{"id":"south-australian-forestry-corporation-act-2000","name":"South Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000","slug":"south-australian-forestry-corporation-act-2000","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110033,"registerId":"sa-south-australian-forestry-corporation-act-2000-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"South Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000","content":"South Australia\nSouth Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000\nAn Act to provide for the management of public plantation forests; to establish the South Australian Forestry Corporation; and for other purposes.\n\nContents\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1\tShort title\n3\tObject\n4\tInterpretation\nPart 2—Corporation\n5\tEstablishment of South Australian Forestry Corporation\n6\tApplication of Public Corporations Act 1993\n7\tFunctions of Corporation\n8\tPowers of Corporation\n9\tCommon seal and execution of documents\nPart 3—Board\n10\tEstablishment of board\n11\tConditions of membership\n12\tVacancies or defects in appointment of directors\n13\tRemuneration\n14\tBoard proceedings\nPart 4—Staff\n15\tStaff of Corporation\nPart 5—Miscellaneous\n16\tDelegation to Corporation\n17\tPayment of rates\n18\tRegulations\nSchedule 1—Transitional provisions\n1\tInterpretative provision\n2\tVesting of property, rights etc in Corporation\n3\tApplication of Real Property Act\n4\tTransfer of staff\n5\tAppointment of first chief executive\n6\tAnnual report\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the South Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000.\n3—Object\nThe object of this Act is to establish a statutory corporation as a business enterprise with the principal responsibility of managing plantation forests for the benefit of the people and economy of the State.\n4—Interpretation\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\nboard means the board of directors established as the governing body of the Corporation under Part 3;\nCorporation means South Australian Forestry Corporation established under Part 2;\ndirector means a member of the board under Part 3 and includes a person appointed as an acting director under that Part.\nPart 2—Corporation\n5—Establishment of South Australian Forestry Corporation\n\t(1)\tSouth Australian Forestry Corporation is established.\n\t(2)\tThe Corporation—\n\t(a)\thas perpetual succession and a common seal; and\n\t(b)\tis capable of suing and being sued in its corporate name; and\n\t(c)\thas the functions and powers assigned or conferred by or under this or any other Act.\n6—Application of Public Corporations Act 1993\nThe Corporation is a statutory corporation to which the provisions of the Public Corporations Act 1993 apply.\n7—Functions of Corporation\nThe Corporation has the following functions:\n\t(a)\tto manage plantation forests for commercial production; and\n\t(b)\tto encourage and facilitate regionally based economic activities based on forestry and other industries; and\n\t(c)\tto conduct research related to the growing of wood for commercial purposes; and\n\t(d)\tany other function conferred on the Corporation by this Act, any other Act or the Minister or delegated to the Corporation by the Minister.\n8—Powers of Corporation\n\t(1)\tThe Corporation has all the powers of a natural person together with the powers specifically conferred on it by this or any other Act.\n\t(2)\tThe Corporation may exercise its powers within or outside the State.\n9—Common seal and execution of documents\n\t(1)\tThe common seal of the Corporation must not be affixed to a document except in pursuance of a decision of the board, and the affixing of the seal must be attested by the signatures of 1 or more directors.\n\t(2)\tThe Corporation may, by instrument under its common seal, authorise a director, an employee of the Corporation (whether nominated by name or by office or title) or any other person to execute documents on behalf of the Corporation subject to conditions and limitations (if any) specified in the instrument of authority.\n\t(3)\tWithout limiting subsection (2), an authority may be given so as to authorise two or more persons to execute documents jointly on behalf of the Corporation.\n\t(4)\tA document is duly executed by the Corporation if—\n\t(a)\tthe common seal of the Corporation is affixed to the document in accordance with this section; or\n\t(b)\tthe document is signed on behalf of the Corporation by a person or persons in accordance with an authority conferred under this section.\nPart 3—Board\n10—Establishment of board\n\t(1)\tA board of directors is established as the governing body of the Corporation.\n\t(2)\tThe board consists of up to 5 members appointed by the Governor.\n\t(3)\tA person is eligible for appointment as a member of the board if, in the Minister's opinion, the person has appropriate qualifications, experience or expertise to effectively perform the functions of a director of the Corporation.