What is an arborist report?

An arborist report is a written assessment of one or more trees by a qualified arborist. It records what the tree is, how big it is, what condition it is in, what risk it presents and how long it is likely to remain useful, then makes a recommendation such as remove, prune, or retain with protection measures. Councils use it as the evidence behind a decision on a tree application. It is a professional opinion backed by measurements and photographs, not a quote for the work.

When do I need an arborist report?

Usually when your tree is protected and you are asking a council for permission to remove or prune it, when you want to rely on a dead, dying or dangerous exemption and need to prove the tree qualifies, when you are building near a tree that has to be retained, or when a tree dispute with a neighbour or an insurance claim needs independent evidence. If your tree is not protected and there is no dispute, you usually do not need one. Check your council's rules first, because the trigger differs between councils.

How much does an arborist report cost in Australia?

Published Australian price guides put a straightforward single-tree report for a council application at roughly $350 to $900, and a more detailed report for a development application, a risk assessment or a dispute at roughly $800 to $2,000 or more. Extra trees on the same visit usually add a smaller amount each rather than repeating the full fee. These are indicative ranges only, not quotes. Cost depends on tree numbers, site complexity, and whether testing such as resistance drilling or root investigation is needed.

Does it have to be a Level 5 arborist?

For a report submitted to a council, usually yes. Many Australian councils will only accept a report written by a consulting arborist holding an AQF Level 5 Diploma of Arboriculture or equivalent. North Sydney Council, for example, states that it only accepts reports from consultant arborists with that qualification. AQF Level 3 is the trade qualification for carrying out the tree work itself, and a Level 3 arborist is generally not accepted as the author of an assessment report. Always check what your own council specifies before you pay for anything.

Can the arborist who removes the tree also write the report?

Sometimes, but it can create a problem. A report recommending removal, written by the business that will be paid to do the removal, has an obvious interest in the outcome, and some councils and most courts and insurers give more weight to an independent assessment. If the report is going to a council, a tribunal or an insurer, it is safer to have it written by a consulting arborist who is not quoting for the work.

How long does an arborist report take, and how long is it valid?

A single-tree residential report is commonly turned around within one to two weeks of the site inspection, though this varies by arborist and season. There is no national expiry date. Councils commonly treat a report as current for around twelve months, and a report can be overtaken by events sooner than that if the tree's condition changes after a storm or if works happen nearby. If your report is old, ask the council whether it will still accept it before you lodge.

How to get an arborist report for tree removal

If your council has asked for an arborist report, or you are trying to prove a tree is dead or dangerous, this is the document that decides the outcome. It is also the step most people get wrong, usually by paying the wrong kind of arborist for the wrong kind of report. Here is what one is, when you actually need one, and what it should contain.

General information only, not legal advice. Report requirements are set council by council and can change. Ask your council exactly what it requires before you commission anything.

What an arborist report actually is

An arborist report (you will also see it called an arboricultural assessment or an arboricultural impact assessment) is a written, evidence-based opinion about a tree. It records the species, the measurements, the health and structural condition, the risk and the likely remaining useful life, and then recommends what should happen: remove, prune, or keep with protection measures during works.

Two things it is not. It is not a quote, so it does not tell you what the removal will cost. And it is not an approval. The council still makes the decision; the report is the evidence you hand them.

When you actually need one

You will typically be asked for a report in these situations:

The tree is protected and you want it removed or pruned. Most council applications for a protected tree either require a report up front or require one once the assessing officer decides the case needs more than a site visit. Not sure whether yours is protected? Start with is my tree protected.
You are relying on the dead, dying or dangerous exemption. Councils treat “it was dead” as a claim you have to prove, and a report plus dated photographs is the usual proof. See removing a dead or dangerous tree.
You are building near a tree. If a development application affects a tree worth retaining, councils commonly require an arboricultural impact assessment covering the effect of the works and how the tree will be protected.
The council wants further analysis. The City of Sydney, for instance, says you will need to engage a consultant arborist if your tree needs further analysis such as aerial inspection, resistance testing, pathology assessment or root investigations.
There is a dispute or a claim. Neighbour disputes, tribunal matters and insurance claims all turn on independent evidence about the tree's condition and whether the risk was known.

