Forest Products Industry

A recent national heavy vehicle fatigue operation has uncovered a concerning rise in false and misleading records, as the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) warns drivers and operators there is no room for complacency when it comes to managing fatigue. Source: Timberbiz More than 6,100 heavy vehicles were intercepted during Operation Ambit II with more than 1 in 10 heavy vehicles found to be non-compliant overall. The fatigue non-compliance rate rose from 4.7% to 5.3%, compared with the previous national operation (held in November 2025). Of the close to 150 fatigue-related offences, nearly half were deemed critical breaches, with the number of false and misleading offences increasing by more than 42%. NHVR Chief Operations Officer Paul Salvati said there was no excuse for this troubling increase, particularly given fatigue remained a critical safety risk for the heavy vehicle industry. “Fatigue-related offences have increased in both number and severity over the past three years, while driver fatigue continues to be one of the three primary contributors to heavy vehicle fatal crashes,” Mr Salvati said. “What is particularly concerning is the increase in false and misleading records. The NHVR and our Safety and Compliance Officers spend significant efforts in educating industry about fatigue rules and deliberately breaking these rules can be the difference between someone getting home safely or not. “It is crucial drivers and operators are ensuring they meet their work and rest requirements. Failing to do this could not only puts themselves in harm’s way, but other drivers and road users as well.” Administrative fatigue offences, like not carrying a work diary or not recording start times, were also on the rise, with breaches up more than 10%. “These types of offences are often precursors to more serious offences and can ultimately lead to a driver working more than the prescribed hours,” Mr Salvati said. “Failing to adhere to these regulations can set off a chain of non-compliant offences which could ultimately lead to a crash or even fatality.” The NHVR worked closely with police agencies in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania to conduct the national fatigue operations. Mr Salvati said although police intercept activities varied across jurisdictions, this collaboration demonstrated the strength of existing partnerships and the value of combining capabilities to deliver effective heavy vehicle compliance outcomes. If a heavy vehicle driver is concerned about their safety or feels pressured to drive, they are encouraged to contact the NHVR’s anonymous Heavy Vehicle Confidential Reporting Line on 1800 931 785.

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More than 280 modular homes have now been delivered under the Tasmanian Government’s ModHomes Program. Source: Timberbiz The ModHomes Program is a Tasmanian Government initiative managed by Homes Tasmania to fast-track social and affordable housing using pre-fabricated modular construction. Housing and Planning Minister Kerry Vincent said the State Government was continuing to expand modular housing construction to deliver more high-quality homes for Tasmanians. “Modular construction is an important part of increasing housing supply and getting people into safe, secure and affordable homes sooner,” Mr Vincent said. “The team at Podmatrix is working hard to deliver more homes for Tasmanians under the ModHomes Program. “Seeing the factory in action is a great example of how we can think differently about housing delivery – and, importantly, how we can get more homes on the ground faster. “Every home completed is another place to call home for Tasmanians,” Mr Vincent said. “Our government has already delivered more than 280 modular homes across the State, with a further 271 units our construction pipeline.” The modular homes being built by Podmatrix will soon be delivered to the State’s North West, where the State Government is delivering 13 units in Romaine. Two of the units have already been installed, with the rest to be installed in coming weeks. “Increasing our housing supply is a key part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future. The ModHomes Program is helping deliver that,” Mr Vincent said. Building homes in a factory provides significant advantages, including reduced weather-related delays and greater efficiency, and it also helps us manage costs by reducing wasted time and materials and making more efficient use of labour and resources. This approach also supports jobs, skills and training opportunities for Tasmanians, helping grow the skilled construction workforce needed to meet future housing demand. “This shows what is possible when government, industry and skilled workers work together to build more homes, faster, without compromising on quality,” Mr Vincent said.

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Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) panels comprise multi-layered, orthogonally glued-laminated structural timber boards (lamellas) and are used as structural building components in applications including floors, roofs, stairs, soffits, balconies, and internal and external walls. Source: Timberbiz As the use of CLT continues to expand in Australian construction, industry requires nationally consistent design methods that provide confidence for engineers, certifiers, regulators and building practitioners. This draft FWPA Standard, D02 Cross Laminated Timber Design Methods, has been developed by Forest & Wood Products Australia (FWPA) to provide a dedicated framework for the structural design of CLT elements. The Standard has undergone independent technical review and provides comprehensive design methods for structural CLT components, subject to the requirements and limitations described in the Scope. Developed through collaboration with industry, researchers and technical experts, the Standard is intended to support consistent engineering practice and will form the basis of a proposal to incorporate CLT design provisions into a future revision of AS 1720.1 Timber Structures. Industry Benefits of FWPA Standard D02 Provides recognised design methods for structural CLT elements. Promotes consistency across engineering, manufacturing and certification practices. Supports the growing use of CLT and mass timber construction in Australia. Consolidates CLT-specific design guidance into a dedicated technical document. Provides an independently reviewed basis for CLT structural design. Establishes a pathway for the future incorporation of CLT design provisions into AS 1720.1 Timber Structures. The public comment period for this Standard is open for a six-week period from 18 August 2026 to 29 September, allowing industry stakeholders and potential users to review the draft Standard and provide feedback. Comments can be provided via the FWPA public comments online form or downloading the excel spreadsheet when providing more detailed comments. Save the completed excel spreadsheet to your computer and email to: jacqui.bates@fwpa.com.au The online form and spreadsheet are available at https://fwpa.com.au/standards-activities/draft-standard-cross-laminated-timber-design-methods-d02/  

