Arborology WA

Elizabeth Quay, Stock Road, Lakelands, Dragonfly Boulevard at Mandurah, Wollaston Avenue at Haynes, Ellersdale Avenue at Warwick and the Town of Port Hedland Sports Hub have all had our tree advice on them. Those are multimillion dollar housing and infrastructure projects, and the same consultant does the tree inspection for a private landowner with one problem tree in the backyard. Arborology WA is a family owned consultancy with roots in the Wiradjuri people of Mudgee, New South Wales, run by Phillip Matthews as Principal Arboricultural Consultant, with John Matthews on administration.

We do not prune trees and we do not own a chainsaw. That is deliberate: being independent of the councils, the tree surgeons, the pruners and every other tree care service with an interest in the outcome is the only way a report can be genuinely unbiased. Ours are written for you and, wherever it can be, for the urban forest canopy, and there is nothing riding on which way the answer falls.

The quote is free and given over the phone, and once we have listened to the problem we book a site visit. On the day it is a visual tree inspection with the field notes collected digitally: species and approximate age, measurements of size and height, then a methodical assessment of every defect, significant weakness and source of liability on the tree. Between that inspection and the report landing in your inbox is normally 36 to 48 hours, and we do not charge extra for the speed, which matters when a development application is sitting waiting on it.

For development sites we write preliminary arboricultural reports before a DA goes in and arboricultural impact reports for the application itself, both to AS 4970 Protection of Trees on Development Sites, along with new tree planting reports and one page landscape tree planting plans where a council wants the replacement planting shown. Once machinery is on site, our compliance reports and project arborist service keep the protection conditions in the approval to the ones actually followed. Beyond that sit QTRA tree risk assessments under licence number 2726, campus tree audits for schools and colleges, arboricultural forensic investigations, neighbourhood tree disputes, tree valuations using the Helliwell System, pre purchase reports for anyone buying a property with a significant tree on it, vegetation control agreements, and tree surveys setting out remedial pruning for golf courses, universities and aged care facilities.

Phil has worked in arboriculture and horticulture for over 30 years in Perth, holds an AQF Level 5 Diploma of Horticulture (Arboriculture) and an AQF Level 9 Master of Arts, and carries a Construction White Card, a current police clearance and a Working With Children Check. We work across the Perth metropolitan area and out through regional Western Australia. If all you need is an answer, we can give it to you verbally and it costs less, but bear in mind that verbal advice is only valid on the day it is given, while a written report holds for six to twelve months depending on how stable the tree is. Ring Phil or email us the address and a photo, and we will tell you which of the two your situation actually calls for.