Grant applications for the Support Plantation Establishment program have closed.
The Australian Government is providing $73.76 million (GST exclusive) in grant funding over four years from 2023–24 to 2026–27.
To date, $46.47 million (GST exclusive) has been awarded to 60 projects. Announcements regarding further successful applicants will be published shortly.
The funding supports the establishment of new long-rotation softwood and hardwood plantation forests in Australia and assists the sector in responding to the projected growth in demand for domestically sourced timber resources.
The objectives of the program are to:
- increase future plantation forest resources available for processing, as well as for plantation forest management, harvesting and haulage employment
- support private industry, First Nations businesses, farm foresters and state and territory government forestry bodies to expand the Australian plantation forest estate
- contribute to meeting Australia’s carbon emission reduction targets, including under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Kyoto Protocol to the Climate Change Convention.
Grantees are required to provide a co-contribution at least equal to the grant amount and are open to private industry, First Nations businesses, farm foresters and state and territory government forestry bodies.
Watch
See how the program is supporting grantees to establish new plantations across Australia.
Plantation Pine Products Support Plantation Establishment Program case study
(Duration 1 mins 46 secs)
Introduction
This is the transcript of a video case study produced by the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry as part of the Support Plantation Establishment Program. It was filmed with Plantation Pine Products on-site in Oberon, NSW in 2024.
Transcript
Video begins [0:00]
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The Support Plantation Establishment Program is a $73.76 million Australian Government Grant Program
The funding supports the establishment of new long-rotation softwood and hardwood plantation forests across Australia
[0:11]
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Plantation Pine Products were awarded $7.04 million in funding to support the establishment of 3,520 hectares of new plantation forests
Angus Spreckley: This plantation was planted in August this year with Pinus Radiata at 1,600 stems a hectare.
It will be 30 meter tall trees, probably about 600 stems a hectare. This will be thinned twice, down to about 600 stems a hectare during the rotation.
Areas around Oberon have 800mm of rainfall, so the cooler temperatures in summer, plenty of rainfall in winter, so it’s good growing conditions for pine trees.
The high up-front costs of forestry plantations is a challenge. Reducing that up-front cost which is what the grant does makes it significantly more palatable to plant trees.
If you own the land and your only cost is establishment and you can get that just for minor costs, it reduces all of the hurdles for a farmer to plant a bad paddock into pines.
So you’ll have structural grade lumber for your framing of your house, you’ll have MDF, or medium density fibreboard and particleboard used for kitchen cupboards, kitchen benches.
Here with the sawmills only taking Radiata, we’re pretty keen to enter partnerships with farmers. We’ll establish the trees with you, we’ll manage and harvest on your behalf and take the wood to market. We need lots of logs.
[1:35]
Music plays
Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry logo appears on screen
Text appears on screen:
Applications are open for grant round three of the Support Plantation Establishment program.
Find out more and apply at GrantConnect.
[1:46]
Video ends
Case studies
The stories of the grantees and their projects that will deliver Australia’s future forest products.
Applications
Grant applications for the program have closed.
- Round 1 of the program ran from 21 June 2023 to 24 January 2024.
- Round 2 of the program ran from 9 February 2024 to 27 June 2024.
- Round 3 of the program ran from 11 October 2024 to 5 November 2025.
Successful applicants to date
To date, 60 grants have been awarded totalling $46.47 million (GST exclusive). Announcements regarding further successful applicants will be published shortly.
Grant applications for Round 1 opened on 21 June 2023 and closed on 24 January 2024.
| Round Funded | Funding Recipient | Project details | Funding (GST Exclusive) | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Plantation Pine Products Australia Pty Ltd | Softwood 308 hectares | $616,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 1 | Tamplin Family Trust | Hardwood 86 hectares | $172,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 1 | Tasmanian Carbon Afforestation Sub-Trust | Hardwood 60 hectares | $120,000.00 | TAS |
| Round 1 | Napier Family Trust | Softwood 84 hectares | $168,000.00 | TAS |
| Round 1 | Plantation Pine Products Australia Pty Ltd | Softwood 935 hectares | $1,870,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 1 | A.C Fisher & S.J Fisher | Softwood 66 hectares | $132,000.00 | TAS |
| Round 1 | A Biskaps & S.J Biskaps | Hardwood 46 hectares | $92,000.00 | QLD |
| Round 1 | F Hildebrand & L.M Holt | Hardwood 22.5 hectares | $44,820.00 | VIC |
| Round 1 | Plantation Pine Products Australia Pty Ltd | Softwood 606 hectares | $1,212,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 1 | J & S Thompson | Softwood 402 hectares | $804,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 1 | Wespine Industries Pty Ltd | Softwood 31.9 hectares | $63,800.00 | WA |
| Round 1 | H.H Mackinnon & H.H Mackinnon & R.A Mackinnon | Softwood 72.8 hectares | $145,600.00 | VIC |
| Round 1 | Sapphire Forests Pty Ltd | Hardwood 27.5 hectares | $55,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 1 | Salmon Marketing Trust | Softwood 401 hectares | $802,000.00 | TAS |
| Round 1 | Stephen Creese Family Trust No.2 | Softwood 50 hectares | $94,850.00 | TAS |
| Round 1 | Morgan Sawmill Jamestown Pty Ltd | Softwood 455.87 hectares | $911,740.00 | SA |
| Round 1 | Forestry Corporation of New South Wales | Softwood 465 hectares | $930,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 1 | Forestry Corporation of New South Wales | Softwood 660 hectares | $1,320,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 1 | Miles, Robert William | Softwood 204 hectares | $408,000.00 | NSW |
Grant applications for Round 2 opened on 9 February 2024 and closed on 27 June 2024.
| Round Funded | Funding Recipient | Project details | Funding (GST Exclusive) | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 2 | Forestry Investment Trust | Softwood 214.1 hectares | $66,371.00 | WA |
| Round 2 | Tasmanian Carbon Afforestation Sub-Trust | Softwood 154 hectares | $211,765.00 | TAS |
| Round 2 | G 5 Forestry Pty Ltd | Softwood 650 hectares | $1,300,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 2 | Mitsui & Co. Wood Resources Oceania Pty. Ltd. | Softwood 260.5 hectares | $258,698.58 | WA |
| Round 2 | SFA Nature Based Solutions Unit Trust | Softwood 89 hectares | $178,000.00 | VIC |
| Round 2 | Plantation Pine Products Australia Pty Ltd | Softwood 1671 hectares | $3,342,000.00 | NSW, VIC |
| Round 2 | Forestry Corporation of New South Wales | Softwood 116 hectares | $208,800.00 | NSW |
| Round 2 | Forestry Corporation of New South Wales | Softwood 40.58 hectares | $81,160.00 | NSW |
Grant applications for Round 3 opened on 11 October 2024 and will close on 5 November 2025.
| Round Funded | Funding Recipient | Project details | Funding (GST Exclusive) | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 3 | JMS Colless Investments Pty Ltd | Softwood 40 hectares | $80,000.00 | VIC |
| Round 3 | Chelimi Pty Ltd | Hardwood 21 hectares | $42,000.00 | VIC |
| Round 3 | H.A Bebb & E.G Hewitt & J Hewitt & A.J Stevens & V.R Stevens & The Trustee For Gr Gibson Discretionary Trust & The Trustee For The Liffey Trust & The Trustee For West Elk Trust | Softwood 188.49 hectares | $375,275.68 | TAS |
| Round 3 | Associated Kiln Driers Pty Ltd | Softwood 54.3 hectares | $108,600.00 | NSW |
| Round 3 | The Trust Company (Australia) Ltd | Softwood 424.6 hectares | $382,729.17 | VIC |
| Round 3 | The Trust Company (Australia) Ltd | Softwood 147.2 hectares | $192,596.00 | WA |
| Round 3 | The Trust Company (Australia) Ltd | Softwood 62 hectares | $123,752.00 | TAS |
| Round 3 | Mitsui & Co. Wood Resources Oceania Pty. Ltd. | Softwood 958 hectares | $1,915,760.50 | WA |
| Round 3 | Morgan Sawmill Jamestown Pty Ltd | Softwood 165.97 hectares | $331,940.00 | SA |
| Round 3 | Carbon Neutral Pty Ltd | Hardwood 259.9 hectares | $519,749.91 | WA |
| Round 3 | Carbon Neutral Pty Ltd | Softwood 679 hectares | $1,358,000.00 | WA |
| Round 3 | Milne Farming Pty Ltd | Hardwood 123 hectares | $246,000.00 | VIC |
| Round 3 | Carbon Neutral Pty Ltd | Hardwood 1928 hectares | $3,856,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 3 | Mitsui & Co. Wood Resources Oceania Pty. Ltd. | Softwood 216.1 hectares | $432,200.00 | WA |
| Round 3 | Fairthorne Timber Trading Pty Ltd | Softwood 56.1 hectares | $112,200.00 | VIC |
| Round 3 | The Trustee for Maxwell Family Trust & J.D Thompson & S.J Thompson | Softwood 670 hectares | $1,340,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 3 | The Trust Company (Australia) Limited | Softwood 196 hectares | $300,860.00 | TAS |
| Round 3 | The Trust Company (Australia) Limited | Hardwood 91.4 hectares | $131,035.20 | TAS |
| Round 3 | Tiwi Plantations Pty Ltd | Hardwood 2709 hectares | $5,418,000.00 | NT |
| Round 3 | Tiwi Plantations Pty Ltd | Hardwood 2259 hectares | $4,518,000.00 | NT |
| Round 3 | D.J Creese and P.G Creese | Softwood 191 hectares | $382,000.00 | TAS |
| Round 3 | Cultura Australia Pty Ltd | Softwood 1506.3 hectares | $2,035,327.62 | WA |
| Round 3 | Mareeba Tas Pty Ltd | Softwood and hardwood 43.7 hectares | $87,400.00 | TAS |
| Round 3 | Tasmanian Carbon Afforestation Sub-Trust | Softwood 85 hectares | $136,025.00 | TAS |
| Round 3 | Tasmanian Carbon Afforestation Sub-Trust | Softwood 67 hectares | $100,165.00 | TAS |
| Round 3 | Tasmanian Carbon Afforestation Sub-Trust | Softwood 131 hectares | $195,845.00 | TAS |
| Round 3 | Plantation Pine Products Australia Pty Ltd | Softwood 770 hectares | $1,540,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 3 | Salmon, Timothy | Softwood 88 hectares | $176,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 3 | Seven Generations Forestry Pty Ltd | Hardwood 24.9 hectares | $49,800.00 | NSW |
| Round 3 | Lagom Pty Ltd | Softwood 337 hectares | $674,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 3 | Forestry Investment Trust | Softwood 287.8 hectares | $442,046.00 | VIC |
| Round 3 | ANZLAFF Sub 1 | Softwood 1238 hectares | $2,476,000.00 | NSW |
| Round 3 | Forest Products Commission | Softwood 442.4 hectares | $784,110.00 | WA |