Tree removal guides
Straight answers to the questions Australian homeowners actually ask before removing a tree: pruning a neighbour's branches, dead and dangerous trees, permits and cost. General information only, not legal advice. When a rule depends on your council, we say so and point you to the permit checker.
Neighbour's tree overhanging my property: what can I do?
Your right to prune branches and roots back to the boundary, who pays, and how NSW and Queensland tree-dispute laws work.
Removing a dead or dangerous tree: do I still need council approval?
When the dead, dying or dangerous exemption applies, why councils usually still want an arborist report, and how to avoid a fine.
Who pays for tree removal: you, your neighbour or the council?
How the cost falls after a storm, a fallen tree or a dangerous tree: who's liable, when insurance pays, and shared boundary trees.
Tree removal near powerlines: who's responsible?
The network line vs your private service line, clearance zones, why you must never DIY near lines, and who to call in each state.
Tree roots damaging pipes or foundations: who's liable?
Blocked drains, cracked slabs and lifted paths: your right to cut roots at the boundary, when a neighbour or council pays, and why insurance often won't.
Is my tree protected? How to check before you remove it
The six ways a tree becomes protected in Australia, from council controls and planning overlays to heritage listings, and the fastest ways to check yours before any work starts.
How to get an arborist report for tree removal
When your council actually needs one, why it usually has to come from an AQF Level 5 consulting arborist, what belongs in it, and what it costs.
Tree lopping vs pruning: what the words actually mean
Why the Australian Standard calls lopping and topping unacceptable, the pruning classes councils do accept, and how to write a quote so you get pruning instead.
Tree pruning cost in Australia: prices by type of prune
What a crown lift, a thinning, a deadwood and a crown reduction actually cost, why size is a multiplier rather than the price, and whether arborists charge per hour or per job.
The NSW 10/50 rule: clearing trees near your home for bushfire protection
When you can remove trees within 10 metres of a NSW home without council approval, why it overrides a Tree Preservation Order, and the exclusions that stop it.
Council tree overhanging or damaging my property: what can I do?
Why you cannot prune the street tree yourself, what councils will and will not do at their own cost, the consent pathway most people miss, and why council damage claims turn on negligence.
Gum tree removal: approval, cost and what councils ask
Why eucalypts are the hardest trees in Australia to get approval to remove, why sudden limb drop rarely wins an application on its own, and what a mature gum actually costs to take out.
Arborist vs tree lopper: who to hire and what to check
What the titles actually mean, the AQF qualification each job needs, the insurance certificate to ask for, and your rights when a tree lopper knocks on the door.
A tree fell on your house or car in a storm: what to do next
Who to call first, what to photograph before the clean-up, how home and car insurance usually respond, whether you need council approval to clear it, and how to spot storm chasers.
Jacaranda tree removal: approval, roots and cost
Being exotic usually helps, but heritage areas, street plantings and plain size thresholds still catch jacarandas. Plus the roots question and why hard pruning backfires.
Fig tree removal: which figs need approval, roots and cost
Weeping figs and rubber trees are often exempt, Moreton Bay and Port Jackson figs are often protected. How to tell them apart, what fig roots really do to pipes, and the sap hazard.
Camphor laurel removal: weed rules, size limits and cost
A listed weed in NSW and Queensland, yet big camphors can still need council approval. How Tweed, The Hills, Byron, Lismore and Brisbane treat it, stopping regrowth, and what removal costs.
Cocos palm removal: council rules, subsidies and cost
A weed that harms flying-foxes and is exempt in many council areas, but not everywhere. When you still need approval, which councils have paid residents to remove cocos palms, and what it costs.
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