Forest Practices Act 1985 (Tas)

Forest Practices Act 1985 An Act to ensure that all forest practices are conducted in accordance with the Forest Practices Code, to provide for the issue of that Code, to provide for the creation of private timber reserves, to provide for the issue of codes of conduct for forest practices officers, and to provide for incidental and consequential matters [Royal Assent 23 May 1985] Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows: PART I - Preliminary 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Forest Practices Act 1985 . 2. Commencement (1) Parts I and IV shall commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. (2) Except as provided in subsection (1) , this Act shall commence on such day as may be fixed by proclamation. 3. Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – Authority means the Forest Practices Authority; Board means the Board of Directors of the Authority; certified forest practices plan means a forest practices plan certified by the Authority and in force under this Act and includes a forest practices plan varied in accordance with Part III ; chief forest practices officer means the chief forest practices officer appointed under section 4J ; clearing of trees means the removal of trees by – (a) clearing, cutting, pushing or otherwise removing; or (b) destroying the trees in any way; code of conduct means a code of conduct issued under section 40A(3) ; Council means the Forest Practices Advisory Council established under section 37A ; director means a director of the Board; discrete operational phase, of a forest practices plan, means a forest practice or a part of a forest practice that is specifically identified in the plan as constituting a discrete operational phase, stage or component of the plan; exceptional circumstances, that may justify the clearance and conversion of a threatened native vegetation community, include the need to do one or more of the following: (a) ensure the physical safety of an owner of land or the owner's relatives or employees; (b) remove or reduce a bushfire risk; (c) respond to a threat to the State's biosecurity; (d) protect a rare, vulnerable or endangered species of flora or fauna; (e) discharge a statutory obligation or comply with an order of a court; financial year means the period of 12 months ending on 30 June in any year; forest means an area containing trees; forest practices means – (a) the processes involved in establishing forests, growing or harvesting timber, clearing trees or clearing and converting threatened native vegetation communities; and (b) works (including the construction of roads and the development and operation of quarries) connected with establishing forests, growing or harvesting timber or clearing trees; Forest Practices Code means the Forest Practices Code issued by the Authority pursuant to section 30 and in force under this Act and includes any amendments that may from time to time be made to that Code; forest practices officer means a forest practices officer referred to in section 39 ; forest practices plan means a plan referred to in section 18 ; Forestry corporation means the corporation of that name continued by section 6 of the Forest Management Act 2013 ; forestry right means any forestry right registered under the Forestry Rights Registration Act 1990 or continued under the Forest Management Act 2013 ; harvest, used in relation to timber, means to cut and remove that timber from a forest; native vegetation means vegetation of a species that existed in Tasmania, on land, before European settlement; owner of land means – (aa) in the case of Crown land that is permanent timber production zone land within the meaning of the Forest Management Act 2013 – the Forestry corporation; (a) in the case of land held in fee simple – the person in whom the estate of fee simple is vested or, if the land is general law land subject to mortgage, the person having the equity of redemption in that land; (b) in the case of land held under a tenancy for life – the person who is the life tenant; (c) in the case of land held under a lease for a term of not less than 99 years – the person who is the lessee of the land; or (d) in the case of land held under any other interest declared by the regulations to be an interest for the purposes of this definition – the person who is the holder of the land under that interest; Private Forests Tasmania means the body of that name established under section 4 of the Private Forests Act 1994 ; private timber reserve means land that has been declared as a private timber reserve under section 11 ; process, used in relation to timber, means to pulp, chip, cut, or saw timber; registrar means the Registrar, within the meaning of the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 ; rehabilitate, in relation to land to which a requirement, request or direction to rehabilitate the land relates, means to return the land, as far as reasonably practicable, to the condition that it was in before the occurrence of the damage, degradation, or alteration, to which the requirement, request or direction relates; revegetate, in relation to land to which a requirement, request or direction to revegetate the land relates, means to sow seed, or plant seedlings, on the land so as to return the land to, as far as reasonably practicable, the state of vegetation on the land before the occurrence of the damage, degradation, or alteration, in relation to which the requirement, request or direction relates; Secretary means the Secretary of the Department; the regulations means the regulations made and in force under this Act; threatened native vegetation community has the same meaning as in the Nature Conservation Act 2002 ; timber includes the trunk, branch and