Tree work is unregulated in the sense that anyone can buy a chainsaw, print a logo and start quoting. The gap between the best and worst operators in Auckland is enormous, and it is not visible from a website.
These twelve questions expose it quickly. Ask them all — including of us.
The four that matter most
- “Can I see your certificate of currency for public liability insurance?”
- “Will I get the quote in writing, with the method and clean-up defined?”
- “Have you checked whether my tree is protected?”
- “Who is actually doing the work?”
The twelve questions
- Are you insured, and can I see proof?
- What qualifications does the crew hold?
- Will the quote be in writing?
- What method will you use, and why?
- Have you checked whether the tree is protected?
- What exactly happens to the material?
- Is the stump included, and to what depth?
- Who is actually doing the work?
- What could make the price change?
- How will you protect my property?
- Are there power lines involved?
- Does this tree actually need to come out?
1. Are you insured, and can I see proof?
Why it matters: if an uninsured contractor drops a limb through your roof, or through your neighbour's, you may be left pursuing a small business with no capacity to pay. Tree work carries genuine potential for expensive damage.
Good answer: “Yes, here is our certificate of currency” — produced without fuss, current, and naming the business you are dealing with.
Bad answer: “Of course we are” with no document, or a certificate that expired last year, or hesitation. Verbal assurance is not evidence.
2. What qualifications does the crew hold?
Why it matters: climbing, rigging and felling are trainable skills with recognised qualifications behind them. Experience alone is not the same thing — plenty of people have done it wrong for twenty years.
Good answer: specific arboriculture qualifications and units, named, along with who on the crew holds what. The New Zealand Arboricultural Association maintains professional standards and a directory of arborists.
Bad answer: “We have been doing this for years.”
3. Will the quote be in writing?
Why it matters: a verbal price with an undefined scope is where nearly every tree-work dispute begins. It is also what makes your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 practically enforceable.
Good answer: a written quote identifying the trees individually, the method, stump treatment, disposal, clean-up scope, and anything charged as an extra.
Bad answer: a number over the phone, or a one-line text message.
4. What method will you use, and why?
Why it matters: felling and sectional dismantling are different jobs with very different risk to your property. Someone who has not decided the method has not assessed the job.
Good answer: a specific plan — “we will climb it and rig the limbs over the driveway because there is no drop zone toward the house” — and a reason for it.
Bad answer: “We will figure it out on the day.” Or proposing to fell a tree where you can see there is nowhere for it to go.
5. Have you checked whether the tree is protected?
Why it matters: removing a scheduled tree without consent is an offence under the Resource Management Act, and liability reaches you as the property owner, not just the contractor. This is the question most people never think to ask.
Good answer: they have looked at the property in Auckland Council GeoMaps and can tell you what they found. See our consent guide.
Bad answer: “You do not need consent for anything on private property.” That is wrong, and confidently wrong.
6. What exactly happens to the material?
Why it matters: “we will clean up” means very different things to different operators. Some cart everything; some stack the logs by your fence and leave.
Good answer: brush chipped and removed, logs cut and carted, work area raked and hard surfaces swept — with the option to keep firewood or chip if you want it.
Bad answer: vagueness, or a separate charge for removal that appears after the tree is already down.
7. Is the stump included, and to what depth?
Why it matters: stump grinding is usually quoted separately, and depth depends entirely on what is going over the top. Assuming it is included is a common and annoying surprise.
Good answer: they ask what the area will be used for, then quote a depth. See grinding vs removal.
Bad answer: “We will grind it down” with no depth specified.
8. Who is actually doing the work?
Why it matters: some operators quote and then subcontract to whoever is available. The person who assessed your job and understood its risks may not be the person who turns up.
Good answer: the crew is named, and it is the same business. Where a specialist is brought in — a crane operator, traffic management — they say who and what it costs.
Bad answer: evasiveness, or discovering on the day that a different company has arrived.
9. What could make the price change?
Why it matters: a good contractor knows where the uncertainty is and tells you in advance. Genuine surprises exist — concealed decay, buried services, metal in the trunk — but they should be flagged as possibilities, not sprung as invoices.
Good answer: honest identification of what might vary, and an undertaking to stop and discuss before doing chargeable additional work.
Bad answer: “Nothing, it is a fixed price” on a job that obviously has unknowns — or a quote with open-ended hourly wording buried in it.
10. How will you protect my property?
Why it matters: tree work is heavy and messy. Some marking of lawns is unavoidable; a wrecked garden is not.
Good answer: ground protection over lawns and paving, planned lowering points, specific mention of anything fragile they noticed — a glasshouse, a pool cover, a retaining wall.
Bad answer: “It will be fine.”
11. Are there power lines involved, and how will you handle them?
Why it matters: this is the highest-consequence hazard in tree work, and the correct answer is prescriptive rather than judgement-based.
Good answer: they identify the line, know the required approach distances, and will arrange for the network operator to de-energise or cover it before work starts. See trees near power lines.
Bad answer: any version of “we will work around it” or “we do it all the time”. Walk away.
12. Does this tree actually need to come out?
Why it matters: it is a test of honesty. Plenty of alarming-looking trees are structurally fine, and some problems are solved by removing deadwood or reducing one limb rather than the whole tree.
Good answer: a considered view either way, with reasoning — including “honestly, this one is fine”.
Bad answer: immediate agreement that everything must go, or manufactured urgency about a tree with no visible defects. See the nine warning signs.
Red flags worth walking away from
- Door-knocking after a storm with a “we are working next door” discount and pressure to decide now.
- Cash only, large deposit up front, and no written quote.
- No insurance certificate, or repeated deflection of the question.
- No business identity — no signage, no invoicing details, no fixed contact.
- Working near power lines casually.
- Proposing to top a tree as general practice — topping is discredited arboriculture.
- Pressure to skip consent “because nobody checks”. They do, neighbours report it, and it is your liability.
On comparing prices
Get three quotes. Then compare the scopes, not the totals.
A genuinely cheaper price often reflects better access, a simpler method, or a crew already working nearby that week. A suspiciously low price usually reflects no insurance, no clean-up, no stump, or an intention to find extras on the day. The difference is visible in the written scope — which is the whole reason for insisting on one.
And if the cheapest quote is the only one that did not mention insurance, protection status or method, you are not comparing like with like. Our full Auckland cost guide sets out what the numbers should look like.
Ask us all twelve. Free on-site assessment, written quote, and a straight answer about whether the tree needs to go at all.
General guidance for engaging any tree contractor in New Zealand. See our disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for when hiring an arborist in New Zealand?
Ask for proof of current public liability insurance, confirm the crew's arboriculture qualifications, get the quote in writing with the method and clean-up scope defined, check whether they have confirmed your tree's protection status, and ask who is actually doing the work rather than who is quoting it. A competent contractor will answer all of these without hesitation.
Should an arborist quote be in writing?
Always. A verbal price with no defined scope is where nearly every tree-work dispute starts. A written quote should state the trees involved, the removal method, whether stumps are included and to what depth, what happens to the material, and whether traffic management or consent applications are extra. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, services must be carried out with reasonable care and skill — but a written scope is what makes that enforceable in practice.
Is the cheapest tree removal quote a bad idea?
Not automatically, but understand why it is cheaper. A genuinely lower price usually reflects better access, a simpler method, or an efficient crew already working nearby. A suspiciously low price often reflects no insurance, no clean-up, no stump, or an intention to add cost on the day. Compare what is actually in each quote rather than the headline number.