If the tree is not protected, is on your own land and nobody is arguing about it, you usually do not need a report at all. Run your address through the permit checker before you spend money on one.

Level 3 or Level 5: the detail that gets reports rejected

Australian arborist qualifications sit on the Australian Qualifications Framework, and the distinction matters more than almost anything else in this process:

AQF Level 3 (Certificate III in Arboriculture) is the trade qualification for the arborist who climbs, prunes and removes. The City of Sydney, for example, requires all tree works to be done by an arborist with a minimum AQF Level 3.
AQF Level 5 (Diploma of Arboriculture) is the consulting qualification. This is the person who assesses and writes reports. North Sydney Council states plainly that it only accepts reports from consultant arborists who hold an AQF Level 5 Diploma of Arboriculture or equivalent.

So a perfectly good climbing arborist can be entirely unqualified, in the council's eyes, to write the document you need. Councils vary on this, but Level 5 is the safe assumption for anything going to a council, a tribunal or an insurer. Ask for the qualification in writing before you engage anyone, and check your council's own wording, because a rejected report is a fee you pay twice.

What goes in the report

Councils that publish report guidelines tend to ask for the same building blocks. Expect to see:

Author details and qualifications, including the AQF level, plus the brief and the date of inspection.
A tree data table. Species (botanical and common name), height, canopy spread, trunk diameter at breast height (DBH), age class, health, structural condition, and an estimate of useful life expectancy and retention value.
A site plan showing tree locations and, where relevant, root protection areas.
Photographs of the tree and of any defect being relied on.
The assessment itself: the defects or impacts found, the risk, and the reasoning.
Options, not just a conclusion. Good reports set out the management options considered, including the ones not recommended, with the reasons. A report that only says “remove” is weaker than one that explains why retention and pruning were ruled out.
Recommendations, and where removal is recommended, often a replacement planting proposal, which many councils expect.
For development work, a Tree Protection Plan and Tree Protection Specifications setting out how retained trees are protected during construction.

People search for an “arborist report template” hoping to write their own. You cannot: the value of the document is the qualified, named, independent author standing behind it. A template you fill in yourself has no weight with a council.

The standards your report should cite

Two Australian Standards come up constantly, and one of them changed recently:

AS 4970:2025 Protection of trees on development sites, published on 30 May 2025, replacing the 2009 edition. If your report relates to building works and still cites the 2009 version, it is out of date. The 2025 revision renamed the Tree Protection Zone to the Notional Root Zone (NRZ), calculated the same way from trunk diameter at breast height, and separated the Tree Protection Plan (the drawing) from the Tree Protection Specifications (the written requirements).
AS 4373-2007 Pruning of amenity trees, the standard the actual pruning work has to follow, and the one councils reference when they approve pruning rather than removal. It is also the standard that rules out lopping and topping: see tree lopping vs pruning.

What it costs

Published Australian price guides put reports in these broad bands. Treat them as a sanity check on a quote, not a price we set:

Basic single-tree assessment: roughly $350 to $500.
Standard council application report, one to three trees: roughly $500 to $900.
Detailed report for a development application, risk assessment or dispute: roughly $800 to $2,000 or more, depending on how many trees and how complex the site is.
Additional trees on the same visit: usually a modest amount each rather than a repeat of the full fee.

Capital cities sit at the higher end, and specialist testing such as resistance drilling, aerial inspection or root investigation is charged on top. Set against a council penalty for removing a protected tree, or against a removal that gets refused because the evidence was thin, a report is usually the cheap part. See our tree removal cost guide for how it fits into the total job.

How to get one, step by step

Ask the council first, in writing. Ask whether a report is required at all, what AQF level the author must hold, what the report must cover, and whether there is an application fee. Councils charge their own fees: the City of Sydney, for example, lists a $98 application fee for a private-land tree application. Getting this in an email is free and prevents the most expensive mistakes.
Engage a consulting arborist, ideally an independent one. Confirm AQF Level 5, ask whether they regularly write for your council, and ask for professional indemnity insurance cover.
Brief them properly. Say what the report is for (council application, dead-tree exemption, DA, dispute, insurance), because the scope and format differ. Give them the council's own requirements document if there is one.
Be there for the inspection if you can, and point out the history: the storm, the limb that dropped, the cracked path, the plumber's report on root intrusion. Evidence you hold is evidence they can cite.
Read the draft before it is finalised for factual errors: wrong address, wrong tree, wrong boundary. Do not ask the arborist to change the conclusion, which defeats the purpose and is usually obvious to the assessing officer.
Lodge it with the application, then get quotes for the work separately once you know what has been approved.

