Tree Protection Plan NSW — Standalone TPP for Staged Works, Major Infrastructure & Post-Approval Changes
A specialist standalone Tree Protection Plan + Tree Protection Specification for projects where the protection regime needs its own document set — multi-stage builds, major civil and commercial works, post-DA design changes, or fresh regimes that didn’t exist in the original AIA. AS 4970-2025 compliant. Written by a Licensed NSW Builder + AQF Level 5 Consulting Arborist. NSW-wide.
Fixed-fee quote · 24-hour response · Backed by $20M PL + $5M PIMost projects don’t need a standalone Tree Protection Plan
If you’re preparing a Development Application and someone has told you that you need a Tree Protection Plan, the right product for your project is almost certainly an Arboricultural Impact Assessment (AIA). Our AIA deliverable includes the Tree Protection Plan and Tree Protection Specification (TPS) as standard — not as a separate engagement you have to commission later. One coordinated document set, one fixed fee, council-ready.
Standalone TPPs exist for a specific set of project types — covered below. If your project doesn’t match those types, you’re better off starting at the AIA page. We’d rather send you to the right product than sell you the wrong one.
The standalone Tree Protection Plan as a specialist deliverable
For projects where the protection regime warrants its own document set — staged works, major infrastructure, post-approval changes, or fresh regimes that the original AIA didn’t anticipate — the standalone TPP is the right call. It’s the document a Project Arborist supervises against, the document a builder hands to subcontractors, and the document a council certifier checks at handover. Done badly, it’s a stack of generic clauses no one reads. Done well, it’s the document that keeps retained trees alive through a multi-year construction sequence and the document that closes out the consent conditions on time.
Our principal consultant is a Licensed NSW Builder as well as an AQF Level 5 Consulting Arborist — with 10+ years prior experience as an AQF3 tree-removal contractor. The TPP we write is one a construction team can actually follow, because it’s written by someone who has stood on every side of the site fence the document covers.
When you need a standalone Tree Protection Plan
The four project types where a standalone TPP is the right deliverable, rather than the TPP-bundled-in-AIA approach we use for most DA work:
Staged works
Multi-phase construction where the tree protection regime needs to evolve between stages — clearance phase, ground preparation, services, structures, fit-out, landscape. Each phase brings different risks to retained trees, and one bundled TPP often can’t cover all phases with appropriate specificity.
Major infrastructure / commercial / civil
Large projects where the scope, the number of retained trees, the duration of the works and the specialist supervision requirements all warrant a standalone document. Government infrastructure, defence, mining, civil construction, hospitals, schools, commercial developments — anywhere a single AIA-bundled TPP would be too thin for the project’s reality.
Post-approval design changes
The DA is approved, the AIA-bundled TPP is in place — and then the design changes. New footprint, new access route, new services trench, new staging plan. The original protection regime no longer fits. A fresh standalone TPP documents the revised protection requirements without re-opening the original AIA.
Fresh regime needed
New contractor onto a site that was paused. Scope expansion that takes the works into previously-unaffected tree zones. Pre-purchase or pre-acquisition tree-protection scoping for a site you’re inheriting. A standalone TPP documents the protection regime fresh, written for the team and the works that exist now.
If your project isn’t one of these four cases, you’ll get a better deliverable and a better outcome from our Arboricultural Impact Assessment (which includes the TPP and TPS in the bundle) or from a Preliminary Arboricultural Report if your design isn’t yet finalised. Send us the site address and the project scope and we’ll recommend the right product before quoting.
What’s in our standalone Tree Protection Plan
Every standalone TPP is built around six core deliverables. Bundled with the Tree Protection Specification (TPS) — where the TPP shows what and where, the TPS specifies how — so the site team gets one coordinated document set covering the regime.
Tree Protection Fencing (TPF)
Alignments mapped to the TPZ for every retained tree, with materials, heights, signage, install dates and remove dates specified to AS 4970-2025. Plan-view drawings the builder hands directly to the fencing contractor — not generic clauses requiring interpretation.
Ground Protection & Activity Controls
Root-zone surface treatment requirements (board cover, mulch, no-go), permitted and prohibited activities within and adjacent to the TPZ (vehicle movement, stockpiling, washouts, services, excavation, fill), and the construction-phase activity matrix the supervisor enforces.
AQF5 Supervision Triggers
Explicit list of works that require an AQF Level 5 arborist on site — excavation within the TPZ, root-zone services, sensitive removals, encroachment-adjacent activities. Defines what gets supervised, who is responsible, and the records the supervisor signs off. See Project Arborist →
Monitoring & Compliance Records
Pre-works baseline inspection, during-works inspection schedule (frequency tied to project stage), post-works close-out inspection. Compliance record templates and reporting cadence the certifier checks at handover. Photos, GPS-stamped inspection logs, formal sign-offs.
Hazard, Incident & Emergency Procedure
What happens if a retained tree is impacted mid-build — root damage, limb impact, fencing breach, accidental encroachment. The escalation path, the assessment trigger, the remediation pathway, and the consent-condition implications. Removes the “what now?” scramble when something inevitably happens on a long project.
Construction-Phase Maintenance Commitments
Watering schedule (especially for trees in compacted or impacted zones), mulching cycles, deadwood removal triggers, post-storm inspection requirements. Long construction sequences are where retained trees often die from neglect, not from direct impact — the maintenance regime keeps them alive through the build.
