As part of its 2025 Federal Election priorities, the Tasmanian Forest Products Association (TFPA) is today calling for all candidates to throw their support behind Australia’s Regional Forestry Agreements (RFAs) – ensuring the existing agreements remain in place into the future.

In calling for the commitment, TFPA Chief Executive Officer, Nick Steel said the existing Tasmania RFA holds the state’s forestry businesses to the highest level of scrutiny and ensures the industry is a leader the world on environmental and sustainability standards.

“It’s a tough system, but our industry knows it’s the best way to manage our forests, and that’s why we’re calling on all parties in the election to commit to continuing the RFA system for the years to come,” Mr Steel said.

“In Tasmania, our RFA covers all forms of forestry and forest management across the state, including public and private, plantation, native, reserve and production areas. 

“By covering all forestry across the state, this efficiency leads to better outcomes for the environment because implementation requirements are clear – for our foresters, farmers, private landowners, and parks managers, who all adhere to the same accredited and consistently applied set of rules. “

Mr Steel said the Tasmanian RFA – and the robust state government environmental laws accredited under RFAs – continue to meet the objectives of the Environment Protection, Biodiversity and Conservation (EPBC) Act.

“Since their inception, RFAs have ensured that the objectives of the EPBC Act are met by the robust state government environmental laws accredited under them,” Mr Steel said.

“For our industry’s future, it’s critically important that the RFA continues to deliver on economic, social and environmental outcomes, particularly the maintenance of investment certainty for internationally competitive forest-based industries.

“With nearly 60 percent of public forests in Tasmania now under conservation reserves and locked away in perpetuity, our Tasmanian RFA ensure that the tiny fragment of land we actively harvest in any one year is regulated.

“But more than environmental protections, the RFAs also protect the economic and social health of the forest industry and communities dependent on the industry.  RFAs also provide the investment certainty needed for our internationally competitive timber and forest-based industry. 

“This includes the much-needed certainty to the thousands of Tasmanian timber workers whose livelihoods depend on our sustainably managed timber industries that RFAs support.

“That’s why the TFPA are urging all parties in this Federal election to back the existing model – which will allow our business to do the best for our community, the economy and the environment,” Mr Steel said.