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Service
Project arborist & site supervision
Named on the permit, on site at the hold points, signing off each stage. A hold point is a moment where work stops until the arborist has attended and signed it off. AS 4970:2025 assumes an arborist stays involved for the length of the project.
Fixed quote within one business day · agreed in writing before any work starts
What the job involves on site
- I attend before works start and confirm the protection has gone in as specified
- I supervise excavation inside protection zones, including hand digging and hydro excavation, which uses pressurised water to wash soil off roots rather than cutting through them
- I make the call on roots found during excavation, and write down the decision and the reasoning at the time
- I attend the hold points in the protection plan and sign each one off
- I issue stage reports where the permit conditions require them
- I provide the completion documentation that closes out the tree conditions on the permit
Check your permit conditions early
Tree conditions on a planning permit routinely require arborist attendance at set stages and a final sign-off before occupancy. Read them when the permit issues and put the attendances in your programme and your budget. I have seen projects lose three or four weeks because nobody looked at those conditions until the certificate stage.
How it is charged
Supervision is charged hourly against a minimum call-out, quoted in writing before work starts. If your site needs less time than the minimum, I will try to pair the visit with another job nearby so you are not paying for hours you did not use.
Ongoing projects are better handled on a retainer against an agreed number of attendances. Ask and I will price it that way.
Independence
I do not carry out physical tree works of any kind. It matters most here, because when I tell a council that the protection went in correctly and the excavation was supervised, there is no contractor of mine standing behind that statement.
Common questions
What does a project arborist cost in Melbourne?
Attendance is quoted against your programme. Ongoing projects are better arranged as a retainer covering an agreed number of attendances, which usually works out better than booking each one separately.
Do I need a project arborist named before the permit issues?
Often yes. Many Melbourne councils condition tree protection on a named project arborist being engaged, and some require the name at endorsement stage. Check the draft conditions early.
Do you do the tree pruning as well?
No. This is a consulting practice only. I do not prune, remove or climb, which keeps the supervision independent of the works being supervised. I am happy to recommend contractors.
What happens if roots are found during excavation?
You call me and I come and look before anything is cut. Depending on the size and position of the root, I will either specify a clean pruning cut, ask for the works to be adjusted around it, or stop and reassess. Whichever it is, I write down the decision and the reasoning at the time, because council will want that at close-out.
Other services
Tree Removal Report
ResidentialArboricultural Impact Assessment
DevelopmentClause 52.37 Canopy Tree Report
Residential · PlanningPreliminary Tree Assessment
Before you designTree Protection Management Plan
DevelopmentRoot & Infrastructure Investigation
InvestigationConstruction Monitoring
On siteTree Risk Assessment
TRAQ qualifiedTree Protection Zone Advice
Written adviceSend me the plans and I will send you a number.
A fixed fee in writing within one business day, with the scope set out so you know what is included. If it turns out you do not need this report, I will tell you that instead.