Getting the most out of the money

Do not commission a report before you know you need one. The council's answer costs nothing; the report does not.
Cover every tree in one visit. Additional trees assessed at the same time cost far less than a second call-out.
Be wary of a free report offered with a removal quote. It may be fine, but if it goes to a council or an insurer, the lack of independence is the first thing anyone will notice. A contractor telling you no report and no approval are needed is a red flag, because the liability for removing a protected tree stays with the landowner.
Keep it. A report showing you knew about a hazard and acted is useful evidence later. A report showing you were told a tree was sound, and it failed anyway, is even more useful.

Quick reference

Who writes it: an AQF Level 5 consulting arborist, for anything going to a council.
Who does the work: an AQF Level 3 arborist or higher.
Typical cost: around $350 to $900 for a residential council report, more for a DA or a dispute.
Standards: AS 4970:2025 for development sites, AS 4373-2007 for pruning.
It is evidence, not approval. The council still decides.
Ask the council what it requires before you pay for anything.

Need an arborist for the assessment or the work?

We are not an arborist and we do not write reports. We connect Australian homeowners with licensed local arborists, including consulting arborists who write council reports. Tell us what you need and we'll pass it to arborists near you for free, no-obligation quotes. If the report is headed for a council or an insurer, say so, and ask for an independent assessment rather than one bundled with a removal quote.

Frequently asked questions

What is an arborist report?: An arborist report is a written assessment of one or more trees by a qualified arborist. It records what the tree is, how big it is, what condition it is in, what risk it presents and how long it is likely to remain useful, then makes a recommendation such as remove, prune, or retain with protection measures. Councils use it as the evidence behind a decision on a tree application. It is a professional opinion backed by measurements and photographs, not a quote for the work.
When do I need an arborist report?: Usually when your tree is protected and you are asking a council for permission to remove or prune it, when you want to rely on a dead, dying or dangerous exemption and need to prove the tree qualifies, when you are building near a tree that has to be retained, or when a tree dispute with a neighbour or an insurance claim needs independent evidence. If your tree is not protected and there is no dispute, you usually do not need one. Check your council's rules first, because the trigger differs between councils.
How much does an arborist report cost in Australia?: Published Australian price guides put a straightforward single-tree report for a council application at roughly $350 to $900, and a more detailed report for a development application, a risk assessment or a dispute at roughly $800 to $2,000 or more. Extra trees on the same visit usually add a smaller amount each rather than repeating the full fee. These are indicative ranges only, not quotes. Cost depends on tree numbers, site complexity, and whether testing such as resistance drilling or root investigation is needed.
Does it have to be a Level 5 arborist?: For a report submitted to a council, usually yes. Many Australian councils will only accept a report written by a consulting arborist holding an AQF Level 5 Diploma of Arboriculture or equivalent. North Sydney Council, for example, states that it only accepts reports from consultant arborists with that qualification. AQF Level 3 is the trade qualification for carrying out the tree work itself, and a Level 3 arborist is generally not accepted as the author of an assessment report. Always check what your own council specifies before you pay for anything.
Can the arborist who removes the tree also write the report?: Sometimes, but it can create a problem. A report recommending removal, written by the business that will be paid to do the removal, has an obvious interest in the outcome, and some councils and most courts and insurers give more weight to an independent assessment. If the report is going to a council, a tribunal or an insurer, it is safer to have it written by a consulting arborist who is not quoting for the work.
How long does an arborist report take, and how long is it valid?: A single-tree residential report is commonly turned around within one to two weeks of the site inspection, though this varies by arborist and season. There is no national expiry date. Councils commonly treat a report as current for around twelve months, and a report can be overtaken by events sooner than that if the tree's condition changes after a storm or if works happen nearby. If your report is old, ask the council whether it will still accept it before you lodge.