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Our Team
At our core, we’re two mates who have been working together in the gardening industry for years and we found our mutual passion for cutting trees down and making hedges look beautiful again. Our crew ranges from two mates- Andrew and Ali, and upto a team of 5 men for the bigger lopping jobs. Fully insured arborist at your fingertips!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Please reach us at hedgetreebros@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
For most trees and hedges in Southeast Queensland, the best time to prune is usually:
- Late winter to early spring (roughly July–September)
- Or after flowering/fruiting for flowering species
That timing gives trees a chance to recover quickly during active growth while reducing stress and disease risk.
But it depends heavily on the type of tree and what you’re trying to achieve.
General pruning timing
- Deciduous trees → prune in winter while dormant
- Native Australian trees → light pruning after flowering or during cooler months
- Fruit trees → usually winter for structure, summer for size control
- Palm trees → only remove dead fronds; avoid heavy pruning
- Flowering trees → prune after flowering, otherwise you may remove next season’s blooms
In Queensland’s climate
Because Queensland is warmer and often humid:
- Avoid heavy pruning during extreme heat
- Avoid major cuts during prolonged wet/humid periods because fungal disease risk increases
- Cyclone-prone areas sometimes do preventive pruning before storm season
Avoid over-pruning
Bad timing can:
- stress the tree
- trigger weak growth
- increase pest/disease entry
- make some species unstable or sunburned
“Topping” trees (cutting the canopy flat across the top) is generally considered poor arboriculture and can create hazardous regrowth.
Hedge & Tree Cutting Bros offers tree trimming, tree removal, stump grinding, tree planting, and tree health evaluation services.
In Queensland, it can sometimes be illegal to cut down a tree on your own property — even if you planted it yourself. The rules depend on:
- whether the tree is native or protected
- your local council
- zoning/overlays on the land
- whether the vegetation is mapped under state laws
- proximity to waterways, koala habitat, bushland, etc.
At the state level, Queensland regulates “vegetation clearing” under the Vegetation Management Act. “Clearing” includes cutting down, poisoning, ringbarking, burning, or otherwise destroying vegetation.
Common situations where it may be illegal without approval include:
- the tree is in a protected vegetation area
- the property has a vegetation overlay, covenant, or development condition
- the tree is in koala habitat, wetlands, bushfire buffer zones, or riparian areas
- the tree is classified as native remnant vegetation
- your local council has a tree protection local law
- you are clearing more than the exempt amount
- the land is rural or environmentally significant
Queensland also has exemptions where approval is often not needed, such as:
- removing vegetation posing an imminent safety risk
- some firebreaks/fire management clearing
- limited clearing for fences, tracks, or buildings
- clearing in “Category X” areas
- some residential building work exemptions
But the big catch is this:
Even if state law allows it, your local council can still require approval.
For example:
- Brisbane City Council protects certain vegetation under its Natural Assets Local Law.
- Sunshine Coast Council may require permits for protected vegetation and mapped trees.
- Noosa Shire Council generally requires approval to clear protected vegetation on private land.
Penalties can be significant — councils and the state government can issue fines and enforcement notices for unlawful clearing.
A practical rule in Queensland is:
- Small ornamental trees in suburban yards are usually low-risk.
- Mature native trees are where people commonly get into trouble.
Before cutting anything substantial down, you should:
- Check your council’s vegetation or planning overlays.
- Check the Queensland vegetation maps/property report.
- Confirm whether the tree is protected or in regulated vegetation.
- If in doubt, ask council or an arborist before removing it.
You can check Queensland vegetation mapping here:
Queensland vegetation management information
And Brisbane residents can check protected vegetation rules here:
The cost of Hedge & Tree Cutting Bros's tree services depends on various factors such as the type of service, the size of the tree, and the location. Please contact us for a free estimate.
in Brisbane and the rest of Queensland, you are generally allowed to trim branches from a neighbour’s tree back to the boundary line if they overhang your property. This is called the “right of abatement” under Queensland law.
But there are important limits:
- You can only trim the parts on your side of the boundary.
- You must not go onto your neighbour’s property without permission.
- You should avoid damaging or killing the tree.
- Protected trees or council trees may need approval before pruning.
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