Services / Tree assessment and valuation
Specialist service
What the tree is worth and its condition.
Two questions that usually come together: what condition is this tree in, and what is it worth? We assess the condition first, because you cannot value what you have not properly looked at, then value it with a recognised method, so the figure stands up when it is questioned.
Why it matters
A valuation is only as strong as the method behind it
A tree value gets used where it will be tested: an insurance claim, compensation for a tree removed without permission, an offset or a bond, or a loss-and-damage dispute between neighbours. In each of those, the other side has a reason to push the figure down, and a number with no method behind it does not withstand that.
So, we assess the condition first. An Arboricultural Condition Report sets out each tree's health and structure, as well as its retention priority. The valuation then sits on a real assessment of the tree rather than a glance from the footpath.
From there we value with the method that fits the purpose. There are seven recognised methods of amenity tree valuation, and they are not interchangeable: valuing for insurance is a different question from valuing for replacement, compensation or an asset register. We choose the one that suits the task, and show the inputs, so the figure can be followed and defended.
How it works
Condition first, then a defensible value
The order matters. Assess the tree, choose the method that fits the purpose, and then put a figure on it that anyone can follow back to its inputs.
Before any number
Condition first
An Arboricultural Condition Report: each tree's health, structure and retention priority. You cannot put a defensible value on a tree you have not properly assessed.
Matching method to purpose
The right valuation method
Insurance, replacement, compensation and asset valuation are different questions, and they call for different methods. We select from the recognised methods the one that fits the purpose, and we state which one we used and why, rather than using a default method that may not suit the purpose.
In the report
A figure you can defend
The value with its inputs shown, so anyone reviewing it can follow how it was reached. Where a tree has been damaged or removed without authority, a loss-and-damage assessment that quantifies what was actually lost.
Why our work can be relied on
A figure that can be explained if challenged
Valuations are commissioned for the moment someone disputes them. Ours are built for that moment.
Method shown, not asserted
We name the method and show the inputs, so the figure can be checked and followed. A number with no working is the first issue likely to be challenged.
Condition behind the value
The valuation sits on a real condition assessment of the tree, not a guess at its health from across the road. The value means more because the assessment is real.
VCAT tested valuation evidence
Valuation and loss-and-damage figures we have prepared have been tested at the Tribunal and held. See the record.
Related services
Often needed alongside
Need a tree valued, or a loss quantified?
Tell us the tree, the situation, and what the figure is for. We will set out the method we would use and what it involves.
Discuss your tree