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Allocation Order

In 2004 the government introduced a new framework for timber allocation, in which the Minister for Environment provides VicForests with an Allocation Order that is published in the Government Gazette. The Allocation Order describes the timber resource available to VicForests for the next 15 years, with a review every 5 years. It can also be reviewed and varied by the Minister for Environment in certain circumstances, e.g. after a major bushfire in a forest. The Order identifies the forest stands where VicForests can conduct harvesting activities, specifies the permitted activities and lists the conditions under which they can occur. These activities include sawlog and residual log harvesting and commercial thinning. The activities must comply with the Code of Forest Practices for Timber Production and forest management plans. An accompanying map shows the Forest Management Areas in which the forest stands are located. This approach is expressed in the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004 and it reinforces the importance of ecologically sustainable forest management practices. As part of this new approach a Sustainability Charter has been developed to set the future direction for sustainable forest management in Victoria.

VicForests is a State-owned business responsible for the commercial harvesting and sale of timber from State forests. The Department of Sustainability and Environment undertakes sustainable timber resource planning in order to allocate areas to VicForests for timber harvesting . This planning utilises information about the forest, the reserve system set by the Regional Forests Agreement and the parameters set by the Code of Forest Practices for Timber Production.

Timber Allocation under the Sustainable Forest (Timber) Act 2004 Fact Sheet 2 (PDF - 66KB)


Allocation Order to VicForests

The first 15 year Allocation Order was published in the Government Gazette on 1 August 2004.

Allocation to VicForests Order 2004 (PDF - 669 KB)

As a result of the Great Divide fires in 2006/07, an amendment was made to the Allocation Order to enable VicForests to undertake salvage harvesting of trees killed by the fires. Salvage harvesting operations must comply with special Salvage Harvesting Prescriptions.

The salvage harvesting amendments were published in the Government Gazette on 21 March 2007. A copy of these changes and a consolidated version of the Allocation Order (comprising the 2004 Order and the 2007 salvage amendment) are available below:

Allocation to VicForests Order - 2007 Amendment (PDF - 93 KB)

Consolidated Allocation Order document (PDF - 168 KB)

Process for 2007 Allocation Order amendment (PDF - 460 KB)


Allocation to VicForests Order Review 2009

Under Section 18(1) of the Act, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change is required to review the Allocation to VicForests Order 2004 (Allocation Order) every five years, corresponding with the end of each period of the Allocation Order. The first five yearly review of the Allocation Order has been undertaken in accordance with Section 18(1) of the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004 (the Act).

Allocation to VicForests Order Review 2009 (PDF - 237 KB)

Please note: The Allocation to VicForests Order Review 2009 was updated on 25 August 2009 to correct an error in Figure 1 of the review. In revising Figure 1 a number of other minor typographical errors were identified and corrected. The corrections made do not have any bearing on the findings or the recommendations of the review.

Based on the findings of the review, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, the Hon Gavin Jennings MLC, has determined that the Allocation Order will be amended to address:

• the impacts of two landscape scale fires (the Great Divide fires of 2006-07, and those of February 2009) on the structure and condition of large areas of native forest, and therefore the availability of timber resources
• the addition of areas of State forest to the conservation reserve system in East Gippsland
• changes to forest management zoning and harvesting prescriptions resulting from new and revised Action Statements
• the addition of a new five year period (Period 4) to the Allocation Order, ensuring that it remains a 15-year allocation of State forest area to VicForests for the harvesting and/or selling of timber resources.

A number of other issues identified in the review will be considered in the development of the amended Allocation Order including:

• VicForests timber supply commitments for the next 15-years
• improved integration of the objectives of the Sustainability Charter for Victoria’s State forests into the modelling used to determine the area of State forest which can be sustainably harvested
• the reasons why VicForests harvested an area of forest less than that allocated to it in Period 1 of the Allocation Order.

Written submissions on the matters considered in the review, and other matters which should be addressed in the development of the amended Allocation Order, can be emailed to lee.miezis@dse.vic.gov.au or posted to:

Director, Forests
Forests and Parks Division
Department of Sustainability and Environment
PO Box 500
EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002

Submissions must be received by 12.00pm, Wednesday 16 September 2009.


Joint Sustainable Harvest Level Statement

Following the 2006/07 Great Divide fires, DSE and VicForests worked together to provide a 15-year outlook for sustainable harvest levels of D+ sawlog. The Joint Sustainable Harvest Level (JoSHL) project incorporated information about recent fires, improved resource information and modelling techniques, and investigated alternative ways of making timber resources available, while meeting the objectives of the Government's Sustainability Charter for Victoria's State forests. The project was independently reviewed by members of the Expert Independent Advisory Panel.

Joint Sustainable Harvest Level (JoSHL) statement (PDF - 636 KB)


Resource Outlook project

In 2007/08, the Victorian Government provided Bushfire Recovery funding to DSE to undertake the Resource Outlook project. The three objectives of this project were to:

• Provide the Government, VicForests, the timber industry and other stakeholders with an estimate of medium-term timber resource availability following recent fires.
• Accelerate analysis of the impacts of recent fires on long-term sustainable harvest levels.
• Increase knowledge of resources not affected by fire through improved inventory, survey, mapping and analysis.

The Resource Outlook project was divided into three sub-projects aimed at evaluating the extent and impact of the area burnt and improving knowledge about key areas of unburnt resource in the Central Highlands and East Gippsland.

Resource Outlook report-2008 (PDF - 604 KB)


Audit of VicForests' Compliance

During 2007/08 DSE undertook a pilot audit of VicForest’s compliance with the Allocation Order and Timber Release Plan. The audit reviewed nine Great Divide fire salvage coupes from the Tambo, Benalla/Mansfield and Central Gippsland Forest Management Areas.

The Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004 requires VicForests’ operations to comply with the Allocation Order and the Timber Release Plan. As a condition of these two documents, VicForests must comply with the Sustainability Charter for Victoria’s State forests (2006), relevant Codes of Practice, procedures, prescriptions and guidelines. The 2007/08 audit below concludes that VicForests’ fire salvage operations comply well with environmental standards set by the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004.

Audit report of VicForests' compliance with conditions of the Allocation Order and Approved Timber Release Plan 2007-2008 (PDF - 786 KB)