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Tree work safety: what a safe crew looks like
Safe Work Australia’s national guidance says practical tree work, including work at height in a tree, is dangerous and should only be done by people assessed as competent against the relevant national qualification. WorkSafe Victoria’s guide to working safely with trees says every tree must be inspected before work begins, to work out the safest way to do the job.
General information, not safety advice for a particular tree. Safe Work Australia’s and WorkSafe Victoria’s guides are listed at the foot of this page.
Why tree work is treated as high risk
WorkSafe Victoria says amenity tree industry workers are killed or seriously injured every year. Safe Work Australia’s guide to managing the risks of tree work (March 2023) says managing those risks takes a high level of competency, and suggests seeking the advice of a competent person, such as a qualified arborist.
That guide counts lopping, pruning, trimming, repairing, maintaining and removing trees as tree work, along with the ground work that goes with it: wood chipping, stump grinding and root pruning. It names landscapers and gardeners among the duty holders it is written for.
Two words carry the weight in it. The guide uses must for a legal requirement under the model WHS Act and model WHS Regulations, and should for a recommended course of action. It says WHS laws are not the same across Australia, and to contact your WHS regulator for help with the requirements where you are. It also warns that following industry guidance and standards does not by itself mean a business is meeting its duties under the model WHS laws.
The crew’s duties, in Safe Work Australia’s words
| Topic | What the guide says | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Training | Workers are trained to do their work safely, and workers and supervisors are trained in emergency procedures, including aerial rescue when working at height. | Must (model WHS laws) |
| Emergency plan | An emergency plan is prepared for the workplace, and where crew members work at height, such as climbing or working from an elevating work platform, there is a rescue plan. | Must (model WHS laws) |
| First aid | Workers have access to first aid equipment and facilities. | Must (model WHS laws) |
| Protective equipment | Where workers are to use it, the business provides it (unless another business has) and chooses it to minimise risk. | Must (model WHS laws) |
| Working alone | Tree workers do not work alone, and at least one other crew member on site is trained and competent in the task. | Should |
| Rescue contacts | The rescue plan carries contact details for local emergency services and, where electric lines are on the site, the electricity business’s direct emergency number. | Should |
| Looking first | A competent person carries out a visual tree assessment before anyone works on the tree by any method. | Should |
The area under the tree
Safe Work Australia describes it as an area people are kept out of, usually with signs, physical barriers and supervised access, and says one should be set up below or near the tree being worked on, to lower the risk of things falling on people. WorkSafe Victoria’s checklist asks whether exclusion or drop zones are marked clearly, with markers, flags or cones, and whether a system keeps unauthorised people and animals out of the work area.
Before the first cut
WorkSafe Victoria publishes basic safety checklists for the amenity tree and gardening services industry, and says anything ticked “No” should be fixed so far as is reasonably practicable. Among the things its general and systems-of-work checklists ask about:
- a visual assessment of the tree’s condition, to choose the right equipment and the safest way to remove it
- a hazard identification and risk assessment of the site, with controls such as tree felling exclusion areas for the risks found
- workers who are trained or licensed, and competent, for every task they are given, who understand their roles, and are fit for work: not fatigued or affected by drugs or alcohol
- a way of communicating on site, such as handheld radios, agreed before work starts
- emergency procedures, aerial rescue included, that every worker understands, and a site that emergency vehicles can reach.
This is a selection, in our own words. The full checklists are in WorkSafe Victoria’s PDF listed at the foot of this page.
Climbing, platforms and ladders
Safe Work Australia’s guide says that, under the model WHS laws, the business must eliminate the risk of a fall that is likely to injure someone, for example by working from the ground or a solid construction. For reaching trees at height, the guide’s safe system of work includes, in order:
- Fall preventiona fall prevention device, such as an elevated work platform
- Work positioningwhere a fall prevention device is not reasonably practicable, a work positioning system
- Fall arrestwhere neither is reasonably practicable, a fall arrest system.
Under the model WHS laws, the guide says boom-type elevating work platforms must be registered before they are used at work, and an operator of one with a boom of 11 metres or more must hold a high risk work licence for it. Tree climbing should only be done by people assessed as competent against the relevant national qualification, or under adequate supervision by a competent person. The guide says tree trimming or removal should not be done from ladders.
WorkSafe Victoria’s tree guide adds that climbers must not be affected by drugs or alcohol, that a second climber skilled in aerial rescue should be there while a climber is in the tree, and that a designated person on the ground should watch the climbers. It also says it is not appropriate to rely on emergency services for an aerial or high angle rescue.
Chainsaws and felling
Safe Work Australia calls chainsaws potentially dangerous plant that can cause fatal or major injuries, especially in untrained hands, and says they should not be used above shoulder height. A suitable helmet should always be worn on a tree, and anyone using a chainsaw should wear cut-resistant pants. Controlled directional felling should never be attempted by untrained or inexperienced people, only by those trained in advanced felling or with substantial felling experience. The full equipment list is in the machinery guide.