\n\t(4)\tThe Governor may appoint a director to chair meetings of the board.\n\t(5)\tThe Governor may appoint an acting director to act in the office of a director and a person so appointed has, while so acting, all the functions and powers of the director.\n\t(6)\tAn acting director may act in the office of a director—\n\t(a)\twhile—\n\t(i)\tthe director is unable to perform the functions of a director under this Act; or\n\t(ii)\tthe office of the director is vacant,\nbut not on a continuous basis for more than 6 months; or\n\t(b)\tif the director is disqualified from acting in relation to a particular matter—in relation to that matter.\n\t(7)\tThe terms and conditions of appointment as an acting director will be as determined by the Governor.\n\t(8)\tOn the office of a director becoming vacant, a person may be appointed under this section to the vacant office.\n11—Conditions of membership\n\t(1)\tA director (other than an acting director) will be appointed for a term, not exceeding three years, specified in the instrument of appointment and will, at the expiration of a term of appointment, be eligible for reappointment.\n\t(2)\tThe Governor may remove a director from office on the recommendation of the Minister.\n\t(3)\tThe Minister may recommend the removal of a director on any ground that the Minister considers sufficient.\n\t(4)\tThe office of a director becomes vacant if the director—\n\t(a)\tdies; or\n\t(b)\tcompletes a term of office and is not reappointed; or\n\t(c)\tresigns by written notice to the Minister; or\n\t(d)\tbecomes bankrupt or applies to take the benefit of a law for the relief of insolvent debtors; or\n\t(e)\tis convicted of an indictable offence or sentenced to imprisonment for an offence; or\n\t(f)\tis removed from office under subsection (2).\n12—Vacancies or defects in appointment of directors\nAn act of the board is not invalid by reason only of a vacancy in its membership or a defect in the appointment of a director.\n13—Remuneration\nA director is entitled to be paid from the funds of the Corporation such remuneration, allowances and expenses as may be determined by the Minister.\n14—Board proceedings\n\t(1)\tA quorum of the board consists of a majority of the directors in office for the time being.\n\t(2)\tIf a director has been appointed to chair meetings of the board, that director will preside at each meeting of the board at which he or she is present.\n\t(3)\tA director chosen by the directors present at a meeting of the board will preside at the meeting if—\n\t(a)\tthe director appointed to chair meetings of the board is absent from the meeting; or\n\t(b)\tno director has been appointed to chair meetings of the board.\n\t(4)\tA decision carried by a majority of the votes cast by directors at a meeting is a decision of the board.\n\t(5)\tEach director present at a meeting of the board has one vote on any question arising for decision and, if the votes are equal, the director presiding at the meeting may exercise a casting vote.\n\t(6)\tA conference by telephone or other electronic means between directors will, for the purposes of this section, be taken to be a meeting of the board at which the participating directors are present if—\n\t(a)\tnotice of the conference is given to all directors in the manner determined by the board for that purpose; and\n\t(b)\teach participating director is capable of communicating with every other participating director during the conference.\n\t(7)\tA proposed resolution of the board becomes a valid decision of the board despite the fact that it is not voted on at a meeting of the board if—\n\t(a)\tnotice of the proposed resolution is given to all directors in accordance with procedures determined by the board; and\n\t(b)\ta majority of the directors express their concurrence in the proposed resolution by letter, telex, facsimile transmission or other written communication setting out the terms of the resolution.\n\t(8)\tThe board must cause accurate minutes to be kept of its proceedings.\n\t(9)\tSubject to this Act, the board may determine its own procedures.\nPart 4—Staff\n15—Staff of Corporation\n\t(1)\tThe chief executive of the Corporation will be appointed by the board with the approval of the Minister on terms and conditions approved by the Minister.\n\t(2)\tThe Corporation may appoint such other employees as it thinks necessary or desirable.\n\t(3)\tSubject to subsection (4), an employee's appointment will be on terms and conditions fixed by the Corporation in consultation with the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment.\n\t(4)\tThe Corporation must not, in fixing terms and conditions of employment by the Corporation, discriminate against employees appointed after the commencement of this Act by appointing them on terms and conditions that are less favourable than those applying to employees transferred to the Corporation's employment in accordance with Schedule 1.\n\t(5)\tThe Corporation is declared not to be a national system employer for the purposes of the Fair Work Act 2009 of the Commonwealth.\nPart 5—Miscellaneous\n16—Delegation to Corporation\n\t(1)\tThe Minister may delegate any of the Minister's powers or functions under any Act to the Corporation.\n\t(2)\tA power or function delegated under this section may, if the instrument of delegation so provides, be further delegated by the Corporation.\n\t(3)\tA delegation under this section—\n\t(a)\tmust be by instrument in writing; and\n\t(b)\tmay be absolute or conditional; and\n\t(c)\tdoes not derogate from the power of the delegator to act in any matter; and\n\t(d)\tis revocable at will by the delegator.\n17—Payment of rates\n\t(1)\tDespite the provisions of the Local Government Act 1999, the Corporation is liable to pay rates, in respect of land managed by the Corporation for commercial purposes, to a council in accordance with that Act as if the Corporation owned a freehold estate in the land and were not an instrumentality of the Crown.\n\t(2)\tA council must, after consultation with the Corporation, apply half of any amounts received from the Corporation in accordance with this section towards the maintenance or upgrading of roads affected by the Corporation's operations.\n\t(3)\tSection 29(2)(b) of the Public Corporations Act 1993 does not apply in relation to the Corporation.\n18—Regulations\nThe Governor may make such regulations as are necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act.\nSchedule 1—Transitional provisions\n1—Interpretative provision\nThe Governor may, by proclamation, declare that a reference in an Act or instrument to a Minister is a reference to the Corporation and the proclamation has effect in accordance with its terms.\n2—Vesting of property, rights etc in Corporation\n\t(1)\tSubject to the Forestry Act 1950, as amended by Schedule 2, the Corporation succeeds to all the property, rights, powers, liabilities and obligations of the Minister arising from the operation of the Forestry Act 1950 as in force before the commencement of Schedule 2.\n\t(2)\tA certificate executed by the Minister certifying that any specified property, right, power, liability or obligation has vested in the Corporation by virtue of this clause is to be taken to be conclusive evidence of the matter so certified.\n\t(3)\tAn apparently genuine document purporting to be a certificate of the Minister under subclause (2) is to be presumed to be such a certificate in the absence of proof to the contrary.\n\t(4)\tDespite section 29(1) of the Public Corporations Act 1993, where property vests by virtue of this clause in the Corporation, the vesting of the property, and any instrument evidencing or giving effect to that vesting, are exempt from stamp duty.\n3—Application of Real Property Act\n\t(1)\tThe Registrar-General must, on the application of the Corporation, register the Corporation as the proprietor of an estate in land that has vested in the Corporation under this Schedule.\n\t(2)\tAn instrument relating to land that has vested in the Corporation under this Schedule must, if the instrument is executed by the Corporation and is otherwise in registrable form, be registered by the Registrar-General despite the fact that the Corporation has not been registered as the proprietor of the land under subclause (1).\n4—Transfer of staff\n\t(1)\tThe Minister may, at any time within the period of three months immediately following the commencement of this Schedule, transfer specified employees of the Department, or employees of the Department of a specified class, to the employment of the Corporation.\n\t(2)\tAn employee transferred under subclause (1) to the employment of the Corporation will have rights, obligations and liabilities in respect of his or her employment with the Corporation that are the same as or equivalent to those that would apply if—\n\t(a)\tthe unit, within the Department for Administrative and Information Services, known as ForestrySA continued as a unit within the Public Service; and\n\t(b)\tthe employee continued as an employee of the Department.\n\t(3)\tSubclause (2) applies to an employee transferred to the employment of the Corporation subject to any industrial or enterprise award, determination or agreement that may become binding on the Corporation after the transfer.\n\t(4)\tIn this clause—\nemployee of the Department means—\n\t(a)\ta person employed in the Public Service in the Department for Administrative and Information Services; or\n\t(b)\tan employee of the Crown (other than a person employed in the Public Service) who is subject to the direction of the chief executive of the Department for Administrative and Information Services in that employment.\n5—Appointment of first chief executive\n\t(1)\tThe first appointment to the position of chief executive of the Corporation is to be made by the Minister (but, on such an appointment having been made, the person so appointed will be taken to be an employee of the Corporation).\n\t(2)\tAny subsequent appointment to the position of chief executive of the Corporation is to be made by the board under Part 4.\n6—Annual report\nThe Corporation's report to the Minister on its operations during a financial year may incorporate a report on the operations of the unit, within the Department for Administrative and Information Services, known as ForestrySA during that financial year.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tPlease note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.\n\t•\tEarlier versions of this Act (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nLegislation amended by principal Act\nThe South Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000 amended the following:\nForestry Act 1950\nLocal Government (Forestry Reserves) Act 1944\nPrincipal Act and amendments\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n2000\n58\nSouth Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000\n20.7.2000\n1.1.2001 (Gazette 16.11.2000 p3196)\n2009\n58\nStatutes Amendment (National Industrial Relations System) Act 2009\n26.11.2009\nPt 13 (s 41)—1.1.2010 (Gazette 17.12.2009 p6351)\n2009\n84\nStatutes Amendment (Public Sector Consequential Amendments) Act 2009\n10.12.2009\nPt 137 (s 313)—1.2.2010 (Gazette 28.1.2010 p320)\n2015\n8\nStatutes Amendment (Boards and Committees—Abolition and Reform) Act 2015\n18.6.2015\nPt 32 (ss 194—198)—1.7.2015 (Gazette 25.6.2015 p3076)\nProvisions amended\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\nLong title\namended under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\nPt 1\n\n\ns 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\ns 4\n\n\ndirector\nsubstituted by 8/2015 s 194\n1.7.2015\nPt 2\n\n\ns 9\n\n\ns 9(1)\namended by 8/2015 s 195\n1.7.2015\nPt 3\n\n\ns 10\nsubstituted by 8/2015 s 196\n1.7.2015\ns 11\n\n\ns 11(1)\namended by 8/2015 s 197\n1.7.2015\ns 14\n\n\ns 14(1)—(3)\nsubstituted by 8/2015 s 198\n1.7.2015\nPt 4\n\n\ns 15\n\n\ns 15(3)\namended by 84/2009 s 313\n1.2.2010\ns 15(5)\ninserted by 58/2009 s 41\n1.1.2010\nSch 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\nHistorical versions\n1.1.2010\n\n1.2.2010\n\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose of establishing a statutory corporation to manage plantation forests commercially. While there have been minor amendments (particularly regarding board appointments and industrial relations status in 2009 and 2015), these are technical updates rather than scope expansion. The Act has not grown beyond its core function of creating and governing the Forestry Corporation."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute (approximately 20 substantive sections plus a brief Schedule)","Minimal defined terms (only 3 in section 4: board, Corporation, director)","Straightforward corporate governance structure without complex conditional logic","Limited cross-referencing (primarily to Public Corporations Act 1993, Fair Work Act 2009, and Forestry Act 1950)","Simple transitional provisions in Schedule 1 dealing with property transfer and staff movement","No nested exceptions or highly conditional operative provisions","Standard boilerplate provisions for execution of documents, board meetings, and delegations"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act creates a government-owned business called the **South Australian Forestry Corporation** (often called ForestrySA) to manage South Australia's public plantation forests as a commercial operation.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **The Corporation itself** – it becomes a legal entity that can own property, sign contracts, and be sued (just like a private company)\n- **The Board** – up to 5 directors appointed by the Governor who govern the Corporation\n- **Staff** – employees transferred from the public service or newly hired to work for the Corporation\n- **Local councils** – the Corporation must pay rates on commercial land, and councils must spend half of that money on road maintenance affected by forestry operations\n- **The Minister** – oversees the Corporation and can delegate powers to it\n\n**Key features:**\n\n- **Commercial focus**: Unlike a traditional government department, the Corporation runs forestry as a business enterprise for the economic benefit of the state\n- **Corporate structure**: It has a board of directors, a chief executive, and operates under the *Public Corporations Act 1993* (a law governing government businesses)\n- **Powers**: It can do anything a natural person can do (buy, sell, lease, borrow, sue) plus specific powers in the Act\n- **Transitional