Regional Forestry Hubs

There are 11 Regional Forestry Hubs across Australia, which were established under the National Forestry Industry Plan 2018.

The Australian Government’s A Better Plan for Forestry and Forest Products 2022-23 Budget measure has committed to an additional $8.6 million over three years from 2024-25 to extend and expand the role of the 11 Hubs.

The Regional Forestry Hub regions were chosen to represent existing concentrations of wood supply resources, combined with significant existing processing and/or manufacturing operations, established domestic and/or international transport links, and strong potential for growth.

Each Regional Forestry Hub has a steering committee of industry stakeholders. The committees determine the priorities for their region. The Hubs work with industry, state and local governments, and other key stakeholders to prepare and provide the Government with strategic planning, technical assessments and analyses that aim to support growth in the forest industries in their region. In addition to continuing this work the role of the Hubs is being expanded to include extension services. This will enable the Hubs to inform local industries and landholders of the outcomes of the research and innovation work, in particular from the Australia-wide NIFPI. The Hubs will not provide individual business advice.

The Regional Forestry Hubs are:

North East New South Wales

The North East NSW Hub commenced operations in April 2019, and is administered by the North East NSW Forestry Hub Incorporated.

The priorities identified by the North East NSW Forestry Hub include:

climate change and adaptive stewardship of forests across the landscape
new timber supply
development of future workforce.

Key projects undertaken by the North East NSW hub include:

Visit the North East NSW Forestry Hub website.

View a map of the North East NSW Regional Forestry Hub.

Central West New South Wales

The Central West NSW Hub commenced operations in May 2020, and is administered by the Central West NSW Forestry Hub Incorporated.

The priorities identified by the Central West NSW Hub include:

development of a landholder information tool to investigate the feasibility of additional plantations
development of a carbon profile to be overlayered on the above information tool to determine ‘carbon yield’ under a given silviculture regime
investigating the feasibility of reopening the Oberon-Tarana rail line
completing a carbon footprint analysis for the hub region.

Key projects undertaken by the Central West NSW hub include:

Visit the Central West NSW Regional Forestry Hub website.

View a map of the Central West NSW Regional Forestry Hub.

South East New South Wales

The South East NSW Hub commenced operations in December 2021, and is administered by the South East Forestry Hub Incorporated.
The priorities identified by the South East NSW Hub include:

consulting with a wide range of stakeholders to review and analyse the constraints affecting productivity and efficiency of the forestry sector
mapping current forest resources to improve knowledge, management objectives and potential production
investigating future forest investment to identify opportunities in forest resource development
developing investment business cases for new infrastructure to support forestry
determining the potential for future plantation expansion (softwood and hardwood).

South East NSW South Hub Website to be developed.

View a map of the South East New South Wales Regional Forestry Hub.

Murray Region

The Murray Region Hub (formerly the SW Slopes) commenced operations in September 2019, and is administered by the Softwoods Working Group Incorporated.

The priorities identified by the Murray Region Hub include:

community engagement
people and skills
adequate infrastructure
resource security.

Key projects undertaken by the Murray Region hub include:

Visit the Murray Region Forestry Hub website.

View a map of the Murray Region Forestry Hub.

Gippsland

The Gippsland Forestry Hub commenced operations in May 2020, and is administered by the Gippsland Forestry Hub Incorporated.

The priorities identified by the Gippsland Hub include:
facilitating a stakeholder forum on growing the future of the industry
exploring value adding opportunities
defining the boundaries of the region
exploring opportunities for expanding wood supply, including from farm, private native, and Indigenous forestry
developing a skills needs framework and conducting a skills audit
facilitating innovation and regional research
building stakeholder communications.

Key projects undertaken by the Gippsland hub include:

Visit the Gippsland Forestry Hub website.

View a map of the Gippsland Regional Forestry Hub .

Green Triangle

The Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub commenced operations in April 2019, and is administered by the Green Triangle Forestry Industry Hub Association Incorporated.

The priorities identified by the Green Triangle Hub include:

researching the sustainable use of water in forestry management
investigating domestic processing opportunities
finding opportunities for plantation expansion
exploring opportunities for carbon emission reduction
guiding the industry towards a sustainable future
examining how to better attract and retain staff
building a sustainable positive industry profile.

Key projects undertaken by the Green Triangle hub include:

Visit the Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub website.

View a map of the Green Triangle Regional Forestry Hub.

North Queensland

The North Queensland Hub commenced operations in April 2020, and is administered by Timber Queensland.

The priorities identified by the North QLD Hub include:

skills and workforce development
plantation investment models
manufacturing competitiveness
indigenous forestry and native forest management
bioenergy and carbon
supply chains and infrastructure.

Key projects undertaken by the North Queensland hub include:

Planning and approvals requirements for new plantations in Australia

Visit the North Queensland Hub website.

View a map of the North Queensland Regional Forestry Hub.

South and Central Queensland

The South and Central Queensland Hub commenced operations in April 2020, and is administered by Timber Queensland.
The priorities identified by the South and Central QLD Hub include:

communication
skills and training
manufacturing competitiveness
plantation investment models
native forest management
bioenergy and carbon.

Key projects undertaken by the South and Queensland Hub include:

Visit the South and Central Queensland Hub website.

View a map of the South and Central Queensland Regional Forestry Hub.

South West Western Australia

The South West Timber Hub commenced operations in May 2019, and is administered by the Bunbury Geographe Economic Alliance.

The priorities identified by the South West Timber Hub include:

undertaking research projects aiming to expand the softwood plantation estate by at least 5,000 hectares a year, with a focus on integrating commercial trees on farmlands
encouraging full utilisation of the available wood fibre
ensuring community understanding of the environmental, regional, social and economic benefits from forests and woodlands.

Key projects undertaken by the South West Timber hub include:

Visit the South West Timber Hub website.

View a map of the South West Western Australia Regional Forestry Hub.

Tasmania

The Tasmania Hub commenced operations in 2021, and is administered by the Tasmanian Forests and Forest Products Network.

The priorities identified by the Tasmania Hub include:

driving positive climate outcomes
developing a fit for purpose workforce
growing and maintain farm forestry
supporting industry growth through infrastructure planning.

Key projects undertaken by the Tasmania Forestry hub include:

Visit the Tasmania Forestry Hub website.

View a map of the Tasmania Regional Forestry Hub.

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory Ord Valley Forestry Hub commenced operations in August 2021, and is administered by the Forestry Industry Association Northern Territory Incorporated.

The priorities identified by the Northern Territory Ord Valley Forestry Hub include:

export infrastructure and supply chain analysis
developing Indigenous Forestry Projects
manufacturing and value adding
understanding land access and tenure
native forest resource assessment
education and engagement
carbon market opportunities.

Visit the Northern Territory Ord Valley Forestry Hub website.

View a map of the Northern Territory Ord Valley Forestry Hub.

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