Dead gum over the shed? Limb down after a storm? Tell us what's happening and we'll put you onto a qualified, insured local arborist — with a fixed quote after they've seen it.
No obligation. Takes 30 seconds.
Everything from a single overhanging limb through to full block clearing. Pick what's closest to your situation — or just tell us what's happening and we'll work it out.
Full removal of trees that are dead, dangerous, lifting paving or outgrowing a coastal block.
Read more →Cutting back overgrown canopies for clearance and light — done to standard, not just topped.
Read more →Qualified AQF3 and AQF5 arborists for assessments, reports and tree work across the coast.
Read more →Grinding stumps out below ground so you can turf, pave or replant over the top.
Read more →Structural pruning and tree trimming — clearance, deadwooding and shaping, done to AS4373.
Read more →Taking the stump and root plate out entirely, rather than grinding it down.
Read more →Urgent make-safe when a tree is down, hung up or threatening a building.
Read more →Post-storm clean-up — fallen limbs, split trunks, and trees made unstable by wind.
Read more →Removing dead trees — including when council's exemption does and doesn't apply.
Read more →Trees that are leaning, split, undermined or overhanging something they shouldn't.
Read more →Cocos, bangalow and cabbage tree palms — removal, cleaning and frond management.
Read more →Clearing blocks for building, subdivision or bushfire protection — with the approvals.
Read more →Crane-assisted removal for trees with no drop zone — steep blocks and tight sites.
Read more →Trees growing into service lines and the network — what's yours and what's Ausgrid's.
Read more →Strata, body corporate, schools, holiday parks and commercial grounds.
Read more →What tree work actually costs on the Central Coast, and what moves the number.
Read more →Central Coast Council's exemptions, and when you need a Private Tree Works Application.
Read more →AQF5 consulting reports for council applications, development consent and disputes.
Read more →Salt burn, wind shear, sandy anchorage and the trees that cope with the beachfront.
Read more →This isn't a sales line. Coastal NSW takes a particular kind of hammering, and it fails trees in a particular way — sodden sand, sustained onshore wind, and root plates that lift instead of trunks that snap. down across the city.
The Central Coast's defining storm risk. A deep low parks off the coast and drives days of onshore gales and saturating rain. Sodden sandy soil plus a sustained easterly is the classic windthrow combination — trees don't snap, the root plate lifts and the whole tree goes over.
A hot northerly swings hard to the south in minutes, often with a 40-60km/h jump in wind speed and no warning to speak of. Limbs that have been growing into a prevailing northerly for years get loaded from exactly the wrong side.
November through February brings short, violent afternoon cells off the escarpment — hail, downbursts and lightning strikes on tall eucalypts. Damage tends to be single-tree and severe rather than widespread.
After an event like these, every arborist in town is booked for days. The jobs that get seen first are the ones that made contact early with photos ready.
Under Chapter 3.5 of the Central Coast Development Control Plan 2022, council protects more trees than most owners expect — and the dead-tree exemption is narrower than people assume.
Approval is required for:
Approval is not required for:
Removing a protected tree without approval can attract significant penalties under NSW planning law, and council can require replacement planting on top. Worth a phone call to 02 4306 7900 before anything comes down — the answer is free and the fine isn't. Source: Central Coast Council Council. The rules turn on your individual tree, so confirm yours.
Full permit rules explainedWe're not a tree company — we're the shortcut to a good one.
Your job goes to someone who actually works between Woy Woy and Budgewoi — who knows what a sandy Umina block does under a week of easterly rain, and why the Terrigal escarpment jobs need a crane rather than a bigger chainsaw.
Central Coast Council expects an AQF3 trade or AQF5 consulting arborist to sign off tree works — including the paperwork for work that's exempt. We only refer people who hold those qualifications and carry public liability cover.
Most quotes don't mention that a dead tree with hollows is still protected. We'd rather tell you that up front than have you find out afterwards.
Send one enquiry and it goes to one local arborist. We don't sell your details to a directory and we don't hand them to four companies to fight over.
Four steps, and you only deal with us for the first one.
Send the form with your suburb, what the tree is doing and how urgent it feels. A photo is worth more than a paragraph — it tells an arborist the species, the size and what's underneath before anyone drives out.
A leaning Norfolk pine over a roof at Wamberal is a different job to a cocos palm in a Woy Woy backyard. We send it to someone equipped for that specific job, in that area.
