Services / Development and construction
Our core service
Address tree requirements early in your project.
On a development site, trees are a planning requirement. If tree constraints are identified late, they can lead to redesign, permit delays or construction issues. We bring tree advice in early and carry it through the build, so the project can proceed while retained trees are properly protected.
Why it matters
Tree constraints should be understood before the design is finalised
The best time to address tree constraints is before the design is finalised. Once the footprint, basement, and yield are set, a tree conflict can lead to a redesign, tree loss, or a contested planning matter. Each of those options can add cost and delay.
Tree assessment and protection are a planning requirement, not a ‘nice thing to do’. Where an overlay applies, or a permit is triggered, the Council expects an arboricultural assessment with the application, and tree protection to AS 4970:2025 as a condition of approval. Treating that as a box to tick at the end is how applications stall.
We work the other way around. Assess the trees first, set the constraints the design must respect, the Tree Protection Zone (TPZ) and Structural Root Zone (SRZ) of each retained tree, and build the rest of the project without altering the protection zone.
How it works
Four stages, one project arborist
Most sites need all four. We stay with the project from the assessment that goes in with the application to the certificate that closes it out.
Development and construction cover four of the six stages in our project lifecycle: impact, protection, supervision and certification.
At the planning application
Arboricultural Impact
We identify every tree on and near the site, set its retention priority, and assess how the proposal impacts it. Where works fall inside a tree's NRZ, the Construction Impact Assessment shows how the build can proceed without harming the tree.
Once the permit is issued, before the machines arrive
Tree protection
The Tree Protection Plan and Specification set the TPZ and SRZ on the plan and specify the protection the build must work around: fencing, ground protection, signage, and the rules for working near retained trees, to AS 4970:2025 Section 4. The plan and the specification always go together.
While construction is underway
Supervision
The project arborist attends at the points that matter: excavation near roots, installation of protection measures, and any works inside the NRZ. When conditions change on site, we issue written directions so the plan is followed once the works are underway.
At each stage and at completion
Certification
Stage 1 to 5 supervision certifications give the Council the documented sign-off it needs to meet permit conditions. The final certificate confirms that protection was maintained in place and the conditions were met, so the bonds can be released and the project is compliant.
Why our work can be relied on
Documentation prepared for review
A development report is only as good as it is on the day it is questioned, by a Council officer, by another arborist, or by the Tribunal.
Independent
We act for Councils and for the applicants they assess. The finding reads the same either way, which is why it can withstand scrutiny and why both sides keep instructing us.
Current methods
Where roots are the question, we have them investigated with non-destructive root investigation, not guesswork. The TPZ advice is grounded in what is actually underground.
Holds up at VCAT
If the matter is contested, the same evidence that accompanied the application is the evidence we defend at the Tribunal. See the record.
Related services
Often needed alongside
Planning a build with trees on the site?
Talk to us before the design is locked. We will tell you what the trees mean for the project and how we would approach it.
Discuss your project