When a tree comes down on a house, a car or across the only way out, the priority is making it safe — not tidying it up.
No obligation. Takes 30 seconds.
If there are powerlines involved, stay well clear and ring Essential Energy. Never approach a tree that's touching or near a line, and treat every fallen line as live.
If a tree has hit the house and there's structural damage or anyone is hurt, that's triple zero. For a tree down with no immediate danger to life, NSW SES on 132 500 is the right call.
Once it's safe, photograph everything before anything is moved. Your insurer will want it, and the photos also let an arborist size the job before they arrive.
Emergency work is triage. The arborist secures the hazard first — removing the weight that's still loaded, cutting free what's pinning a structure, making the area safe to walk through. Full clean-up often happens the following day in daylight, because night-time chainsaw work around a damaged roof carries risk that daylight removes.
Expect a premium for after-hours and hazardous conditions. Storm-loaded timber under tension is genuinely dangerous work and it's priced accordingly.
This isn't hypothetical here. On 15 January 2025 a supercell hit Wagga just after 2pm with hail and winds over 100km/h — NSW SES took more than 180 calls for help, mostly trees down across roads and in backyards. On 26 October 2025, SES volunteers and Fire and Rescue NSW worked into the night clearing fallen trees. In December 2024, The Rock and Yenda saw uprooted trees and widespread outages.
After an event like that every arborist in town is booked solid. The people who get seen first are the ones who made contact early and had photos ready.
Most home policies cover removing a tree that has hit an insured structure, and many won't cover removing a fallen tree that damaged nothing. Check before authorising a large clean-up. If you need documentation for a claim, ask for an arborist report — insurers frequently want written confirmation of what failed and why.
Wagga Wagga and the surrounding Riverina.
Where this job typically sits. Access is usually a bigger cost driver than size.
| Job | Indicative price | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Small tree removal (under 5m) | $250 – $800 | Ornamentals, young trees, straightforward drop zone. |
| Medium tree removal (5 – 10m) | $800 – $2,500 | The most common suburban job. Access is the biggest cost driver. |
| Large tree removal (10 – 15m) | $2,500 – $6,000 | Usually sectional dismantling. Often needs an EWP or crane. |
| Very large tree removal (15m+) | $6,000 – $15,000 | Crane work, traffic control and multi-day jobs sit at the top of this range. |
| Stump grinding | $100 – $400 per stump | Priced on diameter and how close it sits to services or structures. |
| Pruning and lopping | $200 – $1,200 | Depends on canopy size, height and how much material comes out. |
| Storm and emergency response | Premium applies | After-hours callouts, hazardous conditions and traffic management add cost. |
| Arborist report | $300 – $800 | Written assessment for a council application, insurer or pre-purchase inspection. |
All prices are indicative ranges drawn from published Australian tree work price guides. Every job is different — you'll get a fixed quote after an on-site assessment.
Full removal of trees that are dead, dangerous, outgrowing the block or in the way of building work.
Cutting back overgrown canopies for clearance, light and safety — done properly, not just topped.
Post-storm clean-up: fallen limbs, split trunks, hung-up branches and yards full of debris.
Selective pruning for clearance, health and structure — the maintenance that prevents removals.
Grinding stumps below ground level so you can turf, plant, pave or build over them.
Trees over houses, powerlines and neighbouring property — the jobs that need proper rigging.
Tell us the suburb, the tree and how urgent it is — we will match it to the right operator.
Call 0420 115 087