Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement

The Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) provides a framework for the sustainable management of Tasmania’s public and privately owned forests.

The Australian and Tasmanian Governments signed the Tasmanian RFA on 8 November 1997. It was varied on 18 August 2017 to extend its duration by 20 years and to establish an automatic extension mechanism, with subsequent five-yearly extensions contingent on satisfactory completion of five-yearly reviews.

Extending the Tasmanian RFA gives long-term stability to protections for biodiversity and heritage, and surety of resource access for industry, ensuring the whole community can continue to enjoy the many benefits that Tasmanian forests provide well into the future.

Current RFA

Previous RFA and variations

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Extending the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement in 2017

The extension of the Tasmanian RFA was undertaken through a comprehensive process, following extensive assessment, public consultation, independent review and negotiation. Please refer to the diagram in the provided documents for a high-level summary of the rolling extension process.

Downloads

High level Tasmanian RFA Review and Extension Process (PDF 630 KB)

Alternative text for High level Tasmanian RFA Review and Extension Process (DOCX 17 KB)  

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Assessment

The assessment of forest-related environmental, social and economic values in Tasmania was undertaken as part of the extension process. This assessment provided an update to information in the Tasmanian Comprehensive Regional Assessment (CRA). The assessment is outlined in the provided documents.

Download

Further assessment of matters under the Regional Forest Agreements Act 2002 (Cth) relating to the 2017 variation of the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement (PDF 7.6 MB)

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Consultation

Stakeholders were given opportunities to provide feedback on the extension of the Tasmanian RFA. For further information about the consultation process and the Tasmanian forest management system, visit the Tasmanian Government Department of State Growth’s website.

Tasmanian RFA five-yearly reviews

It is a requirement of the Tasmanian RFA that its performance is reviewed every five years by an independent reviewer. The details of the Tasmanian RFA review process is outlined in the Tasmanian RFA. 

A five-yearly review is currently underway. Further information is available at the link below:

The outcomes of the previous five-yearly reviews are available:

Annual meetings

On 3 December 2024, officials from the Australian and Tasmanian Governments held the 2024 Tasmanian RFA annual meeting.

At this meeting senior officials considered the initial draft five-yearly review report for the period 2017-2022, discussed issues that had arisen since the previous annual meeting on 7 July 2022, and issued a communique:

Communiques from previous annual meetings are also available:

These annual meetings, to be held in the years between five-yearly reviews, are part of the Australian and Tasmanian Governments’ commitment to strengthened communications under the extended Tasmanian RFA.

Historical publications

Many historical publications informed the development of the Tasmanian RFA and continue to underpin the management of forests covered by the agreement.

Annual Reports were required for the first five years of each RFA.

DocumentFile size
Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Commonwealth Government Implementation Report 2001 DOC167 KB
Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Commonwealth Government Implementation Report 2001 PDF201 KB
Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Commonwealth Government Implementation Report 2000 DOC47 KB
Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Commonwealth Government Implementation Report 2000 PDF197 KB
Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Commonwealth Government Implementation Report 1999 DOC31 KB
Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Commonwealth Government Implementation Report 1999 PDF136 KB
Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Commonwealth Government Implementation Report 1998 DOC27 KB
Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Commonwealth Government Implementation Report 1998 PDF112 KB

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DocumentFile size
A preliminary assessment of the conservation and reservation status of Tasmanian Bryophytes (December 1996) DOC226 KB
A preliminary assessment of the distribution and conservation status of some lichens in Tasmania's forests (October 1996) DOC154 KB
A recovery plan and management guidelines for threatened orchids in Tasmanian forests (February 1997) DOC477 KB
Habitat modelling of the Forty-spotted Pardalot and recommendations for management (January 1997) DOC772 KB
Invertebrate Bioregions in Tasmania (December 1996) DOC387 KB
Management prescriptions for Tasmania's cave fauna (March 1997) DOC9.5 MB
Management requirements for rare and threatened burrowing crayfish in Tasmania (November 1996) DOC2.2 MB
Management prescriptions for the swift parrot in production forests (February 1997) DOC884 KB
Modelling of the Nesting Habitat of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax fleayi in Tasmania (January 1997) DOC79 KB
National Estate Report (February 1997) DOC3.6 MB
Pilot study of the effects of modern logging practices on the decaying log-habitat in wet eucalypt forests in south-east Tasmania (November 1996) DOC786 KB

Predicting essential habitat for forest owls in Tasmania (January 1997)

 

4.1 MB

4.9 MB

2.2 MB

Preliminary assessment of distribution and habitat associations of the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus maculatus) and eastern quoll (D. viverrinus) in Tasmania (November 1996) DOC1.2 MB
Rare or threatened Tasmanian forest ferns (January 1997) DOC226 KB
Reservation assessment and habitat requirements of the giant Tasmanian freshwater lobster, Astacopis gouldi (May 1997) DOC313 KB

Tasmanian Environment and Heritage Report (no date)

 

246 KB

333 KB

174 KB

1.1 MB

135 KB

Tasmanian stream macroinvertebrates: Sampling to complete biodiversity assessment and modelling and classification of stream sites (February 1997) DOC1.6 MB

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The Tasmanian Land Tenure Maps identify the extent of the comprehensive adequate and representative reserve system in Tasmania, as of 1997:

DocumentFile size
Land Tenure (November 1997): A2 GIF144 KB
Land Tenure (November 1997): A0 GIF439 KB

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The Tasmanian Land Use Map identifies the area of reserves, private and multiple use land in Tasmania as of 1997:

DocumentFile size
Land Use (no date): A4GIF28 KB

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DocumentFile size
Review of the Deep Red Myrtle Resource in Tasmania (April 2002) PDF1.4 MB

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DocumentFile size
Tasmanian Social and Economic Report (no date) DOC3.9 MB
Tasmanian Social and Economic Report (no date) PDF2.9 MB

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