THE long-standing exemption for forestry operations between the Commonwealth and NSW across large areas of NSW forests, known as the Regional Forest Agreements (RFA), will cease in July, 2027, following the introduction of new environment legislation by the Commonwealth in November last year.
The NSW Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has been tasked by the State Government to develop a Strategic Assessment for forestry operations in NSW.
The assessment will cover public native forestry, plantation and private native forestry operations across forests sitting within NSW’s defined Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) boundaries.
It will consider the impacts from forestry operations on nationally significant animals, plants, habitats and places to ensure they are appropriately identified and managed.
From July1st, 2027, forestry operations taking place in RFAs will need to comply with the same rules and standards as other industries covered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
“As part of our landmark national environmental law reforms passed by the Australian Parliament at the end of last year, RFA forestry will need to meet the same Federal environmental requirements as other industries,” said Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt.
“We’re providing up to $8.5 million to NSW to ensure it’s meeting national benchmarks, through the development of landscape-scale approval pathways like the strategic assessment.”
In response, Adele Chasson, Nature Policy Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said it was the Federal Government’s chance to fix a broken system that had enabled the destruction of NSW’s precious forests for far too long.
“Native forest logging continues to smash threatened species habitat,” Ms Chasson said.
“The Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) system has failed, allowing the industrial logging of special forests for decades across Australia with no oversight.
“The Government must ensure a thorough assessment of the devastating impacts of native forest logging in NSW, and establish strong environmental rules that states must follow.
“These forests have been cared for by First Nations people for tens of thousands of years.
“They are some of the most biodiverse on the planet, store carbon, clean our air and water.
“It’s critical we protect them.”
A spokesperson for Mid NorthCoast environment group, Forest Ecology Alliance, told NOTA that the RFAs had failed the region and enabled widespread forest destruction without meaningful community involvement in decision-making or adequate assessment of cumulative environmental impacts.
“Logging has contributed to serious concerns about water security, regional climate stability and increasing fire risks to lives and homes,” they said.
“The estimated $100 million cost of filtering logging pollution from the Coffs-Clarence Regional Water Supply Scheme is a stark example of the consequences.
“Unless new RFAs properly address cumulative impacts and guarantee genuine, transparent community participation, there is little reason to expect a different outcome.
“As evidenced in recent Northern Hemisphere events we are increasingly experiencing hotter, drier conditions and facing a more climate-stressed future. Life-giving forests are already under enormous pressure.
“We urgently need to protect and restore forests that are essential to water security, biodiversity and resilient communities and stop subjecting them to further industrial exploitation.”
Public consultation commenced on 18 September, 2026 and finishes on 16 October, 2026, and will be available at Have Your Say: https://www.nsw.gov.au/have-your-say/strategic-assessment-of-forestry-rfas
By Andrew VIVIAN
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