TPS bundled with every standalone TPP
The Tree Protection Specification (TPS) is the technical companion to the TPP. Where the TPP shows what the protection regime is and where on the site it applies, the TPS specifies how the protection elements get built and maintained — materials standards, installation methodology, inspection criteria, acceptance tests. We include the TPS as part of every standalone TPP package by default; you only need a TPS as its own deliverable on the rare occasion that a different consultant authored the TPP.
Preparing a DA? Start with an AIA, not a standalone TPP.
If your project is at DA stage and you need tree protection documented for council, the right product is an Arboricultural Impact Assessment — which includes the Tree Protection Plan and Tree Protection Specification in the bundle. One document set, one fixed fee, council-ready. The standalone TPP exists for projects beyond this case.
The TPP needs an AQF5 to enforce it on site
Most standalone TPPs trigger consent conditions requiring an AQF Level 5 arborist on site during specified works — excavation within the TPZ, root-zone services, sensitive removals. We deliver Project Arborist supervision as a paired engagement on the same project, so the same AQF5 who wrote the TPP enforces it on site. No interpretation gaps, no handover risk. See Project Arborist →
The TPP often regulates works our Tree Works Management arm coordinates
Tree removals, clearance works and protected-zone interventions specified in the TPP need qualified contractors to execute. Our Tree Works Management service coordinates the contractors who do that work — sourcing, scheduling, supervision, compliance certificates. One accountable AQF5 across the document and the delivery, fixed-price quotes for the works themselves.
Standalone Tree Protection Plan pricing & turnaround
Every standalone TPP is delivered as a fixed-fee engagement. No hourly billing surprises. Price determined upfront based on tree numbers, site complexity, project staging and the supervision regime the TPP triggers.
Tree Protection Plan service areas across NSW
Maitland-based, delivering standalone TPP work across:
Request a standalone Tree Protection Plan scope & quote
Tell us about your project and we’ll come back within one business day with a fixed-fee quote — or with a recommendation to start at the AIA or PAR if those fit your situation better.
Standalone Tree Protection Plan FAQs
I just need a Tree Protection Plan for my DA — can I order one directly?
If you’re preparing a Development Application and council is asking for a TPP, the right product is almost always an Arboricultural Impact Assessment — which includes the Tree Protection Plan and Tree Protection Specification in the bundle. Ordering a standalone TPP without the underlying AIA leaves you without the loss assessment, the offset planting specification and the formal impact documentation your DA needs. We’d rather direct you to the AIA than sell you a standalone TPP that won’t satisfy your council. Send us the project details and we’ll confirm which product fits.
What’s the difference between a TPP and a TPS?
The Tree Protection Plan (TPP) documents what the protection regime is and where on the site it applies — fencing alignments, protection zones, activity restrictions, supervision triggers. The Tree Protection Specification (TPS) documents how the protection elements get built and maintained — materials standards, install methodology, inspection criteria, acceptance tests. They’re complementary documents, and we bundle the TPS into every standalone TPP package by default. You only need a TPS as its own deliverable on the rare occasion that another consultant wrote the TPP.
We’ve already got an AIA, but the design has changed — do we need a new TPP?
Often yes. If the design change affects retained trees in ways the original AIA didn’t anticipate — new footprint, new access route, new services trench, new staging — the original TPP regime is likely no longer sufficient. A fresh standalone TPP documents the revised protection requirements without re-opening the original AIA. Send us the original AIA, the design change and the consent conditions and we’ll scope what’s actually needed.
Does the TPP include the Project Arborist supervision, or is that separate?
The TPP specifies the AQF5 supervision triggers — what works require an arborist on site, who is responsible, what records get signed off. The supervision itself is a separate engagement (Project Arborist), priced on the project schedule and the supervision frequency the TPP requires. We deliver both on the same project as standard, so the same AQF5 who wrote the TPP enforces it on site. See Project Arborist →
How much does a standalone TPP cost?
Standalone TPP packages typically start from $2,500 + GST and scale with tree numbers, project staging and supervision regime complexity. Major civil and infrastructure projects are quoted individually. Every TPP is delivered as a fixed-fee engagement — you get the total price upfront, no hourly billing surprises.
What standards do you work to?
AS 4970-2025 (Protection of Trees on Development Sites — the current Australian Standard, with the updated NRZ/TPZ/SRZ terminology and three-tier encroachment classification), and Arboriculture Australia Minimum Industry Standards for tree-protection works. Our principal consultant is an AQF Level 5 Consulting Arborist and a Licensed NSW Builder — the documents are grounded in practical construction-site experience, not just textbook compliance.
Can you also coordinate the tree works the TPP regulates?
Yes — through our Tree Works Management service. We coordinate qualified tree contractors to execute the removals, clearance works and protected-zone interventions specified in the TPP — sourcing, scheduling, supervision, compliance certificates. One accountable AQF5 across the document, the delivery and the close-out. Useful when the project benefits from a single point of accountability across the protection regime.
Standalone TPP scoped & quoted in 24 hours
Send through your project details and we’ll come back with a fixed-fee Tree Protection Plan quote — or a recommendation to start at the AIA if that’s the right product for your situation.
1300 859 510 Get my TPP quote Mobile: 0434 523 566