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What an arborist report actually costs
Every job is different, so every job is quoted. What I can do is tell you honestly what the market charges, what makes your job cheaper or dearer, and how to get a real number out of me quickly.
What the market charges
Published Australian cost guides put a Melbourne arborist report for one or two trees at somewhere between $450 and $700, and multi tree reports for development sites between $800 and $2,500.
Read those with some care. Almost all of it is drawn from tree removal companies who write reports alongside the removal work, which is a different product with a different incentive behind it. Treat the range as a floor for consulting work, not a guide to it.
Why almost nobody in this market publishes a price
I checked fourteen Melbourne arboricultural consultancies while building this site. Not one publishes a fee. The only visible numbers anywhere belong to tree removal businesses.
The honest reason is that these jobs vary enormously. The same species, the same size, on two different sites with two different councils and two different proposals, is not the same piece of work. A published number would either overcharge the simple job or lose money on the hard one.
What moves your number
Tree count
The main driver. Each tree is more measurement, more assessment, more analysis against the proposal, another entry in the schedule.
Whether usable plans exist
A current feature survey and a clear site plan make everything faster. Reconstructing levels and boundaries from a sketch does not.
Access
Trees I can walk up to and measure are quick. Trees behind a locked gate on a neighbouring title are not.
How many controls apply
A site under a Significant Landscape Overlay, a local law and Clause 52.37 needs three arguments made properly. The council pages set out which apply where.
What the report is for
A condition report and a report that has to survive being challenged are different documents, and the second one takes longer.
Deadline
Standard turnaround is built in. If you need it faster I will tell you what is possible and what it costs, not quietly miss the date.
How quoting works here
Send the address and whatever plans you have
Even a rough sketch and the number of trees is enough to start. If you have council correspondence, send that too, because it usually tells me which test applies.
Fixed number back within one business day
What it covers and what it does not, in writing. If the job needs two stages I will say so up front rather than quoting one and invoicing for two.
The number does not move
Unless the scope does, and then I quote the variation before doing it. If the site turns out slower than I expected, that is my problem, not your invoice.
The cheapest report is the one you do not need
If you send me the plans and the job does not require an arborist report, I will tell you that and there is no fee. It happens more often than you would think, usually because the works sit outside every root zone or the site is in a zone Clause 52.37 does not reach.
Get a real number for your site.
Send the address and whatever plans you have. Fixed quote back within one business day, scope written down, no variations you did not agree to.