10 best tree removal companies
in Melbourne.

Before you request a quote.

• Check your council's rules before any tree comes down: Boroondara's Tree Protection Local Law 2024, for example, needs a permit for any tree with a trunk circumference of 110 cm or more at 1.4 m, even if it is dead, and Casey requires a planning permit for larger canopy trees or land under certain overlays. Ask the arborist who checks this and who lodges the application.
• Ask for the qualification of the person doing the work: Certificate III in Arboriculture (AQF Level 3) is the usual baseline for climbing and removal crews, and council-facing arborist reports are usually written by an AQF Level 5 consulting arborist.
• Ask for a current certificate of currency for public liability and check the insured name matches the business quoting you; several Melbourne operators still publish certificates that expired in 2025.
• Get a written quote that lists what is included: stump grinding and depth, green waste and mulch removal, clean-up, crane or traffic management, and any arborist report or permit fees.
• If the tree is near power lines, ask whether the crew holds the electrical line clearance tickets required in Victoria or whether the distributor needs to be contacted first.
• With a franchise network, the quote and the work come from a local franchisee, so check that operator's own reviews, qualifications and insurance rather than relying on network-wide figures.
• Be wary of offers to 'top' or heavily lop a healthy tree; pruning should follow AS 4373 (Pruning of amenity trees), and over-pruning can make a tree less safe and may still need a permit.

Worth knowing

An independent Melbourne cost guide puts tree removal at $260 to $840 for trees under 5 m, $840 to $2,625 for 5 to 10 m, $2,100 to $5,250 for 10 to 20 m and $4,725 to $15,750 above 20 m, with stump grinding at $160 to $945 per stump. It compiles published cost data rather than quotes, so use it as a guide only. [whatsthedamage.com.au]

Many Melbourne councils require a permit before a tree comes down. Boroondara’s Tree Protection Local Law 2024, for example, covers canopy trees with a trunk circumference of 110 cm or more at 1.4 m, including dead and weed trees, at $226.90 per tree. [boroondara.vic.gov.au]

Casey requires a planning permit where overlays apply or where a canopy tree is over 5 m tall, has a canopy over 4 m wide or a trunk over 0.5 m around at 1.4 m, with exemptions for immediate risk. [casey.vic.gov.au]

The Victorian Tree Industry Organisation publishes no member directory, only a sponsor list, and on 28 October 2026 Arboriculture Australia’s public directory listed none of the ten businesses here as Registered Members. Treat membership logos on business websites as claims. [vtio.org.au]

Same framework. Relevant evidence.

• 25Expertise and capability
• 25Evidence of work
• 20Customer experience
• 15Transparency
• 15Professional standards

We considered 20 Melbourne tree removal and arborist businesses found through search results, Google Maps, review platforms and the Victorian Tree Industry Organisation’s sponsor list. Nine were chosen on the strength of their published evidence; Jim’s Trees is included as our disclosed featured placement. Several businesses with strong Google ratings were left out because they publish too little to assess.

Each pillar is rated 0 to 5 against published anchors and weighted to 100. Unknown evidence is recorded as “not verified”, never as zero. Evidence confidence is separate from the score: High means several independent sources, checked recently, cover most pillars. Moderate means mostly the business’s own published claims, with some independent checks.

Read the full methodology.

Something needs correcting?

Corrections are free. Send us the fact, the page and a link to evidence. A submission does not change a score by itself; we check it and record any material change below.

1. 28 October 2026First published.