Why is one tree quote so much lower than another?
Usually because it's a different job. One quote takes the tree down and leaves the stump, the wood and the mess. Another grinds the stump, chips the branches and leaves the yard clean. Both can be honest.
Some differences are fair. Easy access, a smaller tree with open space around it, or keeping the firewood yourself all make a job smaller.
Others are corners cut: no insurance, no permit, an untrained crew, or lopping the tree instead of pruning it. None of those show up on the quote, which is exactly why they're worth asking about.
When does cheap end up expensive?
No insurance. If an uninsured crew damages your house or the neighbour's, Financial Rights Legal Centre warns you may end up paying for it. Your own policy may not fill the gap either: it lists damage to other people's property during tree cutting or lopping, by you or anyone you hire, as a common legal liability exclusion.
No permit. In NSW, a penalty notice for illegal clearing is $3,000 for an individual, rising to $6,000 for prescribed high-value vegetation such as larger trees. Tree workers get prosecuted too: Burnside Council in South Australia reports a tree business owner convicted and fined $7,000 plus costs for felling a regulated tree.
Lopping. Cutting a tree back to stubs looks like a quick fix. Whitehorse City Council says the regrowth is often poorly attached and can make the tree dangerous, so the job comes back, bigger. The Australian pruning standard, AS 4373-2007, lists lopping and topping as unacceptable practices.
Plenty of people say lopping when they mean pruning, and that's fine. What matters is what the arborist actually plans to cut. Our lopping vs pruning guide shows the difference.
Red flags before you say yes
- A knock on the door after a storm, offering to clear the tree for cash up front. After a 2021 Sydney storm, the Insurance Council warned of disaster chasers doing just that, then leaving jobs poorly done or unfinished.
- Someone saying your insurer sent them when your insurer hasn't told you. The Insurance Council says an insurer won't send a tradesperson without telling you first, and one working for your insurer won't ask you for payment.
- Cash only, no written quote, or no business name and contact details
- Can't or won't show proof of insurance
- Brushes off the council, or says nobody will notice
- Offers to lop or top the tree to make it smaller
- Talks up a tree licence. No state has one, so ask about qualifications and insurance instead.
- Pressure to decide on the spot, or a deal that's only good today
What a good arborist does
- Comes and looks at the tree before quoting
- Puts the quote in writing: how the tree comes down, the stump, the wood and mulch, the clean-up, and how the house and garden are protected
- Shows you current insurance before starting
- Tells you whether the tree may be protected, and who's applying to the council
- Prunes to AS 4373, the Australian pruning standard, and can explain each cut
- Sets up an exclusion zone (an area everyone keeps out of) under the work, as Safe Work Australia's guidance says should happen
- Tells you honestly when a tree is better kept, or when a job isn't worth doing
Questions to ask before you book
- Are you insured for public liability, and can I see the certificate of currency?
- Do your workers have workers compensation cover?
- Who'll actually be doing the work, and what qualification do they hold?
- Is this tree likely to be protected, and will you lodge the council application or should I?
- How will it come down, and what will you protect along the way?
- What's included: the stump, wood, mulch, green waste and clean-up?
- When do you want payment, and how?
- Will you prune to AS 4373?
What about insurance and qualifications?
There's no arborist licence in any state, and Arboriculture Australia, the industry's professional membership body, calls arboriculture an unregulated industry. Wingecarribee Shire Council's advice is the right one: check an arborist's qualifications, experience and insurance yourself before you hire.
The trade qualification is the Certificate III in Arboriculture (AHC30824, or an older code such as AHC30820). Reports for a council are consulting work, usually by someone with the Diploma of Arboriculture at AQF Level 5. Our guide to checking an arborist covers what to ask for and how to read the paperwork.
After a storm, slow down
If anyone is in danger, call 000. For storm damage to the home, call the SES. Then talk to your insurer before agreeing to any work. The Insurance Council says to speak to them before you attempt or authorise repairs, even emergency ones, and Moneysmart notes many insurers can arrange the urgent part, such as removing loose debris. A stranger at the door with a chainsaw can wait. Our after a storm guide has the full order of things.
Ways to make the job smaller, and what to leave
You can
- Move cars, pots, outdoor furniture and anything breakable out of the way
- Keep the wood or mulch if you can use it, and say so when you ask for quotes
- Rake up leaves and small twigs afterwards, if the quote leaves that to you
- Find out the council's rules for your address before the quotes come in
- Take clear photos of the tree, the access and what's underneath it
Leave to an arborist
- All cutting at height, and any felling
- Branches over the roof, a fence or the neighbour's yard
- Anything near power lines
- Stump grinding
- Storm-damaged, split or leaning trees
How to choose an arborist (and what cheap can cost you): what to do next
We'd get two or three written quotes for the same job and compare them line by line, not on the total alone. Then we'd go with the arborist who answered the insurance and permit questions without fuss, even if they weren't the lowest. On a tree near the house, that's where most of the risk sits.
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Tell us the job and your postcode, and a local arborist calls you to talk it through.