About Assurance Trees — A NSW Arboricultural Consultancy Built From Three Industries
Tree contractor → Licensed builder → Consulting arborist. We’ve stood on every side of the fence your project will face.
Assurance Trees is a specialist NSW arboricultural consultancy founded on a credential set almost nobody else in the market combines: 10+ years as an AQF Level 3 tree-removal contractor, a current NSW Builder Licence, and the AQF Level 5 Diploma of Arboriculture councils accept for AIAs and Tree Protection Plans. Maitland-based, NSW-wide, 15+ years consulting on developments that needed the trees to survive the build.
Our story — the only consulting arborist in NSW who’s worked all three sides
Most consulting arborists hold the AQF Level 5 qualification — and many came up through the trade first, since climbing and removals (the AQF3 contractor era) is a fairly common starting point for arborists who later study up to AQF5. A handful go on to AQF Level 8 (the post-graduate credential — Graduate Diploma or Honours equivalent). What’s genuinely uncommon is adding a Licensed Builder qualification on top of the arboricultural stack — practically nobody in NSW combines AQF3 contractor experience, an active NSW Builder Licence and AQF5 (with AQF8 in progress) in one consultant. That’s the position Assurance Trees is built from.
The progression matters because each step taught us something different about how tree-affected projects actually go wrong:
10+ years as a tree contractor
Climbing, removals, EWP work, chipping, high-risk jobs. Pricing tree work by the scope, the site, the access constraint. Running crews and equipment. When we specify pruning today, the specification is practical, costable, and respectable to the contractor receiving it — because we’ve done the work.
NSW Builder Licence
Construction sequencing, certifier processes, subcontractor management. The compounding cost of a small mistake at design stage that turns into a $50K problem at build stage. When we write recommendations into an AIA today, they’re recommendations a real construction team can deliver — not theoretical clauses that look good on paper.
AQF Level 5 Consulting Arborist
The qualification councils accept for AIAs, Tree Protection Plans and consent-condition supervision. Currently on AS 4970-2025 (the updated standard with the new NRZ/TPZ/SRZ terminology and three-tier encroachment classification). AQF Level 8 currently in progress.
The transition story. Assurance Trees was a full tree contractor for 10+ years before deliberately stepping out of general tree contracting to focus on consultancy and specialist tree management work where consulting expertise actually changes outcomes. We don’t compete with tree contractors anymore — we specify and supervise their work, and coordinate them on larger projects through our Tree Works Management service.
The full credential stack
Four arboricultural and construction credentials, accumulated across two decades of working in — not just around — the tree and construction industries.
AQF Level 3 Arborist
Expert tree removal contractor. 10+ years climbing, removals, EWP work, high-risk jobs. No longer active in this capacity — but it shapes every recommendation we make today.
NSW Builder Licence
Active NSW Fair Trading licence. Working knowledge of construction sequencing, certifier processes, sub-contractor management, council-approval pathways.
AQF Level 5 Diploma of Arboriculture
The qualification NSW councils accept for Arboricultural Impact Assessments, Tree Protection Plans, Project Arborist supervision and formal arboricultural reporting.
AQF Level 8
Post-graduate arboricultural qualification (Graduate Diploma / Honours level on the Australian Qualifications Framework). Currently in study, continuing on from the AQF5. Disclosed here as a transparent statement of ongoing professional development — not yet conferred, not claimed as a current credential.
Why this combination matters to your project
Three domain credentials plus a transition story produce a different consulting deliverable. Concretely:
Reports a real builder can actually work to
The recommendations in our AIAs and TPPs are written by someone who has held the Builder’s licence and run the site. No vague “appropriate protection measures shall be implemented” clauses that get rejected by certifiers. Specific, buildable, costable instructions — tied to AS 4970-2025 and to the actual construction sequence.
Tree-industry pricing knowledge built in
When a TPP triggers tree removal or specialist works, we can price the works realistically because we operated as a tree contractor for 10+ years. That’s what makes our Tree Works Management service possible: fixed-price quotes for tree-works packages that most consultants can’t produce.
Specialist in-house capability, not just paperwork
We own our Air Spade and mobile compressor (root investigations in days, not 2–3 weeks). We carry an IML Resistograph for decay testing. We run a Trimble R2 GNSS + RTX correction setup for survey-grade tree mapping. We deliver these in-house — competitors outsource. Specialist arborists, not just report writers.
