The short answer
A Melbourne cost guide, verified October 2026, puts palm removal at $260 to $420 for a palm under 4 m, rising to $1,900 to $3,150 for a very tall or heavy palm such as a Canary Island date palm over 10 m, with stump grinding and waste disposal on top. No one publishes pine-specific prices; Bendigo's one published list prices every tree by height, from a flat $950 up to 5 m. Canary Island palms, cotton palms and pines aren't native to Victoria, so the state native vegetation permit rules don't apply. The canopy tree rule can, for a big one near the front or back boundary of a residential block, and so can an overlay.
Palm tree removal cost
We couldn't find a Bendigo business that publishes palm prices. The clearest published figures are for Melbourne:
Published palm removal prices, Melbourne
| What's charged | Published price | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Small palm, under 4 m | $260 – $420 | What's The Damage, Melbourne |
| Medium palm, 4–8 m | $420 – $1,250 | What's The Damage, Melbourne |
| Tall palm, 8–12 m | $1,250 – $1,900 | What's The Damage, Melbourne |
| Very tall or heavy palm (Canary date, 10 m+) | $1,900 – $3,150 | What's The Damage, Melbourne |
| Stump grinding, per stump | $160 – $400 | What's The Damage, Melbourne |
| Trunk and green-waste disposal | $80 – $250 | What's The Damage, Melbourne |
Published by an independent cost-guide website (What's The Damage, run by Focus Search Pty Ltd), marked "Updated October 2026" and "verified October 2026", checked 12 October 2026. It doesn't say whether GST is included, and its tall and very tall bands overlap at 10–12 m. These are Melbourne figures, not Bendigo quotes.
Published price for a Canary Island date palm, national
| What's charged | Published price | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Canary Island date palm, average (range) | $1,660 ($1,200 – $2,400) | Go Tree Quotes, national |
From a quote-comparison website's national palm removal guide (last updated 4 September 2026), checked 12 October 2026. It doesn't mention GST, and other figures on the same page don't agree with each other, so treat it as a rough guide.
Need this done?
Why big palms cost more than they look
- Weight. A mature Canary Island date palm carries a heavy, wet crown on a thick trunk. It has to come down in pieces, with the crown lowered on ropes or from a platform when anything is nearby.
- Spines. The lower leaflets of date palms are long, sharp spines, so the crew works slowly and in protective gear.
- Waste. Palm fronds and trunk are fibrous and stringy and don't chip like a gum. The Melbourne guide above lists trunk and green-waste disposal separately; ask whether it's in your price.
- The stump. Ask whether grinding the stump is included, and how deep.
If the palm is healthy and you just want it tidy, removing old fronds and seed heads is a much smaller job than taking the whole tree.
Pine tree removal cost
No Australian source we found publishes pine-specific removal prices; they're priced like any other tree, mainly on height, lean and what's underneath. The one Bendigo tree business that publishes set prices does it by height:
Published tree removal prices by size, Bendigo
| What's charged | Published price | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Small tree, up to 5 m | A flat $950 | TB'S Trees, Bendigo |
| Medium tree, around 6–13 m | From $1,400 | TB'S Trees, Bendigo |
| Large tree, around 13–20 m | From $2,800 | TB'S Trees, Bendigo |
| Over 20 m, or a hard mix of size, lean and targets | From $5,200 | TB'S Trees, Bendigo |
Set prices published by one Bendigo tree service, "plus GST where it applies", checked 27 September 2026. They cover taking the tree down to a low stump and clearing the debris. On the medium and larger bands the price rises for a back yard, hand-carry access and each structure or line the tree sits over; stump grinding is priced separately. Your own price is confirmed in writing before work starts.
A mature pine is often tall enough to land in the larger bands, and near houses and sheds its heavy limbs come down in sections on ropes, just as a gum's would. Stump grinding is separate; see stump grinding vs removal.
