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Consolidated Working Document for Timber Allocation Order

Victoria Government Gazette

No. S 176 29 July 2004, incorporating amendments in S 57 21 March 2007, amendments in S 166 5 May 2010, amendments in S 387 23 September 2010, amendments in S 119 11 April 2012 and amendments in G 39 27 September 2012.

Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004

ALLOCATION TO VICFORESTS ORDER – 2004, incorporating the 2007 AMENDMENT, the 2010 AMENDMENT, the 2010 FURTHER AMENDMENT, the 2012 AMENDMENT and the 2012 FURTHER AMENDMENT.

Consolidated Working Document

I, Peter Walsh, Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, make the following Order:

Dated 29 July 2004
Peter Walsh
Minister for Agriculture and Food Security

1. Title

This Order may be cited as the Allocation to VicForests Order 2004.

2. Objectives

The objectives of this Order are to:

  1. Allocate specified timber in State forests within certain Forest Management Areas to VicForests for the purposes of harvesting and selling, or harvesting or selling, timber resources;
  2. Permit VicForests to undertake associated management activities in relation to that allocated timber; and
  3. Specify the conditions to which VicForests is subject in carrying out its functions under this Order.

3. Authorising provision

This Order is made under section 13 of the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004. This Order covers the period from 1 August 2009 to 31 July 2024 and may be extended in accordance with the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004.

4. Allocation to VicForests

VicForests is allocated timber in the forest stands described in Tables 1-3 of this Order and has access to those stands for the purposes of harvesting and selling, or harvesting or selling, timber resources.

The map at Attachment 1 shows the gross extent and location of the forests stands to which VicForests has access under this Order.  The detail of the location and extent of the allocated forest stands to which VicForests has access to will be temporally available on the Department of Sustainability and Environment web site (www.dse.vic.gov.au, Interactive Maps, Forests Explorer Online) following which it will be available on the Department of Primary Industries web site no later than 2 May 2012.

The gross area (in hectares) of each forest stand to which VicForests has access for the purpose of harvesting and selling, or harvesting or selling, timber resources over the 15-year period of this Order is divided into three 5-year periods.

  1. Table 1 sets out the gross area available for timber harvesting in the first 5-year period of this Order (Period 2).
  2. Table 2 sets out the gross area available for timber harvesting in the second 5-year period of this Order (Period 3).
  3. Table 3 sets out the gross area available for timber harvesting in the third 5-year period of this Order (Period 4).

The types of forest stand described in Tables 1 to 3 and referred to in Attachment 1 of this Order include the types of forest stand identified in earlier forms of this Order. The following table details this relationship:

Forest stand types
 Forest stand types in earlier forms of this Order
Ash
  • Ash
  • Ash pre-1950s/unevenaged
  • Alpine Ash pre-1920s/unevenaged
  • Alpine Ash 1920s, 1930s or 1940s
  • Alpine Ash pre-1950s
  • Mountain Ash pre-1950s
  • Ash pre-1950s (low merchantability)
  • Unstocked/understocked (Ash component)
  • 2003 fire salvage (Ash component)
  • Ash (fire affected)
Mixed species
  • Mixed species
  • Mixed species pre-1920s/unevenaged
  • Mixed species 1920s,1930s or 1940s
  • Mixed species pre-1950s/unevenaged
  • Alpine/Mountain Mixed species pre-1950s/unevenaged
  • Coastal/Foothill Mixed species pre-1950s/unevenaged
  • Mixed species pre-1950s (low merchantability)
  • Unstocked/understocked (Mixed species component)
  • 2003 fire salvage (Mixed species component)
  • Mixed species (fire affected)

5. Authorised activities

In accordance with section 15(1)(b) of the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004, VicForests is permitted to harvest and sell, or harvest or sell timber resources in accordance with this Order and is permitted to undertake associated management activities on coupes described in any Timber Release Plan approved by the Secretary in relation to that allocated timber, including:

  • preparation of sites for timber harvesting
  • construction of access roads to coupes
  • site rehabilitation
  • forest regeneration

VicForests is permitted to undertake these activities until timber harvesting operations are completed, and the coupes are adequately rehabilitated and regenerated. 