Recommendations that respect tree contractors
We’ve been on the receiving end of consulting arborist specifications that were unworkable, unreasonable or insulting to the contractor’s skill. Our pruning specifications and tree-works scopes are written with the contractor as a respected reader — not a problem to be managed. Better outcomes follow.
What we do (and what we don’t)
Assurance Trees is a specialist arboricultural consultancy and practitioner firm. We assess, report, supervise, and where the recommended work itself requires arboricultural expertise, we perform it ourselves. We do not compete with general tree services.
What we deliver in-house
Consulting, reporting and specialist tree-management work where consulting expertise changes the outcome:
- Arboricultural Impact Assessments (AIA) for Development Applications
- Tree Protection Plans + Tree Protection Specifications (TPP/TPS)
- Preliminary Arboricultural Reports (PAR) at concept-design stage
- Project Arborist on-site supervision under DA consent conditions
- Tree Risk Assessments (TRAQ-certified methodology)
- Tree Surveys with GIS mapping (Trimble R2 GNSS + QGIS)
- Tree Works Management (procurement + supervision of qualified contractors)
- Air Spade root investigations (own equipment + compressor)
- Stem injection, cabling & support, habitat creation, decay testing
- Pruning specifications + supervision of important pruning works
- Expert witness, tree valuation, verbal consultations
What we don’t do
Deliberately. We stepped out of general tree contracting to focus on consultancy and specialist work. Tree contractors do general tree work better, and we want our retention recommendations to be free of the conflict of interest a removal-services revenue line would create.
- Tree removal
- General pruning and lopping
- Stump grinding
- Mulch sales
- Land clearing (we coordinate, we don’t execute)
- Wood chipping or firewood
How we work
Fixed-fee, quoted upfront
Every engagement priced at scoping. No hourly billing surprises, no scope creep that becomes a separate invoice. You see the total investment before we start.
Written for the right reader
AIAs and TPPs that satisfy council. Specifications that respect the tree contractor receiving them. Recommendations a builder can deliver without redesigning the DA. Plain-English executive summaries for the project team.
Current on the standard
AS 4970-2025 — many competitors are still citing AS 4970-2009. Arboriculture Australia Minimum Industry Standards. IACA STAR for retention assessments. ISA TRAQ for risk. Compliance is the floor, not the ceiling.
One accountable AQF5 across the project
Where the project benefits from continuity, the same AQF5 who writes the AIA can supervise on site as Project Arborist, coordinate the tree contractors through Tree Works Management, and sign the compliance certificate at handover.
NSW-wide, Maitland-based
Hunter, Newcastle, Central Coast, Mid North Coast routinely. Sydney for scale projects. Vic and QLD for very large engagements ($15K+ scope). Travel built into the quote, not invoiced separately.
Insured to institutional procurement standards
$20M Public Liability and Products + $5M Professional Indemnity. Meets the procurement criteria of NSW Government, defence contractors, ASX-listed builders and major civil construction.
Clients
A selected list of organisations we’ve worked with directly or as the named arboricultural consultant on their projects, organised by sector.
NSW State Government
Local Government — Hunter Region Councils
Aboriginal Land Councils & First Nations
Major ASX-listed contractors & infrastructure
Major Australian builders
Residential builders & developers
Civil construction
Utilities
Architecture, planning & engineering consultancies
Education sector
Corporate & retail
Featured project & testimonial
Really great reporting — thank you. Duratec has genuinely enjoyed working with you on the Water Reticulation Project, and we look forward to the opportunity to work together again on future projects.
Standards we work to
Arboricultural & reporting standards
- AS 4970-2025 — Protection of Trees on Development Sites (current Australian Standard)
- Arboriculture Australia Minimum Industry Standards — peak-body published minimum work-practice standards
- IACA STAR — Significance, Tolerance, Amenity, Retention value assessment methodology
- ISA TRAQ — International Society of Arboriculture Tree Risk Assessment Qualification methodology
- AS 4373 — Pruning of Amenity Trees (reference for pruning specifications)
Insurance & accreditation
- $20M Public Liability and Products
- $5M Professional Indemnity
- NSW Fair Trading Licensed Builder
- AQF Level 5 Diploma of Arboriculture (current)
- AQF Level 8 in progress (continuing professional development)
- TRAQ-qualified for risk assessment work
Where we work
Maitland-based, NSW-wide coverage with regular consulting work across:
Ready to discuss your project?
Whether you’re at concept stage, preparing a DA, mid-build, or working through a council RFI — we’ll tell you what product fits your situation and quote it as a fixed fee within 24 hours.
1300 859 510 Send a Project Enquiry Mobile: 0434 523 566