A single removal job can put a two-tonne stem within a few metres of a neighbouring roof, a car, a fence line and an overhead service. Very few trades concentrate that much potential damage into one controlled moment, which is why liability limits for arborists sit higher than the revenue of the business would otherwise suggest.
Spring is when the volume arrives. Pruning windows open, storm damage from winter gets cleared, and landscaping projects that were deferred over the wet months all start at once. It is also when operators take on unfamiliar work, hire casual crew, and rely on gear that has been parked up since autumn.
What Public Liability Actually Covers Here
Public liability responds to third-party injury and third-party property damage arising from your work. For tree and grounds work, the realistic claim scenarios are narrow but severe.
- A limb or stem falling outside the intended drop zone onto a structure or vehicle
- Damage to a neighbouring property when a tree is felled across a boundary
- Chipper or stump grinder debris striking a person, window or vehicle
- Root damage to underground services during excavation or stump removal
- Injury to a member of the public who enters an unsecured work zone
- Damage to driveways, paving or irrigation from machinery access
What it does not cover is the tree itself, your own equipment, or the cost of redoing work you got wrong. Those sit under contract works, plant and machinery, and — for advisory work such as tree health assessments or planting design — professional indemnity.
Choosing a Limit
The limit question is settled less by the size of the business than by what sits within falling distance of the work.
| Type of work | Common limit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lawn care, garden maintenance, planting | $1M | Low-energy work, limited access to structures |
| Hedging, small pruning, residential landscaping | $1M-$2M | Machinery and debris exposure on occupied sites |
| Residential tree removal and dismantling | $2M-$5M | Structures and vehicles routinely within the fall zone |
| Work near overhead lines or on council berms | $5M | Network operator and council contract conditions |
| Subcontracting to principals or main contractors | $5M minimum | Contractually specified, not negotiable |
The step from $1M to $2M is usually inexpensive on a small operation. The step to $5M costs more, but for anyone doing removals in established suburbs it is the working standard, because the exposure is not your revenue — it is the value of whatever is standing next to the tree.
Why $1M Runs Out Faster Than It Looks
A stem through a roof is rarely a roof-only claim. It becomes structural repair, internal water damage over the following weeks, contents, alternative accommodation while the dwelling is repaired, and the homeowner's insurer pursuing you through subrogation for the whole lot. Defence costs may erode the limit rather than sit above it, depending on the wording. A claim that starts as a $180,000 repair can present as a considerably larger demand by the time it is resolved.
Exclusions That Catch Operators Out
Several standard exclusions bite harder in this trade than in most.
| Exclusion | What it means on a tree job |
|---|---|
| Property in your care, custody or control | Damage to the item you were working on or handling may be excluded. Relevant where machinery is hired in or where you are storing materials on site. |
| Underground services | Frequently excluded or sub-limited unless a service location has been carried out and recorded. |
| Faulty workmanship | The cost of rectifying your own defective work is not covered, though resulting damage to other property usually is. |
| Height and depth restrictions | Some wordings restrict work above a stated height or below a stated depth. Climbing and elevated work platform operations can fall outside a general trade wording. |
| Pollution | Fuel or hydraulic oil spills into a waterway or stormwater drain are typically excluded beyond a sudden and accidental carve-back. |
| Asbestos | Relevant where stump grinding or excavation disturbs buried fibre cement, which is common on older sections. |
The height restriction is the one most often missed. An operator who upgrades from ground-based pruning to climbed dismantling has materially changed the risk, and a wording written for landscaping may not follow them up the tree. Tell your adviser when the nature of the work changes, not at renewal.
Council and Network Requirements
Work on council-controlled land, road reserve or berms carries its own conditions. Most councils require a traffic management plan for any work affecting the carriageway or footpath, evidence of liability cover at a stated limit, and in many districts an arborist report before any protected tree is touched. Protected and notable tree registers vary considerably between districts, and removing a listed tree without consent is an offence under the district plan regardless of who owns the land.
Work within the approach distances of overhead electricity lines is governed by the close approach rules and generally requires either a qualified competent person or written consent from the network operator. Contact with a live conductor produces exactly the kind of claim — serious injury plus network outage costs — that makes $5M the practical floor.
What Principals Will Ask For
- Certificate of currency showing the limit and the insured entity name exactly as contracted
- Confirmation the policy covers subcontracted labour if you use it
- Evidence of qualifications for climbed or aerial work
- A site-specific hazard assessment and traffic management plan where applicable
- Vehicle and plant cover for machinery brought onto site
Where you engage subcontractors yourself, collect their certificate before they start and check the insured name matches the entity you are actually paying. A certificate in a trading name that does not match the invoicing company is a common and expensive mismatch.
Reducing the Chance of a Claim
Most tree-work property claims trace back to the same handful of causes: an underestimated fall zone, a defective stem that failed earlier than expected, an unsecured public boundary, or debris thrown further than anticipated. Documented pre-start assessments, exclusion zones that account for the full stem length plus a margin, and photographs of the site condition before work starts are the three things that most reliably shorten a dispute.
Photographs matter more than operators expect. A great many claims involve pre-existing damage to a driveway, fence or paving that the homeowner attributes to the job. A dated set of arrival photos resolves that in one email.
Next Steps
Check the limit on your current certificate against the table above, and specifically check whether your wording restricts working height or excludes underground services. Those two clauses account for a disproportionate share of declined claims in this trade.
Our coverage guide explains how public liability sits alongside statutory liability and professional indemnity for advisory work. If you are expanding into removals, taking on council contracts, or bringing on subcontract crew this season, Get a Quote and a referred adviser will match the limit and wording to the work you are actually doing.