Permits for palms and pines
The state native vegetation rules (Clause 52.17) cover plants indigenous to Victoria. Canary Island date palms, Washingtonia (cotton) palms and pines aren't, so that clause doesn't apply to them. The state canopy tree rule (Clause 52.37) can: in the residential zones it needs a permit to remove a tree at least 5 metres tall with a canopy averaging at least 4 metres across, native or exotic, if any part of the trunk is within 6 metres of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 metres of the rear boundary, or anywhere on a vacant lot. A big pine or Canary Island date palm near the front fence of a town block can qualify. An overlay can apply too: Greater Bendigo's Erosion and Salinity Management Overlays control "any vegetation", some Environmental Significance Overlay schedules do too, and in a Heritage Overlay the schedule can switch on tree controls, which matters for the old palms and pines planted in front of Bendigo's heritage houses. Check your VicPlan report; the permit guide explains each overlay.
Getting rid of the waste yourself
If you take some of the green waste yourself, council's Eaglehawk Landfill accepts free domestic green waste up to a single 6 x 4 caged trailer or equivalent, but it must be clean, and loads with tree stumps or "branches > 200mm thick" are charged as waste. Commercial green waste is $119.00 per tonne. Burning it isn't an option on a town block: council bans burning household and garden waste year round.
For the full price picture, including access and what a good quote includes, see tree removal costs.
Questions about palm and pine removal costs
How much does palm tree removal cost?
A Melbourne cost guide, verified October 2026, lists $260 to $420 for a palm under 4 m, $420 to $1,250 for 4 to 8 m, $1,250 to $1,900 for 8 to 12 m, and $1,900 to $3,150 for a very tall or heavy palm such as a Canary Island date palm over 10 m. Stump grinding and waste disposal are extra.
Why is removing a Canary Island date palm so expensive?
The crown is heavy, the leaf bases are armed with long spines, and the fibrous fronds and trunk are slow to cut and hard to chip, so it takes longer and the waste costs more to get rid of.
Do I need a permit to remove a palm or pine tree in Bendigo?
Not under the state native vegetation rules, because they aren't native to Victoria. In a residential zone, the canopy tree rule (Clause 52.37) needs a permit for one at least 5 metres tall with a canopy averaging at least 4 metres across if its trunk is within 6 metres of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 metres of the rear boundary, or anywhere on a vacant lot. An overlay on your property, such as a Heritage Overlay with tree controls or an Erosion Management Overlay, can also require one. Check your VicPlan report.
How much does it cost to remove a pine tree?
Pines are priced by height and difficulty like other trees. Bendigo's one published price list starts at a flat $950 for a tree up to 5 m, from $1,400 for around 6 to 13 m, from $2,800 for 13 to 20 m and from $5,200 for larger or complex trees, plus GST where it applies.
Where this information comes from
The rules and figures on this page come from these published pages, checked on 27 September 2026.
- What's The Damage: palm tree removal cost, Melbourne · Independent cost-guide website (Focus Search Pty Ltd), Melbourne palm removal prices, updated October 2026
- Go Tree Quotes: palm removal cost guide · Quote-comparison website, national palm removal guide, last updated 4 September 2026
- TB'S Trees: instant quote, set prices · Bendigo tree service, published set prices by tree size
- Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme, Clause 52.17 Native vegetation · State-wide native vegetation provision and its table of exemptions
- Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme, Clause 52.37 Canopy trees · State-wide canopy tree provision for residential zones, its definitions and table of exemptions (amended VC315, 24 September 2026); checked 22 October 2026
- Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme, Clause 73.01 General terms · Defines native vegetation as plants indigenous to Victoria; checked 6 October 2026
- Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme, vegetation and heritage overlays (VPO, SLO, ESO, HO) · Overlay clauses and their Greater Bendigo schedules
- Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme, Erosion, Salinity and Public Acquisition overlays (EMO, SMO, PAO) · Clauses 44.01, 44.02 and 45.01 and their Greater Bendigo schedules; checked 6 October 2026
- City of Greater Bendigo: Eaglehawk Landfill · Council green waste rules and fees
- City of Greater Bendigo: fires, burn-offs and permits · Council rules on burning garden waste
