Arboriculture Consultancy Group

Any tree we assess at a risk rating of 8 or higher gets a metal numbered tag and a GPS coordinate recorded against it, and the field data goes up to the FULCRUM server with a URL that drops you straight onto that tree on a map, images and assessment attached. That is what a visual tree assessment from Arboriculture Consultancy Group actually leaves behind: not an opinion about a tree, but a record of it that a council can act on years later.

This has been a consulting practice since Andrew Norman established it in 2007, having led in the industry from a start in Canberra in 1978. Rebeccah Norman runs it now as owner and lead consultant, with a thirty year career behind her and a Diploma at Level 5 Arborist attained in 2023, on top of a Diploma of Horticulture from 2000 and Level 3 Arborist certification going back to 1995. She trained in tree mechanics and the body language of trees under Dr Claus Matteck. Between the two founders there are 70 years in arboriculture and 18 years of consultancy, both are members of Arboriculture Australia, and the practice covers the Far South Coast of New South Wales and the Snowy Monaro.

The methodology is published and we work to it. An assessment under Arboriculture Australia MIS501 records species, origin, dimensions, health and structural integrity for every tree on a site, and out of that come the tree management plans, tree retention guidelines and three year works programs that set out what should happen and in what order. For the trees being kept, the report specifies Notional Protection Zones, Tree Protection Zones and Structural Root Zones under AS 4970:2025 Protection of Trees on Development Sites and MIS503. Retention value is weighed against Safe Useful Life Expectancy, the recognised measure of how long a tree can stay healthy, stable and worth having where it stands. Reports are written to AS/NZS ISO 31000:2018 and reference AS 4373-2007, the NSW NPWS Tree Risk Management Procedures 2019, the Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2017 and State Environmental Planning Policy 2021.

Since 2024 Rebeccah has held CASA accreditation as a certified Chief Remote Pilot, which is what put drones into our kit. Aerial habitat inspections now cover hollow assessments, detailed imaging of branch structures, decay and sporing body identification, and whole of site canopy evaluations. On a veteran tree in a campground or along a highway corridor it means a set of high resolution images of the crown with nobody climbing into it, at a fraction of the cost of a traditional aerial survey and with no disturbance to what is living up there.

The client list is the part worth reading. National Parks NSW since 2007, covering risk assessments and management plans for campsites and infrastructure across the Far South Coast, the Bombala South East Forests and the Eurobodalla. Bega Valley Shire Council since 2007, including assistance developing its Veteran Tree Policy. Transport for NSW since 2019, on post fire tree risk work along the Kings Highway at Clyde Mountain and the Princes Highway from North Durras to Narooma, with proactive projects on the Hume Highway in 2023 and the Illawarra Highway in 2024. The Education Department, ongoing, for primary and high schools across the Bega Valley, Eurobodalla and Snowy Monaro. Annual inspections at Burrawang Coastal Club since 2017 and Catalina Country Club since 2018.

What we are aiming at on every job is a balance, managing the risk while keeping veteran and habitat trees standing wherever the assessment allows for it. Whether it is roadside tree management for a council, a risk assessment across a school ground, or one large spotted gum sitting where a driveway is about to be excavated, a Level 5 arborist comes out and inspects it on site, and what you get back is a report with a structured works program in it. Ring 0409 530 832 and tell us what needs looking at.