hanging branches, and they can drop without warning. Treat a fallen power line, and anything touching it, as live. Stay well back (NSW SES says at least 8 metres, SA Power Networks 10 metres) and call the network, because fallen lines are the network's job. And don't start cutting: the NSW SES says not to attempt to remove trees or branches after a storm.
What to do, in order
Call 000 if anyone is hurt or trapped
Life comes first, every time.
Call the SES for damage to the home
The SES helps when a fallen tree has damaged your home or car, or blocks your way in or out. In Queensland you can also ask through the SES Assistance QLD app, and the SES warns that phone waits can be long in severe weather.
Report fallen lines to the network
Find your network in our power lines guide and call its faults line. In the NT, check Power and Water's website.
Photograph everything before it moves
Moneysmart says to take photos and video of the original damage before you move anything. Get the whole tree, the break, the roots and whatever it hit.
Ring your insurer before anyone starts
The Insurance Council of Australia says to speak to your insurer before you attempt or authorise any work, emergency repairs included. Many insurers can arrange emergency repairs such as removing loose debris.
Ask the council about a damaged tree that's still standing
Storm damage doesn't switch off tree rules. The permit section below covers how each state handles urgent work.
Then get an arborist to make it safe
Ask for the make-safe and the full removal to be quoted separately, in writing.
What the SES will and won't do
The SES makes things safe for now; it doesn't do the permanent fix. NSW SES volunteers give temporary help to keep a home safe and point you to your insurer or a private contractor for repairs. VICSES says cutting down trees that are still standing, and removing debris, are jobs for a professional tradesperson. ACT SES won't prune trees, remove rubbish or carry green waste.
There are differences between states. Tasmania SES can remove dangerous fallen trees or branches, but says to call a local tree service for ones that aren't, such as a tree that isn't blocking a driveway. NTES volunteers help clear trees from driveways, cars and houses. NSW SES asks you to ring back with your reference number to cancel if you no longer need help.
Insurance: what's usually covered, and what isn't
Moneysmart says most home and contents insurance covers storms, but what that means for a fallen tree depends on your policy. Financial Rights Legal Centre says some policies only cover removing a fallen tree if it damaged the insured home or contents; otherwise the removal can be yours to arrange. Cover varies a lot between insurers, so read your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Liability depends on the tree. A strong, healthy tree that falls in a storm is usually treated as an act of God, so its owner usually isn't liable. A dead or damaged tree, or a species known to drop branches, can be a different story. A flattened shared fence is usually split half each, with each insurer covering its own customer's share.
Insurers won't pay to remove a tree you only suspect is dangerous, so a second, shaky-looking tree is a matter for an arborist and the council.
Permits for storm-damaged trees
A storm doesn't make a protected tree fair game. What changes is how quickly the council can say yes, and that varies by state.
NSW: a tree can only come out under the risk exemption if the council agrees it poses an imminent safety risk, and the council must confirm that in writing before work starts. In an emergency, the NSW SES and Fire and Rescue NSW are authorised to act.
ACT: for a private tree that's an immediate safety risk, call Access Canberra and ask for an urgent circumstances authorisation. They may want a photo, and a full tree activity application still has to follow as soon as practicable.
South Australia: urgent work on a regulated tree to protect a person or building is allowed, with the least damage to the tree, but the council must be told within 28 days and approval applied for afterwards.
Victoria and elsewhere: Victoria's canopy tree clause makes room for the part of a tree posing an immediate risk, but overlays and local laws can still apply, so ring the council. In Tasmania, Kingborough may ask for an arborist's assessment when a tree comes out for safety reasons. Wherever you are, start with the permit page for your state.
Watch out for storm chasers
After a 2021 Sydney storm, the Insurance Council of Australia warned of disaster chasers offering tree and debris removal for upfront cash, then leaving the work poorly done or unfinished. A tradesperson working for your insurer won't ask you for payment, and an insurer won't send one without telling you first. If someone knocks offering to clear the tree on the spot, ring your insurer before you say yes.
What to ask the arborist before they start
- Can you make it safe first, and quote the full removal separately, in writing?
- Is your public liability insurance current, and do you carry workers compensation? Can I see both?
- Who checks with the council, and will you wait for its written OK if the tree is protected?
- Does the quote say how the tree comes down, what happens to the stump and what gets cleaned up?
- Is anything near the power lines, and has the network been told?
- Will you photograph the tree before and after for my insurer?
- What arboriculture qualifications does the crew hold? The trade qualification is the Certificate III in Arboriculture.
What you can do, and what's arborist work
You can
- Keep people, pets and cars well away from the tree.
- Photograph and video the damage from every side.
- Ring the SES, your insurer and the council.
- Rake up leaves and small twigs that are well clear of hanging branches and lines.
Leave to an arborist
- Hanging, split or broken branches still in the tree.
- A tree on the roof, the fence or a car.
- A leaning tree, or one with its roots lifting out of the ground.
- Cutting up and removing the fallen trunk, and the stump.
- Anything touching a power line goes to the network instead.
A tree came down in a storm: what to do next
We'd photograph everything before a single branch moves, ring the insurer, then call the council if the damaged tree is still standing. Only then would we book an arborist, asking for the make-safe and the removal to be quoted separately. And we'd turn away anyone at the door wanting cash up front.
Want an arborist to look at it?
Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.