How do you become an arborist in Australia?
The national qualifications on training.gov.au for ground workers and climbing arborists, how they are packaged, and what Arboriculture Australia says about the skills shortage list.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
Australia's arboriculture qualifications sit in the national Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package, published on training.gov.au. Two qualifications cover most entry routes. The Certificate II in Arboriculture (AHC20520) is aimed at ground-based tree workers, and the Certificate III in Arboriculture (AHC30824) at arborists. The wider guide for the country is starting in Australia.
Certificate II in Arboriculture
The training.gov.au record for AHC20520 lists release 2, current since February 15, 2022. It says the total number of units to achieve the qualification fell from 20 to 11 in the 2020 revision, and that all 11 are core. The register describes the qualification as skills and knowledge for ground-based tree workers, doing ground-based work under supervision, and says it is suitable as a pre-apprenticeship or school-based program for introduction to the industry.
Certificate III in Arboriculture
The record for AHC30824 shows release 1, dated May 1, 2024 and current. It replaces AHC30820, with three core units, 14 elective units and the prerequisite requirements updated, one elective added and one deleted. The packaging is 9 core units and 9 elective units, 18 in all. The register describes the qualification as skills and knowledge for trade level roles in the arboriculture industry.
The record lists six specialisations, each with the same 9 core and 9 elective units:
- Climbing Arborist
- Climbing Arborist, Elevated Work Platform (EWP) Arborist
- Crane Specialist
- EWP Arborist
- Environmental arborist
- Works Coordinator
The register names five roles for the qualification: climbing arborist, EWP arborist, crane specialist, environmental arborist and arborist works coordinator.
Demand, as the industry body words it
Arboriculture Australia's Arborists Don't Grow On Trees page says the profession of arborist has long been listed on the federal government's critical skills shortage list, and that arborist is one of 57 occupations in national shortage in the top category of the National Skills Commission's Priority Skills list. It lists the kinds of work it expects to be in demand, including powerline tree clearance and EWP operators, ground-based pruners, chipper crews, climbing arborists and rigging specialists, consulting arborists, and council arborists.
What these pages do not say
The training.gov.au records read for this answer give no apprenticeship length, no pay and no licence rules. For the codes and the other arboriculture qualifications see the Certificate III guide.