Tree Worker

A tree worker performs arboricultural maintenance, pruning, and felling operations on trees in urban and rural settings, using specialised climbing equipment and power tools to manage tree health and safety hazards. They assess tree condition, plan cutting operations, and apply Australian Standards for tree care (AS 4373) to ensure compliance with local council regulations and workplace safety requirements. Tree workers operate in diverse environments including residential properties, parks, street verges, and bushland, often working at heights and managing risks associated with heavy machinery and unstable terrain.

Climb trees using harnesses, carabiners, and ropes to access branches and trunk areas requiring maintenance or removal. Operate chainsaws and hand saws to fell trees, limb branches, and section logs while maintaining control and directing fall patterns away from structures and people. Apply arboricultural pruning techniques including crown thinning, crown raising, and deadwooding in accordance with AS 4373 tree care standards. Assess tree health, structural integrity, and hazard risk using visual inspection methods to identify disease, pest damage, or instability. Set up and operate mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs) and boom lifts for reaching high branches on larger trees. Prepare and maintain climbing equipment, harnesses, and power tools including sharpening chain saw blades and checking safety mechanisms. Identify and remove hazardous trees or branches that pose risk to buildings, vehicles, power lines, or pedestrians. Operate wood chippers and mulching equipment to process tree waste on site.

The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training (ABS skill level 3). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

You'll need a Certificate III or IV in arboriculture, which takes time and money upfront. The real killer is the physical toll: repetitive strain from climbing and chainsaw work, plus constant injury risk from falls, chainsaw cuts, and heavy branches. Most tree workers don't stay in the role past their 50s because their bodies give out. Pay doesn't compensate for this wear.

Tree work is spread across Australia but concentrates in metro areas where there's more dense tree canopy and council maintenance contracts. Regional areas have work too, especially in bushfire-prone zones. Jobs depend heavily on contracts with councils, property developers, and landscaping companies rather than remote options. Weather also controls work availability in tropical and wet season regions.

• Active Listeningcore
• Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Crop production principlescore
• Greenhouse typescore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Plant speciescore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Pruning techniquescore
• Quality criteria for storage facilitiescore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Soil structurecore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Types of storage facilitiescore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Watering principlescore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Advise customers on types of flowers
• Advise on plant fertilizer
• Agricultural business management
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry
• Fertilisation principles
• Food safety principles
• Goal Setting and Planning
• Health and safety regulations
• Leadership principles
• Maintain storage facilities
• Make independent operating decisions
• Manage contracts
• Organic farming
• Pest control in plants
• Process Improvement Identification
• Project management principles
• Quality Assurance and Checking
• Stakeholder Communication
• Written Communication

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026