Growing, gardening and forestry

How to become a tree faller

Official title: Tree faller

Also called: Tree feller, Manual tree faller, Manual tree feller

Tree fallers select and cut down trees using chainsaws to prepare them for extraction and processing into logs.

Main tasks

Cut trees or logs
Choose and mark trees for felling
Trim branches from trees
Evaluate quality of logs
Assess forestry sites
Plan and prepare equipment for jobs
Operate and maintain forestry equipment
Load logs onto trucks for shipment

How to become one

You usually train on the job to become a tree faller and a qualification may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job, but NCEA Level 2 may be useful. Required: to be over 16 years old. Other requirements: to do an apprenticeship in forestry; a driver licence.

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Ways in

Apprenticeship: Apprenticeship in forestry. TEC links this job to study in forestry studies. New Zealand apprenticeship (NZQA level 4). Qualifications: NZ Cert in Forest Harvesting Operations. Usually 12 months to 2 years. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $83,000 a year one year after study and $78,000 five years after; 100% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $63,000 to $97,000 a year (median $78,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Upper: $117,000 a year
TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $37.50 an hour.
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
People employed in the group Forestry and Logging Workers: 4,827 at the 2018 Census and 3,849 at the 2023 Census (-20.3%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

In the group Forestry and Logging Workers, 9% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Forestry and Logging Workers work (2023 Census): Waikato 13.3%, Bay of Plenty 13.1%, and Northland 8.9%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a tree faller?

How much does a tree faller earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $78,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $63,000 to $97,000 a year.

Will AI change the work of a tree faller?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026