Sunshine Tree Removal & Pruning
Tree and palm removal and expert pruning in Sunshine by a qualified, insured arborist — free quotes, 7 days a week.
- Free quotes
- Fully qualified & insured
- 16+ years

Tree removal and pruning in Sunshine, done properly
Api Mariner has been climbing and cutting trees for more than 16 years, and the way he works in Sunshine is the way he works everywhere: look at the tree properly, explain the options, quote the whole job including the clean-up, and turn up with the crew and gear to do it in one visit. That is the reason 1,400-plus customers across Melbourne’s west have used Aps Tree Removal.
The nearest suburbs we also cover are Braybrook (2 km), Albion (2 km), Tottenham (2 km), so a job in Sunshine is often paired with one next door. One of the reviews on this site is from Sunshine customers.
A removal starts with a look at the tree, the access and what is underneath it. Api decides whether it can be felled in one piece — rare in a suburb like Sunshine — or needs to come down in sections. A climber goes up, the limbs come off and are lowered on ropes where anything sits below, the trunk is blocked down, and the whole lot goes through the chipper on the street. The stump can be ground out the same day.
Crown reductions are measured, not guessed. We agree the finished height and spread with you, cut back to suitable growth points so the tree recovers with a natural shape, and never “top” a tree — a topped tree regrows weak, fast and dangerous, and ends up costing more.
Tree Removal & Pruning in Sunshine — what we do
Hazardous tree removal
Dead, leaning, split or storm-damaged trees taken down in sections.
Palm removal
Cocos, cotton and date palms removed trunk and all.
Hazard & clearance pruning
Deadwood out, canopy lifted off roofs, lines and boundaries.
Crown thinning & shaping
Wind through the canopy, light into the garden, the tree kept.
A tip from Api
If you are thinking about removing a healthy tree because it is messy or shading the garden, ask about a reduction or a canopy lift first. It is often cheaper, it keeps the value and shade a mature tree adds to a Sunshine property, and it avoids the permit question entirely for many trees.
The full service pages: Tree & Palm Removal and Tree Pruning — every one available in Sunshine.
Guides from Api: Tree removal contractors: the checks to make before you sign in Melbourne · Hedge trimming contracts: what a regular hedge maintenance plan covers in Melbourne
Do you need a permit to remove a tree in Sunshine?
Homeowners in Sunshine ask this more than anything else, so here is Brimbank’s rule as the council publishes it.
Brimbank’s position is that trees on private property are the owner’s to look after; the council does not maintain them and treats disputes about neighbours’ trees as civil matters.
The exception is the Significant Tree Register: trees valued for size, age, health or cultural and environmental importance are recorded there and protected under the Brimbank Local Laws, and interfering with one draws an infringement per tree.
The state canopy-tree clause applies in Brimbank’s residential zones, so check the distance to the boundaries before assuming no permit is needed.
Source: Brimbank City Council — trees on private property, 03 9249 4000. Read 13 September 2026; councils change their local laws, so Api checks the current rule when he quotes.
Across Victoria since 15 September 2025
Clause 52.37 Canopy Trees
A canopy tree is a tree more than 5 m tall, with a trunk circumference over 0.5 m at 1.4 m above the ground and a canopy at least 4 m across. In a residential zone a planning permit is needed to remove, destroy or lop one in a residential zone if the lot is vacant, or, where there is an existing house, if any part of the trunk is within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary.
Dead trees, emergency and safety works, maintenance pruning and listed weed species are exempt; councils usually condition a permit on planting a replacement canopy tree, and most decide these through VicSmart in about ten business days.
What this means for you: tell Api where the tree sits on the block and he will tell you whether a permit is needed before anything is cut — and where one is, we can prepare the arborist assessment the application needs.
Tree removal jobs by Api and the crew
Real jobs, real photos — Api, the crew and the truck, across Melbourne’s west. Nothing staged, nothing stock.
What Sunshine customers say
Jonathan
Sunshine · Apr 2020

Connected with Aps Tree Removal and would recommend them
Tree removal around Sunshine
The same crew, the same day rates, in the suburbs next door:
Other services in Sunshine
Tree services made easy
At Aps Tree Removal, we simplify the tree and hedge removal experience with a clear, step-by-step approach.
Contact us
Want to learn more? Call 0422 856 090 or send the form and speak with Api.
Get a quote
Getting a quote is quick, easy, and free.
On-site inspection
A quick, thorough site assessment — species, access and risks.
Professional removal
Clean and safe work, chipped and cleaned up — no mess, no hassle.
What clients across Melbourne’s west say
Sunshine Tree Removal & Pruning — common questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Sunshine?
Only if the tree is on Brimbank’s Significant Tree Register, which the local laws protect, or if it is a canopy tree near the front or rear boundary under the state-wide clause. Ordinary garden trees on private land are the owner’s responsibility to manage. Across Victoria, Clause 52.37 Canopy Trees also applies since 15 September 2025: a planning permit is needed to remove, destroy or lop one in a residential zone if the lot is vacant, or, where there is an existing house, if any part of the trunk is within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary. Api checks both at the quote.
How much does tree removal cost in Sunshine?
A small ornamental in an open yard can be a couple of hundred dollars; a large gum over a house is a day with a crew and rigging. Everything in between is quoted to the tree, free, with the clean-up and chipping included.
How long does it take?
Usually inside a fortnight, sooner if the tree is dangerous. We do not double-book: when the crew is in Sunshine, it is on your job.
Can you get in if the access is tight?
Yes. Tight access is normal in Sunshine: we bring smaller gear through a side gate, rope pieces down rather than dropping them, and carry or wheel the timber out to the chipper on the street.
What happens to the waste?
Chipped on the street and taken away, or left as mulch if you want it. Larger logs are cut to size and removed unless you ask for firewood.
Can you save the tree instead of removing it?
Frequently. Most “this tree has to go” calls end with a prune, because the real problem was a limb over the roof or a canopy blocking light. A structurally sound tree is worth keeping, and Api says so when it is.



