Short answer
Check the licence first — arborists are not licensed in Australia, so check qualifications and public liability insurance instead. Then check that the business is who it says it is: of the 630 Australian arborists in this directory, only 13.3% publish an ABN you can confirm, and 4.4% list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website.
Arborists handle tree removal, pruning, stump grinding, and reports on tree health. This is what to check before you let one into your house, and what the evidence says about the trade as a whole.
There is no arborist licence — so check something else
There is no arborist licence in Australia. What exists instead is qualification — AQF Level 3 for climbing and cutting, AQF Level 5 for the consulting arborist who writes a report a council will accept. Because there is no licence to check, insurance matters more here than in almost any other trade.
There is no national licence register in Australia — each state and territory runs its own. The regulator for your state is listed at the bottom of this guide, and checking a number takes about a minute.
What 630 Australian arborists actually publish
We check every business in this directory the same way, and publish the result whether it flatters the trade or not. For arborists:
| What we checked | Arborists | All trades |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an ABN we could confirm | 13.3% | 12.9% |
| Listed phone matches their own website | 49.7% | 44.3% |
| Listed phone contradicts their own website | 4.4% | 5.5% |
| Website responded when we checked | 67.5% | 70.8% |
| Corroborated by two or more sources | 92.2% | 95% |
| Median number of Google reviews | 27 | 18 |
What goes wrong with arborists
- No public liability insurance, on a job involving dropping heavy things near buildings
- Removal of a protected tree without a council permit — the fine lands on you
- A quote for removal where a pruning job would have done
What to ask before the work starts
- What is your qualification level, and can I see your public liability certificate?
- Does this tree need a council permit, and who applies for it?
- Is stump grinding and debris removal included?
A arborist who answers all three of those without hesitating is telling you something useful. One who is vague about a licence number is telling you something too.
The median matters more than the average
The median arborist in this directory has 27 Google reviews. That is the number to hold in your head when you see a perfect five-star rating: five stars from four reviews and 4.6 from three hundred are not comparable, and the second is almost always the safer hire.
It is also why the ranking here weights review volume more heavily than review score. A business cannot buy its position, and a handful of glowing reviews does not move it far.
Where the arborists are
Melbourne (54), Sydney (49), Brisbane (46), Perth (34), Adelaide (29), Gold Coast (20). A shortlist for your own area is more useful than a national ranking — the best arborist in the country is no help if they are four states away.
Where to check a licence, by state
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state where the work is happening.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICVictorian Building Authority, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Common questions
- Do arborists need a licence in Australia?
- No. There is no arborist licence in Australia. What exists instead is qualification — AQF Level 3 for climbing and cutting, AQF Level 5 for the consulting arborist who writes a report a council will accept. Because there is no licence to check, insurance matters more here than in almost any other trade.
- How do I check an arborist's licence?
- There is no national register. Each state and territory has its own regulator — NSW Fair Trading, the Victorian Building Authority and Energy Safe Victoria, QBCC in Queensland, Building and Energy in WA, Consumer and Business Services in SA, CBOS in Tasmania, Access Canberra in the ACT, and the NT Government. Search the licence number the business gives you on the regulator for the state the work is happening in.
- What percentage of Australian arborists have a verifiable ABN?
- 13.3% of the 630 arborists in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register, against 12.9% across all trades.
- How many reviews should an arborist have?
- The median arborist here has 27. Treat a five-star rating from a handful of reviews with more caution than a slightly lower rating from hundreds.
Compare arborists near you
630 arborists, ranked on the evidence described above rather than on advertising.
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