Tree Services Business Buyer Checklist (Australia)
Buying a tree services business in Australia is not like buying a cleaning run or a lawn mowing franchise. The licencing requirements are more complex, the equipment is more expensive, the WHS exposure is genuinely serious, and the key-person risk tends to be concentrated in one or two people who can climb a tree competently. Get it wrong and you've bought yourself a very expensive set of problems involving chainsaws and WorkCover.
This checklist exists because most generic business-buying checklists don't account for industry-specific risks. The comprehensive due diligence checklist is the right starting point for any acquisition, but tree services has enough industry-specific quirks that it needs its own version.
Before you use this, read the due diligence guide for buying a small business in Australia to understand what you're doing and why — a checklist is only as useful as the person holding it.
Why tree services due diligence is different
Three things make tree services acquisitions uniquely complex.
First, the work is genuinely dangerous. Tree services has one of the higher injury rates of any trade — chainsaws, working at height, power lines, and heavy equipment create real WHS exposure. Any business with a history of incidents, near-misses, or WorkCover claims carries that history into your hands. I spoke to a buyer last year who acquired a tree services business without properly reviewing the WHS records, and discovered six months in that the business had received a WorkCover improvement notice the previous year that the seller had quietly "resolved" (which is broker-speak for hoping nobody noticed). It affected his insurance renewal quite significantly.
Second, the licencing requirements are specific and non-trivial. In Australia, working near electrical infrastructure — which tree services companies do constantly — requires specific certification and insurer approval. Arborist qualifications under AQF Level 3 and Level 5 take years to obtain. These qualifications often live with the owner, not the business, which matters when the owner sells.
Third, the equipment is expensive, it depreciates fast under hard use, and replacement costs are significant. A wood chipper, an elevated work platform, stump grinder, and tip trucks can represent $300,000 to $600,000 in assets — and a buyer acquiring a business at 3x earnings needs to understand whether those assets are in their first year or their last.
For context on what you're paying, read the tree services business valuation guide and the section on key person risk before you proceed.
This is covered in depth in Module 5 of the Playbook — including how to structure the due diligence process when working under a conditional contract with a time-limited due diligence period.
What's in the full checklist
The gated content below covers six due diligence phases:
- Phase 1: Financial verification — three years of accounts, BAS lodgements, SDE normalisation, payroll records
- Phase 2: Operational assessment — equipment condition reports, maintenance logs, staff qualifications
- Phase 3: Client and contract review — commercial contracts, renewal terms, customer concentration
- Phase 4: Licencing and compliance — AQF certifications, council permits, powerline work authorisations
- Phase 5: WHS and incident history — SafeWork records, WorkCover claims, near-miss register
- Phase 6: Post-acquisition planning — staff retention, equipment capital plan, transition period
Each item includes a brief note on why it matters and what a red flag looks like. This is the list to work through with your accountant and lawyer, not a substitute for professional advice (that's always the caveat that needs to be said).
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