Otway Tree Care

Steep, wet, wind-exposed country is what we work in. The Otways put trees on slopes that wheeled machines cannot hold, and the coast between Apollo Bay and Wye River takes the weather first. Tom has been working trees in this region for more than 12 years and started Otway Tree Care so people here could get a straight answer from a qualified arborist.

We carry $20 million in insurance, with public liability cover written specifically for arboricultural work and full WorkCover for the crew. Every job runs to a documented SWMS and a safety checklist. The site gets left clean when we go.

Tree removal is the sharp end of it, including the hazardous ones hanging over a roof. Where removal is not warranted we will tell you so, and tree pruning keeps the tree where it is. Stump grinding and hedging finish the tidy-up, and waste removal means the debris leaves with us instead of sitting in a pile by the fence.

Forestry mulching runs tracked machines with specialised mulching heads, turning standing vegetation, brush and invasive species into mulch in one pass. That takes in gorse and blackberry, standing timber up to 200 to 300mm in diameter, fallen logs and dense scrub, and the tracked gear holds the steep hills where wheels will not. Landholders use it for fire fuel loads and fire breaks, for winning back acres of scrub, and for keeping soil in place instead of losing it downhill. Property maintenance covers the ongoing work on the same blocks.

Arborist reports and consulting is the paperwork side. If your property carries a Vegetation Protection Overlay you will need a report before anything comes down, so we handle council permit support for Colac Otway Shire development applications and permits, hazard risk assessments, tree protection plans for construction sites, disease and pest diagnosis, and long-term planning for estates and commercial sites. Ring us and we will check your property's status and tell you whether a formal report is actually required.

We run 24/7 emergency tree removal and storm response, with a crew dispatched as soon as it is safe to move; if the wind or lightning is too dangerous we will stabilise the site first and finish the removal once the crew can work. Our patch covers Colac, Elliminyt, Birregurra, Beeac, Alvie, Winchelsea, Camperdown, Lorne, Apollo Bay, Skenes Creek, Marengo, Wye River, Forrest, Gellibrand, Barwon Downs, Beech Forest and Lavers Hill. Ring 0448 762 058 at any hour, or 0468 004 630 for everything that can wait until morning.