any other part of a tree or fallen tree, whether or not it is cut up, sawn, hewn, split or otherwise dealt with; timber processor means a person who processes or harvests timber for the purpose of – (a) producing logs for export; or (b) producing for sale any one or more of the following products: (i) fuel wood; (ii) poles, piles or posts; (iii) timber; (iv) veneer; (v) wood chips; (vi) wood pulp; (vii) tree ferns; tree fern means a plant of the species Dicksonia antarctica; trees means – (a) any woody plants with a height or potential height of 5 metres or more, whether or not living, dead, standing or fallen, that are – (i) native to Tasmania; or (ii) introduced into Tasmania and used for the processing or harvesting of timber; and (b) tree ferns; Tribunal means the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. (2) A reference in this Act to provisions, in relation to a forest practices plan, includes a reference to any condition, restriction, or specification contained or referred to in that plan. 3A. Meaning of "clearance and conversion" (1) In this Act – clearance and conversion, of a threatened native vegetation community, means the deliberate process of removing all or most of the threatened native vegetation community from an area of land and – (a) leaving the area of land, on a permanent or extended basis, in an unvegetated state; or (b) replacing the threatened native vegetation so removed, on a permanent or extended basis, with any, or any combination of, the following: (i) another community of native vegetation; (ii) non-native vegetation; (iii) agricultural works; (iv) residential, commercial or other non-agricultural development; or (c) doing a combination of any of the things referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) . (2) To avoid doubt, a management practice does not constitute the clearance and conversion of a threatened native vegetation community from any land unless the management practice is carried out to deliberately remove, or carried out as part of a process to deliberately remove, all or most of the threatened native vegetation community from the land on a permanent or extended basis. (3) In this section – agricultural works includes, but is not limited to, the following: (a) farm sheds and workshops; (b) farm dams and irrigation facilities; (c) farm storage and processing facilities; (d) farm access roads and easements; (e) farm fencing; management practice means any of the following: (a) applying fertilizer or changing the nature or scale of a fertilizer regime; (b) burning off to reduce wildfire fuel; (c) constructing fire-breaks; (d) mowing, slashing or scything grasses or undergrowth; (e) pruning, trimming or lopping vegetation for work safety purposes or to ensure the health of specific specimens of vegetation or vegetation communities; (f) removing or controlling noxious weeds; (g) grazing of livestock; (h) harvesting of timber or other vegetation products; remove means remove by any direct or indirect means or combination of means, including but not limited to the following: (a) burning; (b) clearfelling; (c) cutting down; (d) drowning; (e) lopping; (f) ploughing; (g) poisoning; (h) ringbarking; (i) thinning; (j) uprooting. 4. Act binds the Crown This Act binds the Crown not only in right of this State but also, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, binds the Crown in all of its other capacities. PART 1A - Forest Practices Authority 4AA. Forest Practices Authority (1) The body established under this section as in force immediately before the commencement of the Forest Practices Amendment (Administrative Reform) Act 2004 continues in existence, after that commencement, under the name "Forest Practices Authority". (2) The Authority – (a) is a body corporate with perpetual succession; and (b) has a seal; and (c) may sue and be sued in its corporate name. 4A. Board of the Authority (1) The Authority has a Board of Directors consisting of – (a) a person with expertise in public administration and in environmental or natural resource management and governance; and (b) a person with applied knowledge and expertise in environmental or natural resource management; and (c) a person with applied knowledge and expertise in sustainable forest management on private land; and (d) a person with applied knowledge and expertise in sustainable forest management on public land; and (e) a person with applied knowledge and expertise in community liaison and local government, from a municipal area in which forestry is a major land use; and (f) a person with expertise in biological science or nature conservation; and (g) the chief forest practices officer. (2) The directors referred to in subsection (1)(a) , (b) , (c) , (d) , (e) and (f) are appointed by the Minister. (3) The Minister is to ensure that one of the directors appointed under subsection (1)(c) and (d) has practical knowledge and experience in forest operations, including the harvesting and reforestation of forests. (4) The director appointed under subsection (1)(a) is also, by virtue of that appointment, chairperson of the Board. (5) The Board may elect a director referred to in subsection (1)(b) , (c) , (d) , (e) or (f) to be deputy chairperson of the Board. (6) Schedule 3 has effect with respect to the directors. (7) Schedule 4 has effect with respect to meetings of the Board. 