Victorian Central Highlands Regional Forest Agreement

The Central Highlands Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) is one of five RFAs in Victoria. The Australian and Victorian governments originally signed the Central Highlands RFA on 27 March 1998, establishing the framework for the sustainable management of the forests in the Central Highlands RFA region.

The Central Highlands RFA was varied on 30 March 2020 with an extension until 30 June 2030 (see Media Release), as it has proven to be a strong and effective framework for the sustainable management of the Central Highlands RFA region’s forests. The extension was formalised following assessment, public consultation and independent review.

The extensions to the Victorian RFAs deliver the right balance of economic, social and environmental outcomes, paving the way for the continued sustainable management of the state’s public and private native forests and plantation estates.

The Central Highlands RFA variation includes two Annexures: Annexure 1 is the RFA marked up with the changes that have been made; Annexure 2 is a ‘clean’ version of the RFA as varied without the mark up.

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Document	Pages	File size
2020 Central Highlands RFA variation PDF	177	2.1 MB

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The updated Central Highlands Land Tenure and Zoning Map (December 2019) identifies the extent of the comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system in the Central Highlands RFA region.

A report has been prepared to summarise the key changes that have been made to the Victorian RFAs as part of the modernisation and extension process.

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Document	Pages	File size
Modernised Victorian RFAs – what’s changed	2	32

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The 1998 Central Highlands RFA

The Australian and Victorian governments signed the original Central Highlands RFA on 27 March 1998. The agreement was for a duration of 20 years and an interim extension was signed to align expiry of the Central Highlands RFA with that of other Victorian RFAs on 31 March 2020.

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Document	Pages	File size
Central Highlands RFA PDF	49	216 KB
Central Highlands RFA DOC	49	163 KB

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The Central Highlands Land Tenure and Zoning Map (March 1998) PDF [5.8 MB, 1 page] identified the extent of the comprehensive adequate and representative reserve system in the Central Highlands RFA region at the time of signing.

Extension of the East Gippsland, Central Highlands and North East RFAs

On 26 March 2018, the Australian and Victorian governments extended the timeframe of three Victorian RFAs - the East Gippsland, Central Highlands and North East - to 31 March 2020.

This lined up the expiry dates for all five Victorian RFAs and allowed the governments to adequately consider the independent reviewer’s report on the third five yearly review of the Victorian RFAs, undertake public consultation, prepare further detailed assessments of RFA matters and negotiate modernised, extended agreements for all five RFAs.

The Amendment documents for the Central Highlands RFA can be accessed below. The amendments for the East Gippsland and North East RFAs can be accessed from their respective pages at the following:

• East Gippsland
• North East

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Document	Pages	File size
Amendment to the Central Highlands RFA (March 2018) PDF	4	272 KB
Amendment to the Central Highlands RFA (March 2018) DOCX	4	37 KB

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Historical Publications

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

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Comprehensive Regional Assessment:

Directions or Options Report:

Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management Report:

Environment Reports:

Factsheet:

Resource Report:

Annual Reports: