Legislation Framework

The management of State forest includes making policy and management decisions commensurate with Victoria's comprehensive legal framework. The key pieces of legislation relevant to Victoria's State forests are:

	Forests Act 1958 - provides for the management of State forests, including the protection of public land from fire, the development of working plans, the licensed occupations including grazing, beekeeping and the sale of forest produce.
	Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004 - provides for the sustainable management of forests. Implements the Sustainability Charter for Victoria's State Forests and the framework for State of the Forests reporting. Provides for the allocation of timber to VicForests and the approval of Timber Release Plans.
	Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 - is the key piece of Victorian legislation for the conservation of threatened species and communities and for the management of potentially threatening processes.
	Forestry Rights Act 1996 - the Act separates ownership of the land from the ownership of the trees on that land and provides legal security to the 'Forest Property Owner'.

All of these Acts can be accessed through the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website.