4AB. Role of Board, &c. (1) The Board is responsible for – (a) the exercise and performance of the powers and functions of the Authority under this Act, consistent with the Authority's objectives; and (b) ensuring that the financial affairs of the Authority are managed and conducted in accordance with sound business practice; and (c) the exercise and performance of such other powers and functions as may be conferred or imposed on the Authority or the Board under this or any other Act. (2) The Board has power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done in connection with the discharge of its responsibilities. (3) Where in this Act the exercise or performance of a power or function of the Authority in relation to any matter is expressed to be dependent on an opinion, belief or state of mind of the Authority, the Authority is taken to have that opinion, belief or state of mind in relation to that matter if the Board has that opinion, belief or state of mind in relation to that matter. 4B. Objective of Authority (1) The Authority is part of the State's forest practices system, the objective of which is set out in Schedule 7 . (2) The Authority is to act in all matters in a manner that – (a) best advances the objective of the State's forest practices system; and (b) fosters a co-operative approach towards policy development and management in forest practices matters; and (c) takes into account social, economic and environmental outcomes of its decision-making processes. 4C. Functions of Authority The Authority has the following functions: (a) to advise the Minister on forest practices policy in respect of both Crown land and private land; (b) to regularly advise and inform the Minister on its work and activities under this Act; (c) to advise the Minister on the operation and review of this Act; (d) to issue and maintain the Forest Practices Code; (da) to issue and maintain codes of conduct; (e) to oversee standards for forest practices plans; (f) to oversee the administration of private timber reserves by Private Forests Tasmania; (fa) to monitor and report to the Minister on harvesting, the clearing of trees and reafforestation activity in relation to the maintenance of a permanent forest estate; (fb) to implement the Policy for Maintaining a Permanent Native Forest Estate, being the policy set out in the Regional Forest Agreement made between the State and the Commonwealth on 8 November 1997, as that Agreement is amended from time to time; (g) to oversee the training of forest practices officers; (h) to make a recommendation on the appointment of the chief forest practices officer and to appoint forest practices officers; (i) to perform such other functions as are imposed on it by or under this or any other Act; (j) to perform any prescribed functions. 4D. Powers of Authority The Authority has the following powers: (a) to enter into contracts; (b) to appoint agents, attorneys and consultants; (c) to act as a consultant or agent; (d) to set charges and conditions relating to the performance and exercise of its functions and powers; (e) to make a recommendation on the appointment of the chief forest practices officer and to appoint forest practices officers; (f) to mediate between parties in respect of three-year plans; (g) to do all other things that it is authorised to do under this or any other Act; (h) to do all things necessary or convenient to be done in connection with the performance and exercise of its functions and powers. 4DA. Matters to which the Authority is to have regard In performing its functions and exercising its powers under this Act, the Authority is to have regard to the obligations of the Forestry corporation under section 16 of the Forest Management Act 2013 whilst not diminishing the ongoing application of the Forest Practices Code. 4E. Annual assessment of forest practices system (1) The Authority must, at least once in each financial year – (a) assess the degree to which the forest practices system is self-funding and self-regulating; and (b) assess the implementation and effectiveness of a representative sample of forest practices plans. (2) The Authority must, as soon as practicable after completing the assessment, prepare a report of its findings. (3) The report prepared under subsection (2) in respect of a financial year is to be included in the annual report of the Authority for the same financial year. 4F. . . . . . . . . 4G. Monitoring and enforcement of Act and Forest Practices Code (1) The Authority is responsible for – (a) monitoring the degree of compliance with this Act and the Forest Practices Code; and (b) where it finds instances of non-compliance, causing appropriate enforcement action to be taken. (2) To discharge its responsibility under subsection (1)(b) , the Authority may do any of the following: (a) through the chief forest practices officer and other persons who it authorizes for the purpose, cause complaints to be made in respect of offences under this Act; (b) for the offences referred to in section 47B , exercise the Authority's powers under that section; (c) have forest practices officers investigate instances of suspected non-compliance, with a view to having the officers exercise their powers under section 41 ; (d) take, or cause to be taken, any other enforcement measures that may be authorized by this or any other Act. 4H. Committees The Authority may establish committees of its members for the purpose of advising it on any matter related to its functions or powers. 