Request for Applications: Forestry Business Support Package (Australia)

Through the Package, the Victorian Government will make a payment to compensate the loss of value of plant and equipment previously used to support the commercial harvest or haulage of native timber from Victorian State forests, a reimbursement of any employee statutory redundancy payments made to employees made redundant due to the forestry transition, and a payment for loss of income in 2023-24 to businesses that contracted directly with VicForests.

The Package is administered by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA, the Department).

Funding Information

• The Package comprises three components:
  • Plant and equipment compensation – a payment to compensate the loss of value of plant and equipment used for forest management purposes or the harvest and/or haulage of logs or timber residues from Victorian State forests.
  • Reimbursement of employee statutory redundancy payments – a payment to reimburse any employee statutory redundancy payments paid by the business.
  • 2023-24 loss of income compensation – a payment to businesses which supplied forestbased services to VicForests (Or with DEECA for the management of the road network that was specifically funded by DEECA for native timber cartage) for loss of income in 2023-24.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible to apply for Components 1 and 2 of this Package, an applicant business must:
  • be one of the following:
    • a haulage sub-contractor who:
      • has contracted since 1 July 2020 to a business with a current VicForests harvest and/or haulage contract, and
      • has at least 50% of annual revenue derived from the business with the VicForests contract based on an average of the last three financial years; or
    • a wood chip truck operator who:
      • has transported hardwood woodchips from sawmills that had a Timber Sale Agreement or a Forest Product Licence issued by VicForests since 1 July 2020, and II.
      • has at least 50% of annual revenue derived from transporting hardwood woodchips from those mills based on an average of the last three financial years; or
    • a road contractor who:
      • has had a contract with VicForests (Or with DEECA for the management of the road network that was specifically funded by DEECA for native timber cartage. Businesses considering including works undertaken on this network in their application are encouraged to contact the Forestry Business Support Package to confirm their eligibility) since 1 July 2020, and
      • has at least 50% of annual revenue derived from the contract based on an average of the last three financial years; or
    • a seed-collector who has at least 50% of annual revenue derived from the VicForests contract based on an average of the last three financial years; or
    • a business undertaking forest-based activities which has had at least 50% of annual revenue derived from a VicForests contract based on an average of the last three financial years.
  • hold a current registered Australian Business Number (ABN); and
  • be conducting business operations within Victoria; and
  • provide a statutory declaration that they will meet all industrial relations obligations as an employer in accordance with the National Employment Standards under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the applicable Award, such as the Timber Industry Award.
• To be eligible to apply for Component 3 of this Package, an applicant business must:
  • have had a contract with VicForests to provide forest-based services (Or with DEECA for the management of the road network that was specifically funded by DEECA for native timber cartage. Businesses considering including works undertaken on this network in their application are encouraged to contact the Forestry Business Support Package to confirm their eligibility) for at least two years between 2019-20 to 2023-24, with one of the years being 2022-23 or 2023-24; and
  • have derived at least $30,000 annual revenue from the contract based on an average of the:
    • four highest annual revenue amounts between 2019-20 to 2023-24 if the business provided services for five years; or
    • three highest annual revenue amounts between 2019-20 to 2023-24 if the business provided services for four years; or
    • two highest annual revenue amounts between 2019-20 to 2023-24 if the business provided services for three years; or
    • two annual revenue amounts between 2019-20 to 2023-24 if the business provided services for two years; and
  • have derived at least 50% of its total annual revenue from the contract based on an average of the years the services were provided; and
  • hold a current registered Australian Business Number (ABN); and
  • be conducting business operations within Victoria.

For more information, visit Gov.au.