The abolition of Victoria’s Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) marks a historic victory for the forest movement. Seeing it publicly acknowledged is the culmination of decades of tireless efforts to protect these vital ecosystems.

Among other things, the RFAs exempted native forest logging from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC). This exemption allowed the industry to bypass national environmental laws designed to sustainably manage and protect ecosystems and threatened species. Despite efforts by the logging industry—and its political enablers—to brand logging as ‘sustainable,’ the reality was clear: without this exemption, native forest logging would not have been able to continue. Ironically, this exemption may have hastened the industry’s downfall.

The industry’s collapse is a direct consequence of reckless mismanagement. Decades of destruction left tens of thousands of hectares of climate-resilient old-growth forests decimated, pushed countless species closer to extinction, increased bushfire risks, and left behind a trail of devastation that will take decades, if not centuries, to restore. Instead of taking accountability, the industry consistently shifts blame elsewhere.

For years, conservationists and scientists warned that clearfell logging was unsustainable—not just environmentally, but economically. The industry relied on government subsidies and loopholes to stay afloat. VicForests was liquidated in 2024 at a cost of nearly $237 million to taxpayers, underscoring the financial burden logging placed on the public.

We must learn from past mistakes and ensure that the logging industry—propped up for decades by Government funding—does not find new ways to exploit forests, whether on public or private land.

Where is the Forestry Transition Money Going?

Despite the end of native forest logging, nearly $1.5 billion has been allocated to the Forestry Transition Program—a scheme plagued by a lack of transparency and accountability. Available data shows that only 286 direct payments have been made to affected workers, while the bulk of the funding has gone to private companies to ‘transition.’ This has resulted in:

• Log trucks clogging the Spirit of Tasmania, as Victorian processors source timber from Tasmania, New South Wales and even North America.
• Investment in automation, allowing mills to process timber with fewer workers—contradicting claims that this transition is about protecting jobs.

Private Land Logging: The Next Frontier of Destruction?

There is growing concern that public funds from the Forestry Transition Program may have been used to enable private companies to purchase land for native forest logging. This could ultimately lead to the conversion of logged forests into plantations—undermining biodiversity and diverting taxpayer funds away from genuine environmental restoration.

With the RFAs abolished, any native forest logging on private land that could significantly impact Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) must be referred to the federal government for an EPBC assessment. However, this process relies on landowners self-assessing—a loophole ripe for exploitation. We are already monitoring developments in East Gippsland and are aware of at least one significant application.

This system is deeply flawed. Not only does it create a high risk of exploitation due to personal interests, but it also assumes that landowners—whether acting in good faith or otherwise—have the scientific expertise to accurately assess environmental impacts. In reality, only qualified experts have the capacity to make such determinations. Allowing landowners to self-assess poses a clear conflict of interest and undermines the integrity of environmental protections.

Logging Under the Guise of ‘Forest Fire Management’

Another major concern is the increasing use of ‘forest fire management’ as a justification for large-scale tree felling, often with minimal oversight. The lack of independent monitoring and transparency raises fears that these operations are harming ecological health rather than genuinely reducing fire risk.

In some cases, fire management logging has targeted mature, hollow-bearing trees critical for wildlife, rather than focusing on genuine fuel reduction. Warburton Environment is currently challenging this in court after Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) was caught cutting down hollow-bearing trees inside the Yarra Ranges National Park—an operation that led to the discovery of a dead Greater Glider. This species, once common, has plummeted towards extinction under the so-called ‘management’ of VicForests and now FFMV.

Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) operates with little oversight, allowing destructive practices to continue unchecked. Their operations face no enforceable environmental practice standards, leaving them unaccountable for the ecological damage they cause. Worse still, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that cutting mature trees reduces fire risk. In fact, research suggests the opposite: the removal of large trees and the disturbance of intact ecosystems often increase fire severity over time. These reckless practices are now being challenged in court, as communities and conservation groups fight to hold FFMV accountable for their impact on forests and wildlife.

What We Need: A Legislated Logging Ban

The fight is far from over. Large-scale clearfell logging could return in just two election cycles. The Victorian Coalition has already signalled they will reinstate native forest logging if elected in 2026—propping up an industry that has long been financially and environmentally unsustainable. With the possibility of a Peter Dutton-led federal Government, there is a real risk that national policies could shift to support renewed native forest logging, threatening high-conservation-value forests for low-value products like woodchips—at taxpayer expense.

This is why legislating a permanent ban on native forest logging in Victoria must be a priority for this term of Government. A ban, akin to the state’s prohibition on fracking, would safeguard Victoria’s forests from short-sighted politicians looking to revive an industry that had survived in palliative care for too long.

We live in an era of short headlines, algorithm-driven outrage, and constant online distractions—from viral misinformation to corporate greenwashing. But we must stay focused on what truly matters: securing real, lasting protections for our forests.

A legal ban on all forms of native forest logging would be a major step in that direction.

Write to Premier Allan and Minister Dimopoulos on legislating a permanent ban on native forest logging.

For our forests. For everyone.