Tell us the job

Your state

Arborists and tree removal in Queensland

Two networks, a cyclone season and council rules that vary.

Find your Queensland city below, and ask your council before a tree is removed or cut back hard, because most tree protection here comes from local laws and planning schemes.

Tree job in Queensland?

What needs doing?

If anyone is in danger, call 000. For storm damage to your home, call the SES. Then tell us the job.

Only one local arborist gets your number.

An arborist in a helmet and climbing harness going up a rope beside the trunk of a large leafy tree

South east, or the rest of the state?

Queensland splits in two for power. Energex runs the south east, from the NSW border north to Gympie and west to the base of the Great Dividing Range, which takes in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

Ergon Energy covers the rest, with Toowoomba, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns among them. Report fallen powerlines or shocks to Energex or Ergon, or call 000. Gympie's council lists both.

Who protects trees in Queensland?

Mostly councils, through local laws and planning schemes that sit on top of the state's vegetation rules. Brisbane protects vegetation under its Natural Assets Local Law 2003, and Noosa's planning scheme needs a permit to clear vegetation on any private land in the shire. In the south east, mapped koala habitat can need its own approval.

QCAT's advice is to ask the council whether a tree is protected. Tree removal permits in Queensland has the state picture and council pages.

Cyclones and storms

Queensland's cyclone season officially runs from 1 November to 30 April, and communities within 50 kilometres of the coast from Bundaberg to Thursday Island are the most susceptible. If anyone's life is in danger, call 000. For a fallen tree that has damaged the house or blocks access, call the SES or use the SES Assistance QLD app, and expect long waits in severe weather. Treat every fallen powerline as live.

Thin it before the season, don't lop it

Councils from Brisbane to Cairns ask residents to trim trees and overhanging branches before storm season. How it's done matters. The report on Cyclone Yasi found lopping before cyclones leaves poorly formed regrowth that can make a tree more cyclone sensitive later. Arborists thin dense canopies instead, so wind passes through.

The same report found trees can catch flying debris and take wind off a house, so clearing every tree isn't automatically safer. If a big tree overhangs your roof, we'd have an arborist thin it before summer, after asking the council whether it's protected. Lopping versus pruning explains the difference.

Cities in Queensland

Tree removal and tree loppers in BrisbaneBrisbane's local law, the big trees it names, storm season and who handles lines.Tree removal and arborists on the Gold CoastCity Plan's size triggers, the pest tree list, storm history and who to ring about lines.Tree removal and arborists on the Sunshine CoastThe planning scheme, Development.i, verge permits, koala areas, Noosa and Energex.Tree removal and arborists in TownsvilleTownsville tree work: cyclone season, the trees Yasi brought down, nature strip rules and power lines.Tree removal and arborists in ToowoombaCouncil's street trees, the state check for private trees, Phytophthora and Ergon lines.Tree removal and arborists in CairnsCairns tree work: CairnsPlan 2016 and tall trees, council's public trees, and getting ready for the wet.Tree removal and arborists in MackayMackay tree work: council's footpath trees, Ergon and the lines, storms and getting ready for the wet.Tree removal and arborists in RockhamptonRockhampton tree work: council's 2026 tree policy, trees touching lines, floods and green waste.Tree removal and arborists in Hervey BayHervey Bay tree work: Fraser Coast's street tree and council land rules, storm season prep and green waste.Tree removal and arborists in BundabergBundaberg tree work: cyclone and storm season, roots in sewer pipes, protected plants and planning checks.Tree removal and tree loppers in GympieGympie's planning scheme overlays, weed trees, the Mary River and both power networks.

Every suburb

Suburbs and tree services in Queensland

Your suburb's page has its council's tree rules, the trees that grow there and who to call about power lines. Not listed? Tell us your postcode with the job, and we pass it to a local arborist near you.

Brisbane45 suburbs

Gold Coast13 suburbs

Sunshine Coast8 suburbs

Townsville

Toowoomba

Cairns

Mackay

Rockhampton

Tree permits in Queensland, council by council

Arborists and tree removal in Queensland: common questions

Can I make my neighbour deal with overhanging branches in Queensland?

Under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011, the tree-keeper is responsible for branches that overhang your land. The formal notice only covers branches at least 50 cm over the boundary and 2.5 m or less above the ground, gives at least 30 days, and can't be used if a vegetation protection order covers the tree. The neighbours' trees guide has the rest.

Need an arborist in Queensland?

Pick the job and give your postcode, and a local arborist calls you.

Tree job in Queensland?

What needs doing?

Only one local arborist gets your number.

More on Arborists and tree removal in Queensland

Tree lopping, topping and pruningWhy lopped and topped trees regrow weakly, what the pruning Standard says, and how to ask for the result you want.Your neighbour's tree: branches, roots and disputesOverhanging branches, roots, leaves and disputes: what each state allows, and where disputes go.A tree came down in a storm000 and the SES first, then photos, your insurer, the council and the arborist, in that order.

Where this information comes from

Tree rules change, so check with your council before anything is cut. How we write and check these pages.