Tree work prosecutions in New South Wales: what SafeWork NSW published

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It lists tree work prosecutions that SafeWork NSW published as media releases, in the words of those releases. Names of injured people are left out, and so are the names of individual defendants. Each entry is as released on the date shown, and the appeal status is only what each release states. The releases are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, and the source is SafeWork NSW.

Entries

Date and court	Defendant and breach as released	Outcome as released
Release dated March 27, 2026, Industrial Court of NSW	General Forest Tree Surgeon Pty Ltd. Pleaded guilty to an offence under section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to comply with its duty to workers under section 19(1). Link: SafeWork NSW release on the falling tree trunk	Convicted and fined AU$70,000. The release says the company has the right to appeal.
Release dated July 18, 2023, sentenced July 14, 2023, NSW District Court	A1 Arbor Tree Services Pty Ltd. Pleaded guilty to failing to comply with its safety obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. Link: SafeWork NSW release on the woodchipper death	Convicted and fined AU$2,025,000, which the release calls the largest fine imposed by a court on a business in the State. The release says the company has a right to appeal.
Release dated September 25, 2018, NSW District Court	An individual landscaper who mostly did landscaping work. Pleaded guilty to three counts of contravening the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 after a felling at East Gosford in November 2015. Link: SafeWork NSW release on the East Gosford felling	Fined AU$16,500. The release says the defendant has the right to lodge an appeal.
Release dated May 17, 2017, NSW District Court	An individual arborist. Pleaded guilty to a breach of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 after a worker fell with a tree at Terrey Hills in February 2014. Link: SafeWork NSW release on the Terrey Hills felling	Convicted and fined AU$80,000 plus costs. The release says the defendant has 28 days to lodge a notice of intention to appeal.

What each release says happened

The 2026 release says that on November 22, 2022 a worker was seriously injured when struck by a falling section of a tree trunk that was being cut down. The SafeWork Commissioner is quoted as saying that exclusion zones, traffic management plans and adequate supervision are well known. The 2023 release says the fatal injury came on September 7, 2019 at a school in Lindfield while a worker was using a woodchipper. The court heard the company had not completed a risk assessment of the equipment, which had several defects, that supervision was little, and that workers were not trained to operate it.

The 2018 release says the 30 metre tree came down the wrong way onto a neighbouring home and nobody was hurt; the court heard the defendant was not an experienced arborist and had not carried out an adequate tree-risk assessment. The 2017 release says the investigation noted that following the Amenity Tree Industry Code of Practice 1998 would have removed the risks, and that the code asks for a safe means of access, testing of the trunk's stability and an exclusion zone of at least twice the height of the tree.

Where the register is

SafeWork NSW keeps a prosecutions page with yearly summaries. A register entry for July 14, 2023 lists an individual defendant convicted and fined AU$101,250 over the Lindfield woodchipper death. The release on that date names only the company. For the code and the duties these cases refer to, see the guide to safety rules for tree work country by country.

To correct or remove an entry, write to the address at the foot of this page.

Tree work prosecutions in New South Wales: what SafeWork NSW published

Entries

What each release says happened

Where the register is

Sources