arrangements**: When created, it took over all property, staff, and responsibilities from the former ForestrySA unit within the Department for Administrative and Information Services\n- **Rates exemption removed**: Unlike most government bodies, it must pay council rates on commercial land (though with a 50% road maintenance rebate requirement)\n- **Industrial relations**: Specifically declared *not* to be a national system employer, meaning state industrial laws apply rather than federal Fair Work laws\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis Act represents a shift from government department management to a \"corporatised\" model for public forests. The idea is to run forestry more efficiently as a business while keeping it publicly owned. It balances commercial autonomy with ministerial oversight and protects employee conditions during the transition from public service to corporate employment."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act shifted forest management from a government department operating under the Forestry Act 1950 to a statutory corporation with a commercial mandate. This expanded the scope from public service administration to a business enterprise with powers to enter contracts, own property, and incur liabilities independently, and introduced new obligations like paying council rates."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple other Acts (Public Corporations Act 1993, Forestry Act 1950, Local Government Act 1999, Fair Work Act 2009)","Defined terms in interpretation section (board, Corporation, director)","Transitional provisions with conditions for property vesting, staff transfer, and exemptions from stamp duty","Nested conditions for board meetings and decision-making (quorum, electronic meetings, circular resolutions)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates a government-owned business called the South Australian Forestry Corporation (ForestrySA) to manage plantation forests for commercial timber production. It sets up a board of up to five directors appointed by the Governor, and the Corporation can hire its own staff. The Corporation has broad powers to buy, sell, and manage property, and can operate inside and outside South Australia. It takes over the forestry responsibilities and assets previously held by a government department. The Act also requires the Corporation to pay local council rates on the land it manages for commercial purposes, and councils must spend half of those rates on roads affected by forestry operations. This matters because it turns public forest management into a commercial enterprise, affecting the timber industry, local councils, and forestry workers."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Unable to assess whether the scope of this legislation changed from its original intent, as no legislative text was retrievable. The submission contained only a website 404 error page."},"complexity_factors":["No actual legislative text was provided — only a website error page was returned","Cannot assess complexity without the substantive content of the Act","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"**No legislation content was retrievable.**\n\nThe link provided for the *South Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000* returned a **404 Page Not Found** error from the South Australian legislation website. The actual text of the Act was not available for analysis.\n\n**What we do know from the title alone:**\n- This Act likely established the **South Australian Forestry Corporation** (also known as ForestrySA), a government-owned corporation responsible for managing commercial forestry operations in South Australia.\n- It would primarily affect **forestry workers, timber industry operators, landowners near state forests, and South Australian taxpayers** who have an interest in how public forestry assets are managed.\n- Such legislation typically covers things like the corporation's structure, powers, financial accountability, and its relationship with the state government.\n\n**What to do:** If you need to read this Act, visit [www.legislation.sa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au) and search directly for the Act by name, or contact the South Australian Office of Parliamentary Counsel at OPCWeb@sa.gov.au."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/south-australian-forestry-corporation-act-2000","history":"/api/acts/south-australian-forestry-corporation-act-2000/history","analysis":"/api/acts/south-australian-forestry-corporation-act-2000/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/south-australian-forestry-corporation-act-2000/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/south-australian-forestry-corporation-act-2000/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/south-australian-forestry-corporation-act-2000/documents"}}