Where the facts come from
Official sources come first: council district plans, government agencies, the Privacy Commissioner and the lines companies' own pages. After those, bodies such as NZQA, the NZ Arboricultural Association, Community Law and the Insurance Council of New Zealand.
Each page lists what it used at the foot, with links, so you can read the source yourself. Nothing here is legal advice, and on any particular tree the council has the final word.
When an official site won't load
Some official sites refused our research requests. When that happened, the page says so and leaves the rule out instead of guessing. Our Wellington City Council page is one example: it lists the questions to ask the council rather than rules we couldn't check.
Why the dates matter
New Zealand's planning law is in the middle of a change. The Planning Act and the Natural Environment Act came into force on 30 September 2026, while existing RMA plans and consent processes stay in place during the transition. The rules for trees near power lines changed too, with amended regulations taking effect on 23 July 2026.
So rule pages show the date their rules were last checked at the official source, and link the council's own page. If the council has changed something since that date, its version wins.
Why there are no prices
There are no prices for tree work anywhere on the site. A job's size depends on the tree, the access, what's underneath, power lines, the stump and the clean-up, and nobody can put a figure on that without seeing it. Pages explain what makes a job bigger or smaller, and what a written quote should include.
Safety rules every page follows
- Never any felling, climbing or chainsaw instructions. Tips for homeowners stop at small pruning from the ground with hand tools.
- A tree touching a street power line belongs to the lines company, so that's where we send you.
- In a storm, 111 comes first if anyone is in danger.
- A council's rule is only stated for that council, and a lines company's process only for its own area.
- We never say a tree can come down without approval, dead or alive. Pages describe what a plan protects and send you to the council.
- Fines appear only as the legal maximums the rules set, never as a guide to what anything costs.
What we won't publish
Reviews, jobs, people or statistics we can't stand behind. If it isn't real and sourced, it stays off the site.
Some photos here are illustrations made with an AI image tool. None shows a real job or a business in our network.
Corrections
Spotted a rule that looks out of date? Trust the official source at the foot of the page, and remember your council decides about your tree. Who to go to about a tree job, a lines company notice or your details is on the complaints page.
When an official source changes, the page is updated and its checked date moves with it.