On site, at no cost. That's when the indicative range on this site turns into a real number, and when you'll find out whether council approval is in play.
Your agreement is with the arborist. We're not in the middle of it, and we don't take a cut of your quote.
From Woy Woy and the Peninsula up through Gosford and Erina to Wyong, Toukley and Budgewoi, plus the hinterland at Kulnura, Somersby and Mangrove Mountain. Travel can affect the quote on the far edges. for properties further out.
Most companies won't tell you. Here's roughly where things sit so you're not going in blind — though access, not height, is usually what decides the final number.
| Job | Indicative price | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Small tree removal (under 10m) | $500 – $1,200 | Ornamentals, young palms and small natives with room to work around them. |
| Medium tree removal (10 – 20m) | $1,200 – $2,800 | The standard suburban job. Access moves this number more than height does. |
| Large tree removal (20m+) | $2,800 – $8,000+ | Mature blackbutt, spotted gum or Norfolk pine, usually dismantled in sections. |
| Palm removal | $250 – $1,200 | Cocos and bangalow palms — no real wood, so cheap unless the crown must come out in pieces. |
| Tree trimming / pruning | $300 – $900 | Clearance off a roof, deadwooding or a crown reduction. Averages around $425 on this coast. |
| Stump grinding | $150 – $500 | Priced on diameter and access. Expect a minimum callout of roughly $180 – $220. |
| Emergency / after-hours callout | $500 – $3,000+ | Storm make-safe. What it costs depends on what the limb is resting on. |
| Arborist report (AQF5) | $400 – $700 | Typically around $450. Required for a Private Tree Works Application and most consents. |
Prices are indicative only. Every tree is different — access, species, what's underneath it and how far the chipper has to walk all move the number. You get a fixed written quote after an on-site assessment.
Being straight about how this works, because plenty of lead sites aren't.
You tell us what's going on with the tree. We pass those details to an arborist who covers your suburb and has the right equipment for that kind of job. They contact you directly to arrange a look and give you a fixed price.
There's no cost to you for that, and no obligation to accept the quote. If the price doesn't suit, or you'd rather use someone else, that's the end of it — we don't chase you.
We don't publish customer reviews or testimonials on this site. Plenty of lead-generation sites invent them; we'd rather show you nothing than show you something made up. Ask the arborist for references directly, and ask to see their public liability insurance before work starts. Any operator worth using expects both questions.
We're a referral service, not a tree company. We don't own a chipper and we don't climb anything. We pass your job to a qualified, insured arborist working in your part of the Central Coast, and they quote you directly.
Usually yes, unless the work fits one of council's exemptions. Central Coast Council works the opposite way to some councils — rather than a height threshold, trees are protected unless the job falls inside a listed exemption under Chapter 3.5 of the DCP 2022. The two that cover most household jobs are light pruning and genuinely dead trees.
Up to 10% of the tree's foliage in a growing season, done to the Australian Standard AS4373-2007, and only on branches up to 50mm thick. That's a lot less than most people assume — a decent tidy-up of a mature gum will usually exceed it.
Often yes — removing a dead tree is exempt. But 'dead' has a specific meaning to council: biological function has ceased, there are no leaves, and there's visible drying of the trunk, root plate and canopy. And the exemption doesn't apply if the tree has hollows or is otherwise habitat for native animals. A dead tree full of hollows is still protected.
Yes, and this catches people out. Council expects an AQF3 or AQF5 arborist to complete their exempt-works template, with a map showing where the tree sits relative to the house and photos showing it was dead and not habitat. You keep those records for at least six months — you don't send them anywhere unless you're asked.
Most suburban removals land between $900 and $2,800. Access drives the price more than size does — a 12-metre blackbutt with a clear drop zone can cost less than an 8-metre tree over a pool that has to come out piece by piece.
No. We're a referral service. We pass your job to a qualified, insured local arborist and they quote you directly. We don't own equipment and we're not a party to your agreement.
Yes — that's a lot of what comes through, especially after an east coast low. If something is on a roof, across a driveway or hung up in another tree, say so in the form and it gets treated as urgent. If it's touching powerlines, call Ausgrid on 13 13 88 first, not us.
Tell us the suburb, the tree and how urgent it is. We'll do the rest.
Call 0485 835 759