Forest Practices Act 1985

Landowners: Must ensure certified forest practices plans exist before authorising forest practices on their land, or must assign their responsibilities to another person in writing (section 17(2)).

Timber harvesters and forestry contractors: Must have a certified plan and comply with the Forest Practices Code when carrying out harvesting, establishment or clearing operations.

Timber processors: A timber processor having the immediate right to process timber from land is a responsible person and must ensure plan compliance.

Forestry Tasmania / Sustainable Timbers Tasmania: As the manager of public forest land, bound by the Act's requirements for certified plans and Code compliance.

The Forest Practices Authority: Administers, certifies plans, investigates non-compliance, and enforces the Code.

No forest practices without a certified plan (s 17(4)): A responsible person must not carry out, cause, or allow the carrying out of: (a) establishment of forests; (b) harvesting of timber; (ba) clearing of trees; (bb) clearance and conversion of forest land to non-forest use; or other prescribed activities unless a certified forest practices plan authorising the activity exists for that land.

Compliance with the Forest Practices Code: All persons carrying out forest practices must comply with the Code's requirements for environmental, operational and safety standards.

Plan preparation and submission: Plans must be prepared in accordance with the Code and submitted to the Authority for certification before work commences.

Appeals: Persons aggrieved by Authority decisions about plan certification may appeal to the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal under Part V.

Forest Practices Authority plan certification: May certify, refuse to certify, or impose conditions on forest practices plans.

Authority Code: Issues the Forest Practices Code after consulting Private Forests Tasmania and considering public submissions (section 30). The Code may be varied from time to time.

Authority investigation and enforcement: The Authority may investigate alleged non-compliance with the Act and the Code. Enforcement mechanisms include improvement notices and orders.

Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal (Part V): Hears appeals against Authority decisions. Procedure for appeals is set out in Part V (section 34).

Forest Practices Advisory Council (Part VA): Advises the Minister and the Authority on matters relating to forest practices.

Non-compliance with the plan requirement (section 17(4)) is an offence. Carrying out forest practices without a certified plan, or in breach of the Code, may result in:

• Prosecution and fines;
• Orders to remediate damage to the land;
• Conditions imposed on future plans.

The Act (via section 17) creates clear liability for each category of responsible person. Landowners who allow harvesting without a certified plan may be liable even if they did not personally carry out the activity.

Forest practices plan process:

1. Responsible person (or their contractor/forest practices officer) prepares a forest practices plan complying with the Code.
2. Plan submitted to the Authority for certification.
3. Authority certifies the plan (or refuses or imposes conditions).
4. If aggrieved, person may appeal to the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal (Part V, section 34).
5. Certified plan in force forest practices may commence.

Forest Practices Code process (s 30):

1. Authority issues draft Code.
2. Gazette notice published; public invited to make submissions within 60 days.
3. Authority considers submissions and consults Private Forests Tasmania.
4. Authority issues the Forest Practices Code (and specifies commencement date).
5. Code may be varied from time to time using the same consultative process.

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth): Commonwealth environmental approval under the EPBC Act may be required for forest practices that are likely to significantly affect matters of national environmental significance (such as threatened species listed under that Act). The interaction between the state plan certification regime and Commonwealth approval requirements has been extensively litigated: Forestry Tasmania v Brown [2007] FCAFC 186 and Bob Brown Foundation Inc v Commonwealth of Australia [2021] FCAFC 5 both addressed this interface.

Private Forests Tasmania Act: Private Forests Tasmania is a body established separately to promote and develop private forestry. It is consulted in the Forest Practices Code-making process under section 30.

Resource Management and Planning System (RMPS): The Act operates within Tasmania's broader resource management and planning system. The Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal hears appeals under Part V.

Forestry Act 1920 (Tas) / Forestry (Rebuilding the Forest Industry) Act 2014 (Tas): The forest industry framework in Tasmania involves multiple Acts. The Forest Practices Act focuses on the operational practices side; the Forestry Acts deal with the management of public forest land by Sustainable Timbers Tasmania.

Workplace Health and Safety legislation: Forest operations are high-risk. Compliance with the Forest Practices Code does not exhaust a responsible person's obligations WHS legislation imposes additional duties.

"Responsible person" is broad and multi-party. There can be multiple responsible persons for the same land at the same time (the owner, the harvester, and the timber processor may all be responsible persons for section 17 purposes). Each is independently obliged to ensure a certified plan exists and that the Code is complied with.

Assigning responsibilities must be in writing under seal. An owner who wishes to assign their section 17 responsibilities to a timber harvester must do so by written agreement under seal (section 17(2)). An oral arrangement or informal contract does not suffice.

Commonwealth EPBC Act requirements run parallel. A certified forest practices plan under the state Act does not mean the operation is exempt from Commonwealth environmental approval. If listed threatened species habitat may be affected, a separate Commonwealth referral and approval process may be required. The existence of the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) between the Commonwealth and Tasmania historically exempted some operations, but the scope of that exemption has been litigated.

The Code is the technical standard. A plan may be certified but operations must still comply with the Code as operations proceed. Certification of the plan does not exhaust the obligation ongoing compliance during operations is required.

Scenario 1: Private timber harvesting A private landowner in northern Tasmania wants to harvest sawlogs from part of their property. They engage a forestry contractor and timber processor. The landowner must either have a certified forest practices plan for the area or assign their responsibilities to the contractor in writing under seal (section 17(2)). The contractor prepares a plan in accordance with the Forest Practices Code and submits it to the Authority for certification. Only after certification may harvesting commence.

Scenario 2: Coupe harvesting and negligence In Coote v Forestry Tasmania [2006] HCA 26, a tree feller was injured during harvesting in a State forest coupe. The High Court noted that the Forest Practices Act was the principal statutory framework within which the harvesting was conducted, and that the Forestry Tasmania officer's direction to the feller about how to conduct the felling was central to the negligence analysis. The case illustrates that the Act's framework shapes the legal duties applicable to all persons operating in and around forest practices.

Scenario 3: EPBC Act interaction A forestry company is certified to harvest in an area under an approved forest practices plan. Environmental groups argue that the operations will affect the habitat of listed threatened species and that the EPBC Act applies. The Full Federal Court in Forestry Tasmania v Brown [2007] FCAFC 186 addressed whether the Commonwealth's EPBC Act applied to forestry operations within Tasmania, engaging the interface between the state plan certification scheme and Commonwealth environmental requirements.