About Lee McElroy
Independent consulting arborist · Newcastle and the Hunter
Independent consulting arborist
I’m Lee McElroy, Principal Consulting Arborist at HA-BRA-CUL-CHA. I’ve been working with trees across the greater Newcastle area since 1999. My work helps councils, developers, designers and property owners make sound, defensible decisions about the trees they’re responsible for.
As a sole trader, I do every job myself. I do the site inspection, the testing and the drone flights, and I write every report. You deal directly with the arborist who assessed your trees, from first enquiry to final sign-off.
Experience that covers the whole picture
My career spans local government, private consulting and education. Working inside local government taught me what council assessment officers need to see in a report. Consulting work has taken me from street-tree and drainage upgrade projects to coastal seawall remediation and complex development sites.
For around three decades I’ve also taught horticulture, arboriculture, landscape design, and conservation and ecosystem management at diploma level with TAFE NSW. Teaching keeps my knowledge current, and it means I can explain technical findings in plain language. That matters whether you’re a planner, an engineer or a homeowner.
How I assess trees
I combine traditional visual assessment with modern, evidence-based tools:
- Resistograph testing. This non-invasive drilling detects internal decay and cavities. I pair it with biomechanical analysis (Mattheck criteria and section modulus calculations) to quantify structural risk.
- Drone photogrammetry and DeepTrees analysis. I capture the canopy from the air and analyse it with machine learning to assess individual trees, even where crowns overlap.
- Soil and plant pathology. I collaborate with plant pathologists at the Royal Botanic Gardens and Southern Cross University to diagnose tree health problems.
- CAD and GIS mapping. I produce scaled tree protection and impact plans that drop straight into your project drawings.
All my work follows current Australian Standards and NSW frameworks, including AS 4970-2025 (Protection of trees on development sites), AS 4373 (Pruning of amenity trees) and the SEPP (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021.
Qualifications and credentials
- AQF Level 5 Diploma of Arboriculture
- Quantified Tree Risk Assessment (QTRA)
- High-risk work licence: Elevated Work Platform (boom-type)
- CASA-compliant drone operations (sub-2 kg excluded category)
- Professional indemnity insurance ($5 million per claim) and public liability insurance ($20 million), underwritten at Lloyd’s
- Member, Arboriculture Australia
- ABN 33 547 640 374
Who I work with
- Councils and government: AIAs for infrastructure and public works, tree risk assessments, and urban forest data.
- Developers, architects and engineers: DA tree reports, tree protection plans, and project arborist supervision and certification.
- Homeowners and strata: tree risk and health assessments, and reports to support tree removal or pruning applications.
Acknowledgement of Country
I acknowledge the Awabakal and Worimi peoples, Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters where I live and work, and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
Let's talk about your trees
Whether you need a single tree assessed or a full impact assessment for a major project, I’m happy to discuss what you need.