Find Forestry and Fishing Subcontractors in Australia

Home » Find Subcontractors » Forestry and fishing

Early access open

Forestry and arboriculture are among the most dangerous work in the country, and the qualifications track the specific operation rather than the trade. A basic chainsaw ticket does not authorise felling a large tree.

This page covers what gets subcontracted in this sector, the credentials worth confirming, and how a job runs on Workforce Marketplace. Early access is open.

What gets subcontracted

The work most often subcontracted covers:

Tree felling, removal and stump grinding
Arboricultural assessment and reporting
Vegetation management along corridors and easements
Harvesting, haulage and log handling
Land clearing and fire hazard reduction
Commercial fishing operations and crew supply
Aquaculture maintenance and diving support

Credentials that matter here

The credentials to confirm are graded by the operation, and issued by RTOs and state fisheries authorities:

Chainsaw Ticket, Basic Operations for cross-cutting and limbing
Chainsaw Ticket, Intermediate and Advanced, Large Tree Felling, which are separate and progressive. Confirm the level matches the trees on site
IRATA rope access or industry climbing qualifications for aerial tree work
High Risk Work Licence, EWP for elevated work platform access
Traffic Controller Certification where work affects a road
Commercial Fishing Licence through the state fisheries authority, and the quota or entitlement attached to it
Coxswain Certificate and MROCP for vessel operation

Arboriculture work near powerlines carries additional requirements that vary by network and are set by the distributor rather than a regulator. If the tree is near a line, confirm the contractor holds the specific accreditation that network requires.

What to confirm before work starts

An active ABN. Where a supplier does not quote one, you are generally required to withhold 47 per cent of the payment and remit it to the ATO. Their GST registration also tells you whether the price should carry it.

That the credential is held by the entity you are contracting with. A person can hold a qualification while the business you are paying holds nothing. Check the name on the document against the name on the invoice.

Insurance appropriate to the scope. Public liability is the common one. Depending on the work you may also need professional indemnity, and workers compensation if they carry their own staff.

That the engagement is genuinely a contract for services. Since the Fair Work amendments the test looks at the real substance of the relationship rather than the label on the paperwork, and getting it wrong creates back-pay, superannuation and payroll tax exposure. Contractor vs employee in Australia sets out how it now works.

Writing a scope that gets comparable quotes

What drives the price is access, disposal and risk. State how the machine and crew reach the work, whether there are structures or services at risk and who is liable, what happens to the timber and green waste and whether disposal is included, whether traffic management and permits are in scope, what the make-good obligation is on lawns and driveways, and who obtains council approval where removal requires it.

How it works on Workforce Marketplace

Post the scope with the payment structure it actually uses, whether that is fixed price, hourly, daily, quoted or split into milestones for staged work. Subcontractors apply, and you compare them side by side rather than chasing callbacks.

Every account is ABN-verified at sign-up. Beyond that, subcontractors can submit licences, certifications and insurance for verification, which we review rather than grant automatically. Their profile shows the status against each credential without showing the document, the licence number or the ABN. Verification is opt-in, so a profile may hold credentials that have not been submitted, and it reflects the document as at the date it was reviewed rather than standing indefinitely.

Applying for work costs nothing and there are no leads to buy. Payment runs through Stripe, and Workforce Marketplace never stores your card or bank details.