Tree Maintenance Contracts for Strata Buildings in Sydney

Tree Maintenance Contracts for Strata Buildings in Sydney

In strata gardening across Sydney, trees are usually the largest and highest-risk living assets on the property. They shade and screen, but they also drop limbs, lift paths and come with council rules most committees only discover when something goes wrong.

The short answer: a good tree maintenance contract for a Sydney strata building sets out a tree register and inspection schedule, separates routine pruning from arborist work, assigns responsibility for council approvals, requires WHS documentation and certificates of currency, defines storm response and green waste, and sets out reporting to the committee.

To be upfront: we are gardeners and landscapers, not arborists. Pruning, hedging and day-to-day strata and commercial garden care are our work. Tree removal, major pruning of protected trees and arborist reports need a qualified arborist: an AQF Level 5 consulting arborist for reports, and an AQF Level 3 arborist for tree work. The best contracts are written around that split.

Who Is Responsible for Which Trees?

In NSW, trees on common property are generally the owners corporation's responsibility under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, because the owners corporation must maintain and repair common property. That usually covers trees in shared gardens, driveways and boundary plantings. The grey areas:

• Trees within a lot: a tree inside a lot's boundary, such as some courtyards, is generally the lot owner's responsibility. Check the strata plan.
• Exclusive use areas: a common property rights by-law can hand maintenance of a garden area to a lot owner.
• Street trees: trees on the council verge are generally managed by council. Don't prune them without permission.

Whoever owns the tree, council rules still apply. Each council has its own tree-protection rules and permit process, often set out in its Development Control Plan, and North Sydney, Mosman, Northern Beaches and Woollahra all differ. Before significant pruning or removal, check with council and your strata manager.

Why Tree Care Needs Its Own Scope

Most strata grounds maintenance contracts in Sydney mention "pruning", but few define it. The committee assumes it covers the big tree over the car park; the contractor assumes shrubs and hedges. The tree doesn't get done until a branch lands on a car.

Tree work also carries different risks, skills and insurance from routine body corporate gardening, and some contractors' policies exclude or limit it. Two sensible options:

• Separate contracts: the grounds contractor handles gardens, hedges and low pruning; a qualified arborist handles tree assessments and tree works.
• One contract with a clear tree schedule: the garden maintenance contract lists exactly which tree tasks are included; everything else is arborist work, quoted separately.

A vague scope only gets tested in a storm. Preparing a tender? See our guide to writing a strata garden maintenance tender.

What a Good Strata Tree Contract Includes

Tree register and inspection schedule

List each significant tree with its location, species, approximate size, condition, protection status and work history. The grounds team should check trees visually each visit for deadwood, splits, leaning or fungal growth at the base, and flag changes; a consulting arborist should assess larger trees periodically and set reinspection intervals. Add tree checks to your seasonal strata garden maintenance checklist.

Routine pruning vs arborist work

Write the line into the contract. Grounds-team work typically includes hedge trimming, shrub pruning, shaping small ornamental trees, lifting low branches off paths and driveway sightlines, and removing small, safely reachable deadwood. Arborist work includes removals, major or structural pruning, climbing or elevated work platforms, protected trees, and anything near overhead powerlines, which only appropriately authorised workers may handle.

Approvals responsibility

State who checks whether council approval is needed, who lodges the application (often the strata manager for the owners corporation, supported by an arborist report), and that no work on a protected tree starts until written approval is in hand. Your strata manager can confirm whether the committee can approve the work or it needs a general meeting.

Safety, WHS and insurance

Require site-specific Safe Work Method Statements, exclusion zones, pedestrian management and notice to residents before tree work. Ask every contractor for current certificates of currency for public liability and workers compensation, and check the policy covers the work they'll do. We carry $20M public liability; your arborist's cover should specifically include tree work.

Storm response and green waste

Define who makes the site safe after a storm, who clears small debris from paths and who handles large limbs or fallen trees, with separate response times for safety hazards and non-urgent clean-up and an out-of-hours contact. Routine clippings usually leave with the grounds team; arborist timber is normally handled by the arborist.

Reporting to the committee

Tree observations belong in the same reports as the rest of your owners corporation garden maintenance: photos, location, recommendation and priority. File arborist reports with the register so future committees inherit the history.

Budgeting and the Capital Works Fund

NSW owners corporations keep an administrative fund for day-to-day expenses and a capital works fund for larger works, guided by a 10-year capital works fund plan. Routine grounds care, including pruning, generally sits in the administrative fund. Larger, foreseeable tree works, such as staged removals with replacement planting or repairs to root-damaged paths, are worth planning into the 10-year plan. Your strata manager can confirm how each item is classified.

A few practical points:

• Get the arborist assessment before the budget meeting, so tree works are planned rather than raised as a special levy later.
• Know your ad hoc rates. Strata grounds care is a custom contract, but out-of-scope work is commonly charged on time; ours is about $75 per gardener per hour.

For the wider grounds budget, see our strata garden maintenance cost guide.

How a Grounds Contractor and an Arborist Work Together

The grounds team is on site weekly or fortnightly; the arborist might visit once or twice a year. That makes the gardeners the committee's early-warning system:

• Gardeners photograph an issue during a routine visit and report it to the strata manager.
• The strata manager engages an arborist to assess and advise.
• If approval is needed, it's lodged, and the arborist works once consent is granted.
• The grounds team follows up with clean-up, replanting, mulching and monitoring.

Gardeners also protect trees quietly: mulching root zones, keeping mowers and line trimmers off trunks, watering new trees, and never stockpiling soil over roots.

Common Mistakes Committees Make

• Leaving "pruning" undefined in the garden maintenance contract.
• Asking a gardener to "just take that tree down", which is arborist work and possibly a council matter.
• Topping or lopping trees, which weakens them and may breach council rules.
• Keeping no register, so there's no history when a limb fails.
• Waiting for a storm to find out who's responsible.

We provide gardening services for strata managers and committees across the Lower North Shore, Northern Beaches and Eastern Suburbs. Our 100% in-house teams (never subcontractors) are licensed and qualified in landscaping and horticulture, with 10+ years' experience. For a free on-site quote, call 0481 057 426 or request a strata maintenance proposal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is responsible for trees in a strata scheme in NSW?

Trees on common property are generally the owners corporation's responsibility under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. Trees within a lot are generally the lot owner's, and a by-law can shift maintenance of some areas to an owner. Check your strata plan and by-laws with your strata manager.

Can our gardener prune the trees on common property?

A qualified gardener can handle routine pruning of hedges, shrubs and small trees that can be reached safely. Removals, major pruning, protected trees and work at height need a qualified arborist: AQF Level 3 for tree work, AQF Level 5 for reports.

Do we need council approval to prune or remove a strata tree?

Often, depending on the tree and the work. Each council has its own tree-protection rules and permit process, usually set out in its Development Control Plan. Check with council and your strata manager first.

How should a strata scheme budget for tree work?

Routine pruning usually sits in the administrative fund as part of the grounds contract. Larger, foreseeable tree works are worth planning into the 10-year capital works fund plan, based on an arborist's assessment, with a contingency for storm damage.