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Applications for the first ballot to register exotic forestry on marginal land in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) opens today. Source: Timberbiz The ballot is part of updated ETS forestry rules that took effect on 31 October last year. John Saunders, Director Forestry Operations at Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Services, says the changes establish a permit allocation system and clarify where exotic forestry can register in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). From Friday 19 June to Wednesday 22 July, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will run the first of two annual ballots to allocate permits covering up to 15,000 hectares of Land Use Capability (LUC) Class 6 land each year. This non-arable land is generally less suitable for productive uses than LUC Classes 1–5. Each ballot allocates 7,500 hectares, with 2,000 hectares reserved for small applications of up to 100 hectares. Successful permits enable registration of post-1989 forests on LUC Class 6 land in the ETS. Under 2025 reforms, landowners may also plant and register up to 25% of their LUC Class 1 – 6 land in exotic forestry within the ETS. Land entered via ballot permits sits outside this allowance. “The updated legislation establishes a structured allocation process and provides clearer eligibility criteria,” Mr Saunders says. “Permits are allocated through a ballot system based on a random draw, and a reserved category for smaller applications aims to enable participation across a range of project sizes.

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Australia’s most significant overhaul of national environmental law in a generation is about to reshape federal oversight of forest management, and many of the operators it will affect are still working out what it means for them. Source: Timberbiz To help unpack that uncertainty, Forestry Australia and the Australian Forest and Wood Innovations Centre for Climate-Smart Forestry (AFWI CCSF), are co-hosting a free webinar on Monday 22 June, drawing together legal, certification and carbon expertise to map the compliance landscape taking shape under the reformed Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Co-hosted with the Australian Forest and Wood Innovations Centre for Climate-Smart Forestry (AFWI CCSF), the one-hour session, Understanding Australia’s EPBC Act Changes: Implications for Forest Managers, runs from 1:00pm AEST. Forestry Australia CEO Jacquie Martin said the reforms would reshape obligations across the sector. “These reforms have significant implications for forest management, not just for native forest managers but also for private forest owners and plantation operators who are already navigating complex regulatory and certification environments,” Ms Martin said. The reforms reach well beyond the public native forest estate. Private forest owners and plantation operators will also face new obligations, and the webinar is pitched squarely at the practitioners who will have to apply them day to day. It works through the incoming requirements that forest operations must navigate and demonstrate. Much of the substance of the reforms is still taking shape. New national standards, which all operations will need to meet, remain in draft, and the reforms have triggered a structural shift for areas currently covered by Regional Forest Agreements in how harvesting operations are assessed and approved. The session canvases the questions still hanging over the sector, from the role of third-party certification to how new definitions and requirements might affect operations in practice. The panel has been chosen to speak to both the policy intent and the operational reality. Leading the session is Associate Professor Philippa McCormack, Policy, Economics and Society Theme Lead at AFWI CCSF and a research fellow at the Adelaide Law School. A vice president of the National Environmental Law Association from 2021 to 2024, she brings the regulatory and legislative view of where the reforms are heading. She is joined by two practitioners who deal with compliance on the ground. David Bennett, risk and compliance manager at PF Olsen and a forester with legal qualifications, oversees the company’s Australian risk and compliance systems, with expertise spanning sustainable forest certification, auditing and heavy vehicle regulation. Tom Schraenkler, carbon and forestry manager at Sumitomo Forestry, rounds out the panel, anchoring the discussion in operational realities facing private growers. The session carries 1.00 RFP CPD point for Registered Forestry Professionals and is free to members and non-members alike. Registering is essential to receive the joining link, and a recording will be circulated to those who cannot attend live. Participants will also be invited to contribute to a follow-up survey and workshop shaping the sector’s engagement with the reform process. Registrations close at 10:00am on Sunday 21 June, ahead of the session running from 1:00pm AEST on Monday 22 June. Go to https://www.forestry.org.au/webinar-understanding-australias-epbc-act-changes-implications-for-forest-managers/ to register for the Webinar.

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Forest & Wood Products Australia is evolving its strategic focus in response to member feedback, with an increased emphasis on broader stakeholder and community engagement. Source: Timberbiz FWPA says the shift is designed to strengthen understanding of the forest and wood products industry’s role and value across the communities in which our members operate. To support the new direction, FWPA will create a new Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager role. FWPA says the position reflects an evolution of its engagement approach, aligning resources to deliver more integrated outreach across education, community engagement and stakeholder relations, while building greater awareness, understanding and support for the industry. As part of this transition, Beth Welden’s ForestLearning Program Manager position has been made redundant as FWPA moves to a broader, organisation-wide engagement model. Beth will finish with FWPA at the end of June, after nearly nine years leading the ForestLearning program. “We thank Beth for her dedication to forest and wood product education and her significant contribution to ForestLearning,” FWPA said in a statement. “Through her work, Beth has helped strengthen educational engagement with Australia’s forest and wood products sector and establish ForestLearning as a valued national resource for teachers, students and FWPA members, including through nationally award-winning education initiatives.” ForestLearning will continue as FWPA’s dedicated forest education brand and will be supported as an important component of the organisation’s engagement activities. FWPA says it remains committed to working closely with members, educators, communities and stakeholders to ensure its programs continue to deliver value and strengthen confidence in Australia’s forest and wood products industry.

