Aaron Bath — Director & Principal Consulting Arborist
A consulting arborist with the three credentials that almost never appear together in NSW: Licensed NSW Builder, AQF Level 5 Consulting Arborist, and 10+ years prior as an AQF Level 3 tree-removal contractor. Hunter Region home turf. 15+ years on every side of the fence the AIA, TPP, Project Arborist and Tree Works Management engagements cover. The reports we issue read like reports a construction team can actually deliver against — because we’ve stood in their boots, climbed the trees they’re working around, and signed off the consent compliance at the other end.
Licensed Builder + AQF5 + ex-AQF3 contractor · Hunter RegionThe combination that’s genuinely rare in NSW arboricultural consulting
Most consulting arborists work the consulting side only — they assess, report, and hand the work off to a contractor they may never meet. Most arborists who can climb don’t write reports a council planner will accept. And almost none of either group hold a Licensed Builder credential on top — the construction-side understanding that lets a report integrate with structural engineering, programme management and on-site sequencing.
Aaron has been each of those three things, in that order. AQF Level 3 tree-removal contractor from 2008 onward — climbing, removals, EWP work, running crews and equipment, pricing the work, learning the safety frameworks. NSW Licensed Builder qualifying him to read structural plans, understand foundation detailing, talk constructability with engineers and project managers in the language those conversations need to happen in. AQF Level 5 Consulting Arborist — the highest field-recognised consulting qualification in Australia, with AQF Level 8 (Graduate Diploma level) currently in progress as ongoing professional development.
That three-industry combination is what shapes every engagement we take. Recommendations are buildable. Reports anticipate construction sequencing. Risk assessments reflect what we actually know happens on a site, not what a textbook says should happen.
Aaron Bath — the full story
From the chainsaw to the courtroom — via every site in between
Aaron started in the tree industry in 2008 as a casual climbing arborist, working his way through the AQF3 tree-removal trade across the next decade. He ran his own tree-removal company through that period — sourcing work, pricing the jobs, scheduling crews, managing equipment, dealing with insurers, navigating council and consent compliance from the contractor side of the fence. That ten-plus years of operational tree-work experience underpins everything that’s followed.
From there, the consulting arboricultural qualifications were the natural next step. AQF Level 5 Consulting Arborist (the highest field-recognised consulting credential in Australia), ISA TRAQ certification (Tree Risk Assessment Qualification — the international standard for defensible tree risk assessment), and currently working through AQF Level 8 (Graduate Diploma level) arboriculture as ongoing professional development.
The Licensed NSW Builder credential rounds out the picture. Construction-side qualification matters because so much of the arboricultural work we deliver intersects with development — AIAs at DA stage, TPPs in construction, Project Arborist supervision through the build, root investigations supporting foundation design. Speaking the engineer’s and the project manager’s language isn’t optional in that work; it’s central to it.
Why this combination is rare — and why it matters to your project
Buildable AIAs and TPPs
The most expensive arborist-report outcome isn’t the fee — it’s the architectural redesign or construction stop-work triggered by an arborist recommendation that didn’t account for what’s actually being built. Licensed Builder credential plus 10+ years contractor experience means recommendations work alongside the construction program, not against it.
Continuous AQF5 across the whole stack
The same accountable AQF5 writes the AIA, supervises the construction as Project Arborist, runs the in-house Air Spade root investigations, performs the Resistograph decay testing, and gives Expert Witness evidence in court if a matter goes there. No handover gaps, no fragmentation across multiple consultants, no buck-passing.
Hunter Region home turf — same-week mobilisation
15+ years of consulting across the Hunter Region’s tree species, soil types, council DCPs and built-form patterns. Direct working relationships with Maitland City Council, Newcastle City Council, the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, NSW Schools Infrastructure, and the ASX-listed contractors operating in the Upper Hunter coalfields. Same-week mobilisation as standard.
Credentials & certifications
Arboricultural qualifications
- AQF Level 5 — Diploma of Arboriculture (Consulting Arborist, the highest field-recognised consulting qualification in Australia)
- AQF Level 8 — Graduate Diploma of Arboriculture (currently in progress, ongoing professional development)
- AQF Level 3 — Certificate III in Arboriculture (10+ years prior trade qualification)
- ISA TRAQ — Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (International Society of Arboriculture)
Construction-side credentials
- Licensed NSW Builder — NSW Fair Trading
- Construction-zone competency — AS 4970-2025 (Protection of Trees on Development Sites)
- Pruning specification competency — AS 4373 (Pruning of Amenity Trees)
- WHS & high-risk work — current NSW licences for high-risk arboricultural operations
Memberships & affiliations
- Arboriculture Australia
- International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)
- NSW Land & Environment Court — UCPR Schedule 7 expert
- $20M Public Liability + $5M Professional Indemnity insurance
What we deliver, end-to-end
The full service stack we operate across NSW from our Hunter Region base. Each links to its dedicated page:
- Development-stage arboriculture — PAR (design feasibility), AIA (DA stage), TPP (construction phase), Project Arborist (on-site supervision)
- Field investigations — Root Investigations (in-house Air Spade), Decay Testing (in-house IML Resistograph), Aerial Inspections (AQF5 climbs), Tree Stability (Pull Test / TMS, AQF5-directed)
- Risk & valuation — Tree Risk Assessments (ISA TRAQ), Tree Valuation (Burnley Method), Expert Witness (UCPR Schedule 7)
- Asset & mapping — Tree Surveys + GIS (Trimble R2 + RTX, cm-level accuracy, QGIS template stack)
- Specialist treatments — Cabling & Support (Cobra dynamic bracing), Stem Injection (Bayer Silvashield), Root Decompaction (Air Spade soil restoration), Pruning Specifications (AS 4373), Habitat Creation (carved hollows + nest boxes)
- Coordination — Tree Works Management (fixed-fee contractor coordination + compliance certificate)
- Advisory — Verbal Consultations (phone or on-site advice without a written report)
Sector coverage: Residential Construction · Civil & Commercial · Schools & Education · Government & Council · Mining · Utilities · Architects & Town Planners
Support team
Behind every consulting deliverable is the team that keeps the operational side moving — office, scheduling, accounts, and the technology stack that lets fieldwork flow through to client-ready reports.
Michelle Bath
Office Manager
Joined the team in 2014 after a career as a registered nurse. Runs office operations end-to-end — scheduling, client communications, accounts and the day-to-day administration that keeps the consulting side moving.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Nursing
Jeremy Woolley
IT & Systems
14+ years in enterprise IT and networking. Manages the systems underpinning the consultancy — secure file handling, field-to-office data sync (Trimble R2 → QGIS → reports), and the technology stack that lets us keep client work moving at pace.
Get the right call. Backed by the right credentials.
Tell us about your project, your tree, your site or your consent condition. We’ll come back within one business day with the right service, the right price, and the next available timeslot.
1300 859 510 Send us an enquiry Mobile: 0434 523 566