4J. Chief forest practices officer (1) The Minister, on the recommendation of the Authority, is to appoint a State Service officer or State Service employee to be chief forest practices officer and that officer or employee holds that office in conjunction with State Service employment. (2) A person appointed as chief forest practices officer must have – (a) extensive expertise in forestry; and (b) extensive experience in forest operations; and (c) knowledge of the sustainable management of forests; and (d) management skills. (3) If a person who is appointed as chief forest practices officer was not a forest practices officer immediately before that appointment, he or she is, by virtue of that appointment and without further authorisation than this subsection, a forest practices officer for the purposes of this Act. (4) The Authority may recommend to the Minister that the appointment of a person as chief forest practices officer should be terminated if the Authority is reasonably of the opinion that the person – (a) is not discharging the duties of that office efficiently or in the best interests of the State; or (b) is, except by reason of temporary illness, unfit to discharge or incapable of discharging the duties of the office. (5) Subsection (4) does not limit or affect a power to terminate the appointment of a person as chief forest practices officer that is contained in any other enactment or in any contract of service relating to that office. 4K. Role of chief forest practices officer The chief forest practices officer – (a) is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administration of forest practices; and (b) must perform any functions, and may exercise any powers, delegated to the chief forest practices officer by the Authority; and (c) must perform any other functions imposed on, and may exercise any other powers granted to, the chief forest practices officer by this or any other Act. 4L. Staff Subject to and in accordance with the State Service Act 2000 , persons may be appointed or employed for the purposes of enabling the Authority to perform its functions or exercise its powers. PART 1B - Finances of Authority 4M. Funds of Authority The funds of the Authority consist of – (a) all money received by it in the course of performing its functions or exercising its powers; and (b) all money received by it as interest on amounts deposited with financial institutions or as profit in respect of investments; and (c) any money appropriated by Parliament for the purposes of the Authority; and (d) any money received by the Authority from any other source. 4N. Authorised deposit-taking institution accounts The Authority may open and maintain such authorised deposit-taking institution accounts as it considers necessary. 4P. Investment Subject to section 16 of the Tasmanian Public Finance Corporation Act 1985 , the Authority may invest any funds held by it and any interest accumulated in respect of those funds in any manner which is consistent with sound commercial practice. 4Q. Reserves The Authority may establish and maintain reserves. 4R. Borrowing from Treasurer (1) The Treasurer may lend to the Authority, out of money provided by Parliament for the purpose, such money as the Treasurer considers appropriate. (2) A loan is subject to conditions determined by the Treasurer. (3) An amount lent under subsection (1) , and any interest or other charge payable in respect of the loan, is a debt repayable by the Authority into the Public Account. 4S. Borrowing from person other than Treasurer (1) The Authority may borrow money from a person or body other than the Treasurer for the purposes of performing its functions and achieving its objectives. (2) The total of all amounts of money borrowed under this section during a financial year must not exceed the maximum amount determined by the Treasurer, in writing, in respect of that financial year. (3) The Authority may use all or part of its assets as security for money borrowed by it under subsection (1) and any interest or charges payable in respect of that borrowing. (4) . . . . . . . . (5) . . . . . . . . (6) . . . . . . . . (7) . . . . . . . . 4T. Effect of Financial Agreement Act 1994 Where the Treasurer, under section 5(1) of the Financial Agreement Act 1994 , requires the Authority to do or refrain from doing anything for the purpose of implementing the Agreement, within the meaning of that Act, the Authority must comply with that requirement. PART 1C - Accounting records, financial statements and reports 4U. Accounting records The Authority must – (a) keep such accounting records as correctly record and explain its transactions, including any transactions as trustee, and financial position; and (b) keep those records in a manner that – (i) allows true and fair accounts of the Authority to be prepared from time to time; and (ii) allows its accounts to be conveniently and properly audited or reviewed; and (iii) complies with Australian Accounting Standards; and (c) retain those records for a period of not less than 7 years after the completion of the transaction to which they relate. 4V. . . . . . . . . 4W. . . . . . . . . 4X. Annual report (1) The Authority must prepare an annual report for each financial year. (2) The annual report is to include the following information and documents: (a) the financial statements of the Authority for the financial year to which the annual report relates; (b) a copy of the opinion of the Auditor-General in respect of the financial statements received under section 19 of the Audit Act 2008 ; (c) a report on the operations and performance of the Authority during that financial year; (d) the report required to be prepared under section 4E ; (e) any information relating to the Authority required by the Minister by written notice to the Authority to be included; (f) any other information that the Authority considers is appropriate or necessary to properly inform the Minister and Parliament as to the performance and progress of the Authority during that financial year. (3) The Authority must provide the annual report to the Minister and the Auditor-General. 