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Plans to fund a massive koala sanctuary in northern NSW with a new type of carbon credit is threatening to split the federal Greens, who were unable to agree on a position this week on whether to back a Nationals-led motion to derail the scheme. Source: The Financial Review The Minns government last month announced its new Great Koala National Park would be funded with carbon credits, which are tradeable instruments generated by nature projects that can be used to offset emissions elsewhere in the economy. Supporters of the credits, including former Treasury secretary Ken Henry, argued they created an economic incentive to keep trees in the ground and permanently end the logging of native forests in the state. But the move was opposed by both the logging industry and a huge swathe of environmental groups, who said the credits lacked integrity and should not be used to offset the burning of fossil fuels in other industries. A federal Nationals plan for a Senate vote to block the new rules was delayed on Tuesday after the Greens indicated they needed more time to reach a final position. The vote will instead take place on September 15 but cannot be delayed again. Henry, who chairs the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation, said it was “inconceivable” that the Greens would consider backing a Nationals motion brought on behalf of the logging industry. “The loggers must be beside themselves with amazement that there is even a small chance that the Greens vote this regulation down and give the industry its biggest fillip in a decade,” he said. “I do understand that the Greens find themselves in a bind. They have been the most steadfast of supporters of forest protection for years and their unhappiness with the rate of emissions reduction is well documented. “However, surely it is inconceivable that the Greens could side with the Nationals and One Nation to keep native forest logging going whilst torpedoing the most rigorous and high-integrity carbon proposal that has ever been placed before the Australian parliament?” A Minns government stipulation that the credits would be off limits to coal and gas companies put extra pressure on the Greens, who historically criticised the use of offsets to cancel out emissions from fossil fuel projects. Former NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service head Atticus Fleming, who helped design the new anti-logging measure, told The Australian Financial Review in July the credits would probably raise more than $1 billion for the state government. Greens, crossbench and Coalition senators were aggressively lobbied this week over the Nationals “disallowance” motion. Both renegade Liberal senator Andrew McLachlan and independent David Pocock intend to vote in favour of the new koala park credits. A spokesman for Greens leader Larissa Waters said the party was still discussing the issue with climate and environmental groups. “The Greens want to make sure that forests and the climate are both protected. We’ll take this motion through our usual process.” Australia’s oldest and most influential green lobby group, the Australian Conservation Foundation, led by former Greens leader Adam Bandt, has been unable to declare a position on the motion amid internal disagreement between its members. However, ACF is a signatory to a set of “Forest Protection Principles” agreed in August which include “an end to carbon and biodiversity offsets generated from public native forests”. Pocock said his support of the scheme was separate from his objection to the uncapped use of carbon credits in Labor’s safeguard mechanism, which regulates the emissions of Australia’s biggest industrial companies, including coal and gas. “Offsets shouldn’t license coal and gas facilities to keep polluting and mustn’t be used by heavy industry as an excuse not to decarbonise,” he said. “But disallowing the [carbon credits method] won’t fix issues with the safeguard mechanism and would come at the cost of forest protection. The Nationals and the native forest logging industry oppose the method because it would replace an unprofitable small industry with income to protect our incredible native forests.” The federal government launched a review of the safeguard this, which will consider capping the unlimited use of carbon credits to encourage big coal, gas and manufacturing companies to find more emissions cuts on site. Lobbying to block the koala park credits was led by left-wing think tank The Australia Institute. Chief executive Richard Denniss said the issue was a litmus test for the safeguard mechanism. “It would be inconceivable that the Greens would support the creation of even dodgier offsets. It’s really surprising that it’s even a conversation,” he said. Nationals senator Ross Cadell said the forest credits would do nothing for emissions reduction and were effectively a type of subsidy. “The Greens are at a crossroads – do they want rigour and accountability in the carbon credit market or convenience and political deals to lower the value?” he said.

