Indicator 6.2a: Investment and expenditure in forest management

• Australia’s state and territory governments undertake many activities that, together, constitute forest management
  • A range of state government data on forest management investment and expenditure are presented, but there is limited potential to present the data in a consistent and meaningful way due to significant differences in the classification of activities, in accounting arrangements, in reporting timelines, and in reporting for different tenures.
  • It is therefore also not possible to estimate national public sector expenditure on forest management.
• Data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics are presented for capital formation, depreciation and inventories in the three sub-sectors of forestry and logging, wood product manufacturing, and pulp, paper and converted paper product manufacturing for the period 2016–17 to 2023–24.

Australia’s state and territory governments undertake many activities that, together, constitute forest management. These include management of weeds and pest animals; forest fire management; soil and water management; forest monitoring; forest health surveillance; forest resource inventories; biological surveys; roads and bridges; provision of recreational opportunities; and silvicultural, harvest and post-harvest and wildlife management practices.

However, state and territory agencies vary in the way they classify activities that constitute forest management, in the detail they provide on expenditure, and in the methods used for accounting for the valuation and depreciation of assets. These differences limit the comparability of investments in forest management between jurisdictions. Accordingly, the data presented below for various agencies vary widely, depending on the nature of the information available, and are generally not directly comparable between jurisdictions.

The general lack of consistent data on expenditure on forest management, and the absence of data for some land tenures (such as many nature conservation reserves), make it difficult to determine the nature of changes in forest management expenditure over the reporting period.

New South Wales

The Forestry Corporation of New South Wales is a state-owned corporation that manages approximately 1.8 million hectares of multiple-use native forests and 34,000 hectares of hardwood plantations, and 230,000 hectares of softwood plantations (FCNSW 2024). It undertakes a range of activities aimed at developing, maintaining, and obtaining goods and services from state forests. These activities include:

• wood harvest supervision and assessment of environmental compliance
• management of weeds and animal pests
• fire management, including hazard reduction burning and bushfire fighting and prevention
• provision of recreational opportunities.

Table 6.2a-1 shows the expenditure in New South Wales across public native forests generally and multiple-use public native forests specifically by the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales, in the period 2016−17 to 2020−21, as well as expenditure on commercial plantation establishment and re-establishment on multiple-use public forests. Across this period reported expenditure on forest management activities in native forests on public land increased by 25% in nominal terms to $287.8 million. There was a sharp increase in fire suppression expenditure in 2019−20 due to the black summer bushfires. Expenditure on forest management activities within multiple-use forests remained steady across the period for all expenditure categories. For commercial plantations, the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales reported a total expenditure of $137.5 million over 2016−17 to 2020−21 supporting establishment and re-establishment activities across their estate.

Expenditure in New South Wales multiple-use public native forests by the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales includes Community Service Obligations which are non-commercial activities performed by Forestry Corporation of New South Wales. These activities are partially funded by an annual Community Service Obligation grant received from the New South Wales Government, which totalled $16.9 million in 2020-21. Primary services funded under the Community Service Obligation include:

• road maintenance for community use
• community firefighting and prevention
• non-commercial forest management
• provision of recreation and tourism facilities
• education and advisory services
• government relations and non-commercial community engagement (FCNSW, 2021).

This commitment to Community Service Obligations by public forest managers acknowledges the wider value public forests provide to society when managed for multiple uses.

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 6.2a-1.

Queensland

The Department of Primary Industries is responsible for managing Queensland’s land, water and vegetation resources, including forest resources. Forest Products is a business unit of the Department of Primary Industries and under the provisions of the Forestry Act 1959 (Qld) is responsible for activities related to the supply of native forest timber and other forest products from public land including state forests, timber reserves, and other state lands.

Table 6.2a-2 shows expenditure in Queensland native forest management on public land as reported by the Department of Primary Industries and related only to commercial production, in the period 2016–17 to 2020–21. Across this period, reported expenditure for native forest on public land, which is entirely attributed to commercial production, increased by 13% to $19.5 million.

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 6.2a-2.

South Australia

ForestrySA is responsible for managing commercial plantations on public land in South Australia’s Mount Lofty Ranges. ForestrySA also manages native forest reserves for conservation and recreation purposes in the Mount Lofty Ranges and the Green Triangle Forest area in South Australia’s Limestone Coast.

Table 6.2a-3 shows expenditure on native forest management on public land and expenditure on plantations by ForestrySA, for the period 2016–17 to 2020–21. Across this period expenditure on commercial production in plantations declined by 39% to $11.4 million. The reduction was largely part due to ForestrySA discontinuing direct log export activities in 2018-19, which translated into lower logistics costs. Data are available for infrastructure construction and maintenance, as well as fire management. Expenditure remained relatively consistent in both these areas throughout the period.  

ForestrySA is also responsible for non-commercial activities, known as Community Service Obligations, including  managing native forests, providing community fire protection, providing for community use of forests managed by ForestrySA and conducting forest industry development (primarily research). ForestySA’s Community Service Obligations are funded via a purchasing arrangement with the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development and the South Australia Treasurer. The South Australia Government provided a total of $4.2 million in 2020-21 to ForestrySA to perform Community Service Obligations on behalf of the government (ForestrySA, 2021).

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 6.2a-3.

Tasmania

Sustainable Timber Tasmania is a government business enterprise responsible for the management of 821,000 hectares of land including native forests and plantations, recreation and tourism facilities, roads, and other infrastructure. Most of the land managed by Sustainable Timber Tasmania is public production forest classified as ‘Permanent Timber Production Zone’ land, covering 812,000 hectares. Expenditure by Sustainable Timber Tasmania on forestry operations in 2023–24 was $141.6 million with expenditure of $7.0 million on firefighting and fire prevention (STT 2024). Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s wood production activities are not funded by the Tasmanian Government.

