7 July 2022
On 18 August 2017, the Tasmanian RFA was varied to include improvements and a rolling 20-year extension by the Parties. In accordance with the requirements of the varied RFA clause 9A, the Parties hold an annual meeting to monitor the implementation of the Tasmanian RFA and to discuss any matters or issues that have arisen since the last meeting.
The 2022 Tasmanian RFA Annual Meeting of Officials took place in Canberra and via videoconference on 7 July 2022. The meeting was attended by officials from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF); the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW); and Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas).
Officials discussed updates and progress on a range of matters relating to Tasmania’s Forest Management System that had occurred since the last annual meeting. This included an update on:
- Tasmania’s Forest Management System: An Overview (2021) that was published on the Tasmanian Department of State Growth website in January 2021.
- Changes to the comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR) reserve system, and processes underway to reserve both Future Potential Production Forest land and Permanent Timber Production Zone land within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
- Related reviews including progress on the State of the Forests Report Tasmania 2022, the Sustainable Yield Review and the review of the Permanent Native Forest Estate Policy.
- Tasmania’s protection of Aboriginal heritage values including managing Aboriginal cultural heritage when preparing forest practices plans, and Forest Practice Authority’s (FPA) Earth Sciences and Cultural Heritage Program.
Officials discussed research projects currently underway through the FPA in Tasmania, and in conjunction with universities and the National Institute for Forest Products Innovation in Launceston. Tasmania’s research priorities will be featured in the upcoming five-yearly review of the Tasmanian RFA (2017-2022).
Tasmanian officials provided an overview of the FPA’s proactive monitoring and assessments of compliance, including key statistics featured in annual reports that help inform key compliance trends that enhance monitoring efficiencies. Tasmanian officials also noted its new approach to the annual compliance program piloted in 2020-21 led to improvements in the spread of monitoring activities and ability to better target and capture high-risk activities.
Officials detailed progress made in the preparation and implementation of Statutory Conservation Planning documents for Listed Species and Communities and agreed to consider opportunities to improve the alignment of State and Commonwealth processes for the preparation of these documents.
Officials discussed the process that will be used to support the five‑yearly review (2017-2022) as required by clauses 9B – 9J of the Tasmanian RFA, with preparations underway. As part of this item, officials discussed, governance structures, timelines and key milestones, and risk management mitigation. Officials agreed to endorse the Scoping Agreement that would govern the process for the review. The next step is for the Scoping Agreement to be reviewed by Ministers and subject to Ministerial approval, the Scoping Agreement will be published online.
A high-level scoping paper on the structure and key principles of the five-yearly review Implementation Report was discussed. Officials agreed to consider a potential to change the name of the Implementation Report to ‘Outcomes Report’ to better reflect the intention of an outcomes-focused report rather than a clause-by-clause review. Under the timeframe agreed by officials, the report is expected to be published online in mid-2023.