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Influential forestry investment leader Dr David Brand will headline an Investor Symposium hosted by The Precinct in Melbourne this October as investors explore an initial $200 million-plus opportunity to establish large-scale engineered wood product manufacturing in Victoria’s Green Triangle. Source: Timberbiz Dr Brand, founder of global forestry investment manager New Forests, will deliver a keynote address on 14 October 2026, drawing on more than four decades of experience across forestry investment, forest management and natural capital. Russ Hughes, chair of The Precinct and former CEO of Australian Bluegum Plantations, will host the invite-only event as investors assess the commercial pathway, market opportunity and investment case for the world scale Precinct development, proposed for Portland in south-west Victoria. The event marks a return to the investment origins of Dr Brand’s work in Australia. He founded New Forests in 2005 with a single forestry asset in the Green Triangle with the goal of bringing institutional capital into the plantation sector. The business has since grown into a global operation with $10.6 billion in assets under management with a portfolio covering plantations, timber processing, agriculture, conservation, carbon and natural capital. From the outset, Dr Brand recognised that the value of a forest extended well beyond the sale of wood fibre. His work helped advance a more sophisticated view of forestry as an asset class, capable of delivering additional value through carbon, biodiversity, conservation and broader landscape outcomes. Just as carbon created a new way to value plantations, Dr Brand will explore the next evolution of the sector, transforming established plantation resources, traditionally exported as raw fibre, to be the feedstock for higher-value, domestically produced engineered wood products and prefabricated construction systems – markets experiencing strong domestic demand and constrained supply. The symposium follows the completion of the Hardwood Timber Manufacturing Hub feasibility study, which confirmed the technical and commercial pathway for the initial stage of The Precinct development. The proposed initial stage, earmarked close to port and transport infrastructure, represents more than $200 million in investment and would establish a large-scale Glue-Laminated Timber (GLT) manufacturing facility, supported by a state-of-the-art sawmill and major log merchandising facility. It will use locally grown plantation hardwood, creating an estimated 74 permanent jobs and anchoring future stages of engineered wood product manufacturing, including Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) and prefabricated building component manufacturing. The market opportunity is significant, with Australia importing close to $1 billion of engineered wood products and wood panels each year, including significant volumes of LVL, GLT and plywood used extensively in housing construction. The Precinct Chair Russ Hughes said the symposium came at pivotal moment for investors and the region’s forestry sector. “Victoria has an established plantation resource, but too much of its poten(al value leaves the region before it is converted into higher-value products,” Mr Hughes said. “The opportunity is to connect the resource we already grow with engineered wood manufacturing and prefabrication capability, so more of the economic value, skilled employment and industrial capability is retained in Australia, helping to meet our growing housing needs. “Dr Brand has been at the forefront of forestry investment for decades. His experience, including the early New Forests investment in the Green Triangle, gives him a particularly relevant perspective on the opportunity now emerging for this globally recognised region.” Under the theme “From Plantation to Product to Prefabrication”, the invitation-only symposium will bring together institutional investors, industry leaders, government representatives and project partners to consider the investment case, market opportunity and pathway to delivery. The Precinct is supported by major industry contributions and the Commonwealth Government’s Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) and the Victorian State Government. To learn more about the development visit www.theprecinctportland.com.au

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Two research projects worth $1.43 million are building the first commercial case for native hardwood forestry at the scale between small farm woodlots and large industrial plantations. Source: Timberbiz The AFWI Centre for Climate-Smart Forestry at the University of Melbourne leads both, using existing commercial plantations in Gippsland, Victoria, as case studies. Australian Forest and Wood Innovations is investing $333,251 in the first project and $380,880 in the second, across total values of $669,635 and $762,578, with Radial Timbers and Heartwood Unlimited co-investing and supplying the working sites. The economics, ecology and social licence of medium-sized native hardwood plantations, which sit between small farm forests and large industrial estates, are not well understood. The projects measure the financial performance of current plantation management and local wood product manufacturing, quantify the natural capital the estates hold, and apply life-cycle analysis to the carbon footprint of production and processing. Victoria ended harvesting in its public native forests on 1 January 2024, and both case studies are built on plantation estates already trading in the region. The findings will inform investment decisions about medium-scale native hardwood forestry and processing infrastructure in comparable regions nationally. Jon Lambert, Managing Director of Heartwood Unlimited, said the work opened a new avenue for medium-scale private forestry. “We are delighted to be partnering in a project that is investigating a new avenue for medium-scale private forestry in Australia. This project has the potential to open many new doors via a platform of solid new data, being collected and analysed by a great team of researchers,” Lambert said in the AFWI Highlights Report 2024-2026, released in Canberra on Tuesday. Radial Timbers already runs the model the researchers will document. The company saws durable Victorian hardwoods at its mill at Yarram in South Gippsland using a radial cut that takes each log apart in wedges, cutting waste and handling the smaller diameter logs that plantations yield, and its integrated operation covers growing, milling, engineered wood manufacture and residue use. “Radial Timbers Australia is very excited to be partnering with this AFWI project as it will provide valuable, documented information on key pillars of our circular economy model which we have put into commercial practice,” Chris McEvoy, Managing Director of Radial Timbers, said. The Gippsland work sits inside a wider AFWI portfolio of 39 active projects worth more than $67.6 million at 30 June 2026, supported by a $101.5 million Commonwealth investment and hosted by the University of Tasmania. Both Gippsland projects run to February 2027.

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