4Y. Tabling of annual report (1) The Minister must lay a copy of the annual report before each House of Parliament within 5 months after the end of the financial year to which the annual report relates. (2) Where the Minister is unable to comply with subsection (1) for any reason other than that a House of Parliament is not sitting at the expiration of the period specified in that subsection, he or she must, before the expiration of that period, lay before each House of Parliament a statement specifying the reasons for the failure to comply with that subsection and an estimate of the day by which a copy of the annual report will be ready to be laid before each House of Parliament. (3) Where the Minister is unable to lay a copy of the annual report before a House of Parliament within the period specified in subsection (1) or by the day specified in a statement referred to in subsection (2) because either House of Parliament is not sitting at the expiration of that period or on that day, the Minister must – (a) immediately after the expiration of that period or that day, forward a copy of the annual report to the clerk of that House of Parliament; and (b) within the next 7 sitting days of that House, lay a copy of the annual report before that House. 4Z. State of the forests report (1) The Authority must, not later than 30 November 2002 and not later than 30 November in each fifth year thereafter, give the Minister a written report on the state of Tasmania's public and private forests. (2) The Minister must cause a copy of each report prepared under subsection (1) to be laid on the table of each House of Parliament within 14 sitting days of that House after the report is received by the Minister. (3) The Authority is to prepare a report under subsection (1) in cooperation and consultation with the following bodies: (a) the Forestry corporation; (b) Private Forests Tasmania; (c) the responsible Department in relation to the Nature Conservation Act 2002 ; (d) such other State authorities and Government departments as have statutory responsibilities in relation to forests or forested land. (4) Consultations under subsection (3) are to be conducted with a view to the parties reaching agreement on the information that is to be included in the report and the arrangements for providing the Authority with that information. 4ZA. Forest practices report (1) The Authority must, not later than 30 November 2007 and not later than 30 November in each fifth year thereafter – (a) review the operation of the State's forest practices system, including the provisions and operation of the Forest Practices Code; and (b) give the Minister a written report on the outcome of the review. (2) The Minister must cause a copy of each report prepared under subsection (1) to be laid on the table of each House of Parliament within 14 sitting-days of that House after the report is received by the Minister. PART II - Private timber reserves 4ZB. Interpretation of Part (1) In this Part – minor boundary extension means an extension to the boundary of an existing private timber reserve that would not result in – (a) increasing the area of the private timber reserve by more than – (i) 10% of the existing area; or (ii) 40 hectares; or (b) any part of the new boundary being within 50 metres of a neighbouring property. (2) An extension to the boundary of a private timber reserve that would, but for this subsection, be a minor boundary extension is not a minor boundary extension for the purposes of this Part if an application for a minor boundary extension of that reserve has been approved in the previous 3 years. 5. Application to have land declared as private timber reserve (1) A person who wishes to have any land owned by the person declared as a private timber reserve may make application to the Authority. (2) An application referred to in subsection (1) shall – (a) be in writing in a form approved by the Authority; (b) contain a description of the area of land that the applicant seeks to have declared as a private timber reserve; (c) contain a list of all persons (other than the applicant) who have a legal or equitable interest in the land, or in timber on the land, to which the application relates; and (d) be accompanied by the fee (if any) prescribed in the regulations. (3) An applicant under this section shall, if required by the Authority to do so, provide such further particulars in relation to the application as the Authority requires. (4) An applicant under this section shall, as soon as is practicable after making his or her application, notify all persons referred to in subsection (2) (c) that he or she has made an application referred to in subsection (1) . 6. Notice of application, &c. (1) Where an application for the declaration of land as a private timber reserve has been made in accordance with section 5 , other than for a minor boundary extension, the Authority is to cause a notice containing the prescribed particulars to be published in the daily newspapers published in this State and a copy of the notice to be sent to the local authority exercising jurisdiction over the land and any local authority exercising jurisdiction over any land adjacent to that land. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) , prescribed particulars means – (a) a description of the area of land to which the application relates; (b) a statement advising that objections to the declaration as a private timber reserve of the area of land described in the advertisement may be lodged with the Authority by the date specified in the notice, being a date not earlier than 28 days after the date on which the notice is published in the newspaper; and (c) such other particulars of the application as the Authority considers necessary. (3) Any person may, on payment of the fee prescribed in the regulations, inspect an application made under section 5 at the office of Private Forests Tasmania. 7. Objections to declaration of land as private timber reserve (1) Any prescribed person who wishes to object to the granting of an application for the declaration of any land as a private timbe