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Two of New Zealand’s leading forestry businesses are celebrating the completion of their successful merger with the launch of a new name and brand identity to support ambitious growth plans. Source: Timberbiz PF Olsen and Forest360 announced their merger late last year, backed by new investment from Adamantem Capital’s Environmental Opportunities Fund, and the support of PF Olsen cornerstone investor Quayside Holdings. Uniting under the Stand brand marks a new chapter for the business which combines 75 years’ experience, a workforce of more than 200 skilled professionals and 480,000ha of forestry under management on both sides of the Tasman. Stand Forestry Group CEO Dan Gaddum says the new name proudly reflects the business’ practice and principles. “While a stand is a unit of trees it also speaks of taking a position, standing for something. It reflects our commitment to managing each stand with care, skill, knowledge and discipline and encapsulates our commitment to forestry with purpose – growing natural capital for good,” he said. “The new name also symbolises how we’re bringing together the people capabilities and cultures of PF Olsen and Forest360 under a shared identity and common purpose. “By merging two leading New Zealand forestry businesses, Stand is now stronger than its parts. We’ve not only strengthened our core forest and harvest management expertise; we’re also well positioned to accelerate growth.” As an example, Stand sees opportunities to grow its carbon consulting business on both sides of the Tasman. It recently launched a new carbon joint venture model in New Zealand making it easier for farmers and landowners to partner with specialist Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) expertise for mutual benefit. “Stand’s ambition is to lead the sector in navigating emerging opportunities, be at the forefront of new technology and smart thinking and deliver responsible outcomes to secure financial and environmental resilience for generations to come,” Mr Gaddum said. “Standing together as one united team is an important part of that. Clients and industry participants can now expect to see the Stand brand roll out across all of our communications.”

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Timber buildings have long defined Brisbane. From the classic Queenslander home to the bones of the Teneriffe woolstores, wood has been at the heart of the city’s-built environment for over a century. With the eyes of the world turning to Brisbane for the 2032 Games, we have an opportunity to combine this heritage with cutting-edge construction technology to demonstrate mass timber construction to a global audience. Timber is a renewable resource, it stores carbon rather than releasing it, and when a timber building is designed and built properly, can be disassembled and reused for future projects. It is one of the few ways the built environment can actively reduce emissions. But the window to influence the design and procurement for Games construction is closing. The barriers to building infrastructure projects out of timber are no longer technical, they are commercial and procedural. Instead, the holdup is now in ensuring decision makers have the confidence across five key areas: program and delivery certainty, cost escalation and commercial risk, supply capacity and sequencing, procurement integrity and compliance, and risk allocation across design, manufacture and construction. These are problems the industry can solve but require a different approach than showcasing designs. The Australian Research Council Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment (ARC Advance Timber Hub) researchers are creating new and innovative ways of utilising timber to increase modularity, to be designed for better disassembly, as well as improving procurement frameworks and supply chains. The proof that timber works for major buildings already exists locally and globally. In Australia, the new Sydney Fish Market, University of the Sunshine Coast’s Moreton Bay Campus, and Boola Katitjin at Murdoch University (the southern hemisphere’s largest timber building) have been leading the way. On a smaller scale, projects like QFES North Coast Regional Headquarters – Maryborough Fire & Rescue Station and Inala Infill Apartments show modern timber construction is taking place in government infrastructure and social housing across South East Queensland. Globally, the Paris Games proved that timber was a viable product for Olympic infrastructure. The Paris Olympic Aquatics Centre is a timber-led hybrid structure that successfully hosted major sporting events in a high-humidity environment. We have already convinced designers. It is the decision makers, who tend to navigate back to the materials they are used to, that we still need to convince. We are moving from a period of education and advocacy to enabling decision making. Changing the conversation from ‘can timber do this?’ to ‘this is how you manage a timber build.’ To help change this conversation, The University of Queensland is hosting the Queensland Timber Trajectory forum in June. It will feature presentations and discussions from architects, engineers, designers and suppliers that answer the questions clients ask – why timber, and how to resolve any cost and procurement challenges. Brisbane has been building with timber for over a century. In 2032, it has the chance to show the world what that looks like at its best. We have the technology; we just need to make the decision. The Queensland Timber Trajectory forum will take place at the University of Queensland on 30 June 30 12:00pm – 5:00pm at the GHD Auditorium, University of Queensland, St Lucia. This article was originally written as a Thought Leadership piece for the Property Council Australia by Dr Paul Matthew, The University of Queensland, School of Architecture, Design and Planning.

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