Forestry

Support Plantation Establishment program

The Australian Government has reframed the Support Plantation Establishment program and committed through the 2022–23 Budget $73.76 million in grant funding over four years from 2023–24. The funding supports the establishment of new long-rotation softwood and hardwood plantation forests in Australia.

The program aims to expand our domestic timber supply, particularly construction and manufacturing timber resources, contribute to Australia’s carbon emission reduction targets, and support regional communities through the retention and creation of regional jobs.

Grants are available to private industry, First Nations businesses, farm foresters and state and territory government forestry bodies. The grants require applicants to provide a co-contribution equal to the grant amount.

Further information can be found on the Community Grants Hub.

Forestry Workforce Training Program

The Australian Government is investing $10 million over four years in the Forestry Workforce Training Program. The Program will support the delivery of skills and training to meet the requirements of Australia’s forest and wood products sectors.

Australia’s forest and wood products industries supply the nation with products for building and construction, packaging and many essential household products and require a specialised workforce to produce these products. An issue faced by these industries is accessing the specific training and credentials required for the workforce.

The forestry industry is a significant employer in rural and regional Australia, directly employing 52,000 people. Due to the remote location and ageing workforce, increased participation in the workforce by First Nations Australians and women will be increasingly important.

To ensure that the Program addresses the issues faced by the forest and wood products industries and the education and training sector, the Australian Government contracted ForestWorks Ltd to undertake a Scoping Study.

A crucial part of the Scoping Study was engaging with the different industries, government agencies and industry bodies to understand the needs and issues impacting them. ForestWorks Ltd conducted stakeholder consultation with a wide range of stakeholder groups in June 2023 and provided the final report to the Australian Government in November 2023. The Scoping Study sets out 19 recommendations for piloting action and implementation of the Program.

The department undertook an approach to market which closed on 28 May 2024 to identify a service provider to deliver the Program in line with the recommendations of the Scoping Study.

Following a comprehensive evaluation process the department has now entered into a contract with ForestWorks Ltd to deliver the Program over the next two years.

Australian Forest and Wood Innovations

The Australian Government in partnership with the University of Tasmania (UTAS) has established Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI).

AFWI is supporting transformative research, development and innovation for Australia’s timber industry, while also supporting the training and development of forest industries researchers.

AFWI has completed the first of four $5 million national open calls for research. The first open call has selected 8 projects that will investigate themes such as climate change solutions, making the most of our available wood fibre, and supporting the sustainable management of Australia’s forests.

Further information about AFWI is available on the department's AFWI page.

Extending the Regional Forestry Hubs

An additional $8.6 million over 3 years has been committed to continue the 11 Regional Forestry Hubs to June 2027.

This additional funding will allow the Hubs to continue to provide strategic planning, technical assessments and analyses to support growth in their regions. The role of the Hubs is being expanded to include extension services to 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.

Accelerate Adoption of Wood Processing Innovation Program

The Australian Government has awarded $100.72 million in grant funding to 33 grantees across Australia.

The program supports the medium to long-term sustainability of wood processers by stimulating investment in upgrades to existing manufacturing lines, as well as supporting innovation to diversify domestic products.

By supporting wood processing facilities to use innovative technologies in their production, the Australian forestry industry will be able to supply more of Australia’s wood demands into the future.

Grant applications for the Accelerate Adoption of Wood Processing Innovation Program have closed.

More information is available on the Accelerate Adoption of Wood Processing Innovation Program page.

Protecting Australia from illegally logged timber products

This Australian Government is investing $4.4 million over two years to combat illegally logged products from entering the Australian market. The investment will trial timber testing technologies under Australia’s illegal logging laws that can expose illegally logged timber and false claims made by traders.

This will be complemented by measures advancing the profiling of problematic timber imports through earlier data collection. It will be further strengthened by measures to accredit Australian testing labs and expand their databases for timber species of most concern.