VicForests is permitted to collect seed from any allocated forest stand for the purpose of regenerating coupes harvested in accordance with this Order.  VicForests is permitted to construct fire trails on State forest within the vicinity of the coupe boundary for fire management purposes associated with the regeneration of harvested coupes to the satisfaction of the Secretary.

VicForests is permitted to harvest wattle (Acacia spp.) within allocated forest stands identified in Tables 1-3, including pure wattle stands. Wattle harvested within areas identified as Ash stands will not be attributed to the available area for timber harvesting.

VicForests is permitted to tend forest stands, including the undertaking of thinning operations in accordance with the most recent version of its Thinning Strategy to produce high value timber resources for the future from the total available area in line with Victoria’s sustainable forest management framework.  The Thinning Strategy should be approved by the VicForests board. The tending of forest stands will not be attributed to the available area for timber harvesting.  The location, approximate timing of forest stand tending operations and the location of associated access roads must be identified in an approved Timber Release Plan.

6. Specified conditions

In accordance with section 15(1)(c) of the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004, in undertaking authorised activities VicForests is required to comply with the following conditions:

  •  VicForests is permitted to harvest up to an additional 2% of the available area of the first two 5-year periods identified in tables 1-3, but must offset any harvest above the available area for a specific period with a corresponding reduction to the available area in the following period. 
  • VicForests is permitted to add any available area remaining unharvested in a period to the available area in the following period. Any available area carried over from one period to the next must be harvested before this period ends.
  • Timber harvesting in any part of a timber harvesting coupe on an approved Timber Release Plan will result in the total area (the gross area) of that coupe being attributed to the available area for timber harvesting for that period. 
  • The actual area (the net area) harvested in a fire salvage coupe will be attributed to the available area for timber harvesting for that period.
  • In each 5-year period, the actual area (the net area) of roadline operations in a roadline coupe will be attributed to the available area for timber harvesting for that period.
  • VicForests must advise the Secretary to the Department of Sustainability and Environment of the long term sustainable harvest level that it has calculated from the forest stands to which it has access, and provide to the Secretary to the Department of Sustainability and Environment quality assured data, models and assumptions that it has used in making the calculation for the purposes of audit for compliance with the framework for sustainable forest management in Victoria.
  • VicForests must provide data on harvesting extent (logging history) to the Secretary to the Department of Primary Industries by 30 September each year. The quality of this data is to be agreed between VicForests and the Secretary to the Department of Primary Industries by 30 June 2013.
  • VicForests must provide stocking (regeneration) survey results and data to the Secretary to the Department of Sustainability and Environment within 36 months of the completion of timber harvesting in a coupe on an approved Timber Release Plan. The quality of this data is to be agreed between VicForests and the Secretary to the Department of Primary Industries by 30 June 2013.

    VicForests timber harvesting operations and associated activities will be subject to independent audit of compliance with an approved Timber Release Plan and this Order. VicForests must make available information requested from it by an auditor appointed by the Secretary to the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
Table 1: Gross area available for timber harvesting in Period 2 of this Order (1 August 2009 to 31 July 2014)
Forest stands
 Total available area (ha)
 Area available for timber harvesting (ha)
Ash 239,300 17,400
Mixed species 1,617,000 71,800
Table 2: Gross area available for timber harvesting in Period 3 of this Order (1 August 2014 to 31 July 2019)
Forest stands
 Total available area (ha)
 Area available for timber harvesting (ha)
Ash 239,300 13,400
Mixed species 1,617,000 71,800
Table 3: Gross area available for timber harvesting in Period 4 of this Order (1 August 2019 to 31 July 2024)
Forest stands
 Total available area (ha)
 Area available for timber harvesting (ha)
Ash 239,300 12,400
Mixed species 1,617,000 71,800

Note to Tables 1-3:

  1. The total available area for each forest stand and the area available for timber harvesting in each period of operation of this Order is a gross area.  No adjustments have been made for areas that are not available for timber harvesting under relevant Codes of Practice relating to timber harvesting.

Notes to Appendix 1 Map

  1. This map depicts the extent and location of the types of forest stands referred to in Tables 1 to 3.

  2. A current version of the map will be temporally maintained on the Department of Sustainability and Environment web site (www.dse.vic.gov.au, Interactive Maps, Forests Explorer Online) following which it will be maintained on the Department of Primary Industries web site no later than 2 May 2012.

Attachment 1: Extent and Location of Forest Stands to which VicForests has Access