Industry Guidance – Tree Maintenance

Accredited caravan holiday park operators are required to engage the services of a qualified arborist*, to visit their business and conduct a Tree Audit and Risk Assessment Report** (or equivalent) at least once every three years***.  

Park operators will be required to show evidence (when an assessment is conducted), that trees are included in their systematic risk management visual inspections, carried out by park operators and/or their staff.

  •  *To be considered qualified, the arborist must hold a recognised qualification and expertise in the care and management of trees. The minimum qualification recognised is an AQF Level 5 (Diploma level) in Arboriculture. Find a qualified arborist.
  • **At a minimum, the Tree Audit and Risk Assessment Report must include:
    • The arborist’s qualifications
    • Scope of the report
    • A site analysis
    • Any observations
    • Any requirements (schedule of works) over a designated time period.
  • ***It is recommended you contact your insurance broker as some insurance businesses may have a more frequent requirement within their insurance policies.

Based on the report, an arborist is to be engaged by each park to complete the schedule of works in accordance with the timeframes set by the qualified arborist within the report. These works must be documented and kept on file.

To assist park operators with tailored checklists for systematic risk management visual inspections, Caravan Industry Association of Australia has created a Risk Assessment Template Checklists – Safety Culture page in this portal. This page provides guidance on how to access an online inspection tool that you can use, with risk assessment checklist templates that are tailored to caravan holiday parks. 

Caravan Industry Association of Australia recognises that accessing a qualified arborist may be geographically challenging for some parks. To support accredited parks, we have compiled a list of businesses that may be able to assist (link below).