Tree Reports NSW

Tree Reports NSW is a Sydney based consulting practice working out of Sydney Olympic Park, with experience across both the public and private sectors. The team are AQF Level 5 qualified consulting arborists, which is the qualification level councils insist on for the reports that accompany a development application. They do not climb and cut. What they produce is the paperwork and the expert opinion behind it: arborist reports, arboricultural impact assessments, council tree applications and expert witness services.

Tree hazard and risk assessment reports are the bread and butter. The assessment looks at the health and structure of every part of the tree, the targets sitting beneath it and the conditions around it, then sets out options for reducing the risk rather than simply recommending removal. Two internationally recognised methodologies are used, TRAQ (Tree Risk Assessment Qualification) and QTRA (Quantified Tree Risk Assessment), so the conclusion rests on a documented method a council or an insurer can follow. Where the trunk needs looking inside, the practice offers advanced diagnostic testing with sonic tomography and a resistograph, described on their own site as being like an x-ray of the internal structure of the tree. Root crown investigation, aerial inspections and dynamic tree support systems round out the technical side.

If you are building, the report you will be asked for is an arboricultural impact assessment. It gives the consent authority detailed information on what the proposed development will do to the trees on your site, on the council nature strip and on neighbouring properties, and it can only be produced by an AQF Level 5 consulting arborist. It usually travels with a tree protection plan, covering fencing, signage, how earthworks are handled near the trees that stay, and the monitoring required while the build is underway, with any pruning specified to AS 4373-2007. Councils commonly ask for both as part of the DA process.

For homeowners the sticking point is often the application itself. Tree Reports NSW runs the whole council tree application on your behalf: working out the species, gathering the information the council requires, completing the forms accurately and lodging them, with arboricultural recommendations attached. The service takes in an in person consultation and the costs associated with the application, plus advice on what work the tree actually needs.

Where a tree has turned into a legal problem, the practice prepares legal expert witness reports and consulting services for litigation, including arborist reports for the Land and Environment Court of NSW, Class 2 tree disputes, local government appeals, Section 34 conciliation conferences and proceedings under the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006. They set out client objectives, do the field research, write the report objectively and work through a communication strategy for it, and they will assist with mediation as well, noting that you are required to raise your concerns with the tree owner before any legal proceedings begin. The practice is based in Sydney and the court work reaches across New South Wales. Once a report says what needs doing, they can refer you on to qualified tree workers to carry it out.