One region, several very different jobs
The Illawarra looks uniform from the Princes Highway and is not. Three things change as you move across it, and all three change what a tree job costs.
The first is the escarpment. A sandstone and shale cliff line runs the length of the region, and the suburbs sit on the narrow coastal plain beneath it. Blocks close to the face are steep, benched, retained and stair-accessed. Blocks out on the flat near the lake are not. That single difference routinely doubles or triples the labour on an identical tree.
The second is soil and aspect. Basalt-derived soils on the escarpment slopes grow very tall, very fast trees — blackbutt, Sydney blue gum, turpentine — with pockets of subtropical rainforest remnant carrying coachwood, cabbage tree palm and Illawarra flame tree. The coastal strip is sandier, saltier and windier, and bangalay, coast banksia and Norfolk Island pine take over. West of the lake the country flattens into heavier clay with paddock trees and long-established camphor laurel along the creek lines.
The third is the council. Three of them, with three sets of tree controls.
Councils
Wollongong City Council governs from Helensburgh through the northern villages, the CBD suburbs, the escarpment foothills and west to Dapto and Horsley. Its tree preservation controls sit in the Wollongong Development Control Plan and protect most established trees on private land above modest height and trunk thresholds.
Shellharbour City Council covers Albion Park, Albion Park Rail, Oak Flats, Shellharbour, Shell Cove and Flinders. Different thresholds, different form.
Kiama Municipal Council covers Kiama, Kiama Downs, Minnamurra, Jamberoo and Gerringong.
In every one of them a street tree on the verge belongs to council regardless of who planted it, and the penalty for removing a protected tree without approval falls on the property owner rather than the contractor. The council approval guide covers the process.
Suburb notes
- Wollongong — the CBD and the older inner suburbs, mature street figs, coastal salt and terrace-tight access.
- Figtree — benched blocks below Mount Keira, big escarpment eucalypts, crane and climbing work.
- Corrimal — flat post-war streets with mature backyard trees and the escarpment immediately behind.
- Thirroul — narrow northern village streets, bushfire-prone interface, steep rear yards.
- Dapto — flat, heavy clay, good access, camphor laurel along the creek lines.
- Shellharbour — coastal, exposed, Shellharbour City Council, salt-burnt canopies.
- Kiama — basalt soil, Norfolk Island pines, Kiama Municipal Council, strong onshore wind.
- Albion Park — the Macquarie Pass foothills, farm trees, large weed species on watercourses.
Beyond the Illawarra
South of Gerringong the country changes again — dairy flats, coastal villages and long travel between jobs. That footprint is covered on the South Coast tree services page.
Whatever the suburb, the quote is free. Ring (02) 4210 5885 or use the contact page. What the number is likely to be is set out in the cost guide.
Frequently asked questions
Which councils do you work across?
Wollongong City Council covers the bulk of the footprint, from Helensburgh in the north down to Windang. Shellharbour City Council picks up Albion Park, Shellharbour, Shell Cove and Oak Flats. Kiama Municipal Council covers Kiama, Kiama Downs, Minnamurra and Gerringong. Each has its own tree preservation controls and its own application, which is why the quote starts with your address.
Why does the suburb change the price so much?
Because it changes the job. A flat Dapto block with driveway access, a benched Figtree block below Mount Keira with stairs and no rear entry, and a Thirroul block backing onto bushfire-prone escarpment are three different pieces of work on the same species of tree. Slope, access, soil and council all move the number independently of tree size.
Do you charge to travel to the southern suburbs?
No separate travel charge applies across the listed service area. Work further south beyond Gerringong is covered on the South Coast page and is quoted job by job, since a single small job two hours away is a different proposition from a day's work in Kiama.
Is my block bushfire prone?
Much of the land along the escarpment face and the bush interface west of the suburbs is mapped as bushfire prone, and it changes street by street rather than suburb by suburb. Your council can confirm the mapping for a specific address. It matters because the Rural Fire Service 10/50 vegetation clearing entitlement only applies inside designated areas.