SafeWork NSW's release on serious tree work incidents: what its safety information covers
What the 2020 SafeWork NSW incident information release on four serious tree work incidents says, grouped by hazard, with its safety information points and where they sit in the tree works code.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the named codes, regulators and makers say. It is not training and does not teach the work. This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes the SafeWork NSW incident information release headed "Recent serious tree work incidents - May/June 2020", what its safety information section covers, and where the same points sit in the SafeWork NSW tree works code. It gives no more of the four incidents than the way each one happened, and it adds no talk of its own. All pages were read on October 9, 2026. The courses that teach the work are in the guides on chainsaw tickets and certifications by country.
The release
The SafeWork NSW page recent serious tree work incidents covers four serious incidents in New South Wales in 2020 and says workers are seriously injured or killed doing tree work every year. Each is set out in a short paragraph. The release gives the worker's age in one of them and names the area for each; this page leaves both out.
| How the release says it happened | Hazard it points to |
|---|---|
| A large branch pierced a helmet and knocked a worker to the ground during felling on steep, remote ground | Struck by a falling branch |
| A worker fell about eight metres while preparing to cut overhanging branches, wearing a work positioning harness with a single point of attachment; a flip line had detached from the harness | Fall from height, single attachment |
| A rope caught on a branch was pulled into a chipper and was looped round a worker's leg; material ejected from the chipper also injured a second worker | Chipper, rope entanglement and ejected material |
| A worker fell nearly five metres while pruning, when a branch holding both the pole belt and the climbing rope in a fork snapped as the line took the weight | Fall from height, weak anchor branch |
The safety information section
Under the heading "Safety information", SafeWork NSW lists what it says is considered for tree work, in three groups.
- Before work starts: competent workers plan the method after inspecting the site and assessing trees for bark, dead branches, hollows and crown entanglement; workers are consulted and the method documented; workers are trained in emergency rescue plans including aerial rescue; there are clear access routes, exclusion zones and traffic management plans; elevated work platforms are considered to limit falls; and workers can communicate by two-way radio, whistle or signal system.
- If a tree is not felled from the ground: a site-specific risk assessment helps decide the access method, which the release says may be an elevated work platform, a crane or climbing. For climbing, it lists a rope climbing system secured in the tree that can withstand the forces of a fall, and two points of attachment to the tree at all times, particularly when cutting or moving within it, using a flip line and a climbing rope.
- For all tree work: reassessing and replanning when circumstances change; a spotter alerting the worker to hazards under an agreed communication system; plant used as the maker recommends, for example within gradient limits and on firm ground; and training as often as needed.
For chippers, the release lists pre-start checks including emergency stops and the control bar, checking nothing is entangled in material before feeding, exclusion zones, keeping unneeded ropes away, at least two competent workers trained on the machine, feeding off the centre line from the side, a push-stick at least 1.5 metres long for short material, stopping the rollers before reaching into the chute, and never leaving a running chipper unattended. These are SafeWork NSW's points, not this site's method.
Where the same points sit elsewhere
The SafeWork NSW tree work hazards page names falls from heights, being struck by falling objects, power lines, musculoskeletal disorders, noise, equipment and sun exposure as the major risks, and links the tree works code of practice, the woodchipper guide and the power lines code. The tree works code of practice, licensed CC BY 4.0, is the longer text behind the release. The guides to drop zones and exclusion zones, aerial rescue and chippers and stump grinders set out what the code and other regulators say on those points.
To correct or remove an entry, write to the address at the foot of this page.