What changed: rules and standards for tree work, by date

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It is a dated log of changes to rules, standards and official guidance that touch tree work. Each date is the one the official page prints, and each entry was read on the page named in its row on October 8, 2026. Only entries whose date and content were on the page are listed, so the log is short and does not claim to be complete.

Changes and releases, newest first

Date on the page	Where, what the page says, and source
July 8, 2026	England. The Forestry Commission published its guidance page "When a felling licence is needed". It says growing trees need a felling licence in England unless exemptions apply, that licences are free and issued by the Forestry Commission, and that felling without a required licence is an offence. Source: GOV.UK, Forestry Commission guidance, felling licences
May 27, 2026	United States. ISA announced that the ANSI Z133-2026 Safety and Health Requirements standard was available as of that date, in English and Spanish, with a free individual-use PDF and print copies for sale. The release page does not list what changed from the last edition. Source: International Society of Arboriculture, Z133-2026 release page
March 27, 2026	New South Wales, Australia. The SafeWork NSW code of practice "Tree works" commenced. Its editorial note says it was approved under section 274 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), notice was gazetted on March 27, 2026, and it replaces the 1998 Amenity Tree Industry Code of practice. Source: SafeWork NSW, Tree works code of practice (PDF)
November 1, 2024	British Columbia, Canada. The text of the OHS Regulation carries an amendment effective on this date (B.C. Reg. 132/2023) on the occupational first aid sections, among them section 3.14, and on the occupational health and safety program section 3.1. Source: WorkSafeBC, OHS Regulation Part 3
March 31, 2023	Alberta, Canada. Part 39 of the OHS Code says a harness made on or after this date and used in a work positioning system must be approved to one of the standards the section lists. Source: Government of Alberta, OHS Code Part 39
August 22, 2022	British Columbia, Canada. OHS Regulation section 3.12 on refusing unsafe work was amended and section 3.12.1 on reassigning refused work was added (B.C. Reg. 116/2022). Source: WorkSafeBC, OHS Regulation Part 3
June 24, 2021	United States. OSHA cancelled its August 21, 2008 tree care citation directive (CPL 02-01-045) and issued enforcement inspection guidance for tree care and tree removal in its place. Source: OSHA, inspection guidance memo
May 22, 2020	United States. The OSHA rulemaking timetable on the agenda entry shows the small business review step (SBREFA) completed on this date. It shows the step started on January 10, 2020. Source: reginfo.gov, Unified Agenda entry, RIN 1218-AD04
April 6, 2020	British Columbia, Canada. OHS Regulation section 3.13 on no prohibited action for a refusal under section 3.12 was amended (B.C. Reg. 279/2019). Source: WorkSafeBC, OHS Regulation Part 3
January 4, 2017	United States. EPA's page on the Certification of Pesticide Applicators regulation says the regulation was revised on this date. Source: US EPA, federal certification standards for pesticide applicators
July 13, 2016	United States. OSHA held its stakeholder meeting on a tree care rule. Source: OSHA, tree care operations rulemaking page
September 15, 2008	United States. OSHA's rulemaking page gives this date for its advance notice of proposed rulemaking on tree care operations. Source: OSHA, tree care operations rulemaking page

The ANSI Z133-2026 release is covered in the guide on the new Z133 edition. The OSHA steps are covered in the guide on OSHA and tree care.

Credit for the New South Wales code

The SafeWork NSW code of practice "Tree works" says it is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence except for material it marks as not licensed. Our description above is in our own words. The code itself is a PDF, and the SafeWork NSW tree work page links it.

Planned and pending

The OSHA Unified Agenda entry for the Tree Care Standard (RIN 1218-AD04), in the edition printed with Publication ID 2026, lists the stage as Proposed Rule and prints a proposed rule target of 10/00/2026, which is October 2026 with no day. The entry lists no legal deadline. A target on the agenda is a plan, and the entry shows no published proposed rule.

WorkSafe Victoria's page for health and safety representatives says the Workplace Legislation Amendment (Accident Compensation and Other Matters) Bill 2026 was before Parliament when the page was read and, if it becomes law, will make changes to workplace health and safety, workers compensation and regulatory requirements. The page gives no date for the bill. The bill's detail is in the WorkSafe Victoria page.

Pages that show an update date

These official pages print a last-updated or revision date. The page does not say what changed, so each row is only a date on a page, not a described change.

Date on the page	Page
September 22, 2026	Official page: HSE, aerial tree work page
September 15, 2026	Official page: HSE, pesticides section
August 27, 2026	Official page: HSE, tree work hub
August 25, 2026	Official page: HSE, lone working page for tree work
February 26, 2026	Official page: US EPA, federal certification standards for pesticide applicators
January 20, 2026	Official page: GOV.UK, biosecurity guidance on tree pests and diseases (Forestry Commission and Animal and Plant Health Agency)
August 21, 2018	Official page: WorkSafe New Zealand, tree work by rivers and streams: the page marks the guidance as revoked
September 5, 2017	Official page: WorkSafe New Zealand, safety and health in arboriculture: the page says the code has not been updated for the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015