Sustainable Timber Tasmania receives funding from the Tasmanian Government for the performance of Community Service Obligations in Tasmania’s public forests. This funding totalled $12.1 million in 2023-24, consisting of $8 million specifically for Community Service Obligations, plus $4.1 million for fire preparedness, prevention, and recovery. Community Service Obligations are non-commercial activities performed by Sustainable Timber Tasmania, including:

• managing Permanent Timber Production Zone land so it continued to be accessible and available for multiple uses other than wood production, including mitigating and extinguishing bushfires, road and bridge maintenance, and enabling access for recreational and commercial uses
• contributing to statewide fuel reduction burning and fire management
• providing assistance with state fire management in the prevention, preparation and detection of bushfires, and supervising and conducting bushfire suppression on non-production forest and adjoining lands (STT 2024).

Victoria

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action is responsible for managing Victoria’s native forests designated as state forests. Management of national parks and conservation reserves is primarily undertaken by Parks Victoria, which collaborates with the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action in managing public lands.

VicForests was the separate, government-owned business responsible for the harvest and commercial sale of wood from Victoria’s state forests and the regeneration of harvested forests for the reporting period. Commercial native forest harvesting in Victoria’s state forests ended on 1 January 2024.

Table 6.2a-4 indicates the expenditure on native forest management by VicForests, related only to commercial production for the period 2016–17 to 2020–21. 

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 6.2a-4.

Western Australia

The Forest Products Commission is the statutory authority responsible for the sustainable management and development of Western Australia’s forest products industry using native forest, plantation and sandalwood products on land owned or leased by the state. Total expenditure on forest management reported by the Forest Products Commission in annual reports was $90.1 million in 2020–21 and 2024–25, with lower expenditure reported for the years between 2020–21 and 2024–25 (Table 6.2a-5).

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 6.2a-5.

Plantation forestry is the second largest production land use in the Northern Territory after beef grazing, with about 44,000 hectares of African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) and black wattle (Acacia mangium) plantations grown and managed by private enterprises in 2020–21.

The African mahogany plantation is privately managed by African Mahogany Australia and occurs in the Douglas Daly region. It is the largest African mahogany plantation in the world, at about 14,000 hectares in 2020–21. The plantation is expected to produce high-value sawn timber for flooring, fine furniture or veneers after a predicted growing period of 17 to 22 years. Management expenditure from 2016–17 to 2020–21 is as shown in Table 6.2a-6.

The black wattle plantations grown on the Tiwi islands to produce export woodchips for pulp, and totalling about 30,000 hectares, is owned by Tiwi Plantations Corporation and managed by Plantation Management Partners on behalf of Midway Limited. Management expenditure from 2018–19 to 2020–21 is as shown in Table 6.2a-7.

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 6.2a-6.

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 6.2a-7.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported investment in three subsectors of the Australian forest and wood products sector: forestry and logging; wood product manufacturing; and pulp, paper and converted paper product manufacturing. Four parameters measuring investment and expenditure in various sectors of the economy are reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. These data are based on random sampling of the industry, so are subject to both sampling and non-sampling errors. Changes in accounting methods adopted by industry, including approaches to asset valuation and depreciation, may also affect the accuracy of values reported. The four parameters are: 

• Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) – the total value of fixed-asset acquisitions (such as the establishment of new plantations, purchase of machinery, acquisition of goodwill and intellectual property rights) less any fixed-asset disposals
• Depreciation and amortisation – allocation of the cost of an asset over its service life (Fraser and Ormiston 2010) and considered as expenses. The depreciation and amortisation category does not include asset impairment or revaluation in regard to standing timber
• Capital formation net of depreciation and amortisation – GFCF less depreciation and amortisation. Reflects net formation of new productive capacity
• Inventories – intermediate goods (such as raw materials, fuels, containers), and goods held for sale or distribution. Reasons for accumulating inventory can range from anticipatory investment to over-investment. Reasons for reducing inventory can range from increased sales to impairments in the value of inventory holdings.

Table 6.2a-8 presents data for investment and expenditure in the forestry and logging, wood product manufacturing, and pulp, paper and converted paper product manufacturing subsectors for the period 2016–17 to 2023–24. Across this period there was total negative net capital formation exceeding $0.5 billion, driven by the forestry and logging subsector, and the pulp, paper and converted paper product manufacturing subsector.

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 6.2a-8.

ABARES (2025). Australian plantation statistics 2023-24 update. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra, June. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25814/4xha-9v87.

ABS (2025). Australian Industry. Cat. no. 8155.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.

Department of State Growth (2025). Future Potential Production Forest webpage. Department of State Growth, Tasmanian Government, accessed 26 September 2025.

FCNSW (2021). Forestry Corporation of New South Wales Annual Report 2020-21. Forestry Corporation of New South Wales, Sydney.

FCNSW (2024). Forestry Corporation of New South Wales Annual Report 2023-24. Forestry Corporation of New South Wales, Sydney.

ForestrySA (2021). ForestrySA Annual Report 2020-21. ForestrySA, Meadows.

FPC (2025). Forest Products Commission Annual Report 2024-25, Forest Products Commission, Perth.

STT (2024). Sustainable Timber Tasmania Annual Report 2023-24, Sustainable Timber Tasmania, Hobart.

VicForests (2023). Annual Report VicForests 2022-23, VicForests, Melbourne.