Worker support

Includes:

• Timber mill workers (except Opal Australian Paper Maryvale Mill workers)
• Harvest and haulage contractors, their workers and sub-contractors
• Community Forestry workers, including seed collectors and chip-truck drivers

Eligible for:

• Redundancy top-up payment
• Relocation payment
• One-off hardship payment (community forestry only)
• Over 45 payment
• 1-1 Case Management
• Funded training and recognition of prior learning, including travel
• Employment support and career assistance
• Referral to other services, including Skills and Jobs Centres
• Health and wellbeing support

Includes:

• Professional services and supply chain businesses (e.g. accountancy services, electricians and general maintenance).

Eligible for:

• 1-1 Case Management
• Training Support
• Employment support and career assistance
• Referral to other services, including Skills and Jobs Centres and Jobs Victoria
• Health and wellbeing support

Includes:

• family members of native timber business owners, sole traders and workers.

Eligible for:

• 1-1 Case Management
• Training Support
• Employment support and career assistance
• Referral to other services, including Skills and Jobs Centres and Jobs Victoria
• Health and wellbeing support

This payment is for workers who are made redundant or do not have their contract renewed because of the Sawmill Opt-out Scheme, Sawmill Voluntary Transition Package or mill closure or business downsizing:

• Harvest and haulage contractors
• Timber processing/mill workers (except Opal Australian Paper Maryvale Mill workers) – includes permanent workers, casual workers, VicForests Harvest and Haulage contractors, their sub-contractors and sole traders
• Community Forestry workers, including seed collectors and chip truck drivers.

Redundancy top-up payments can only be accessed when a worker is made redundant or does not have their contract renewed because of the Sawmill Opt-out Scheme, Sawmill Voluntary Transition Package, Harvest and Haulage Support Package, Community Forestry Support Package or mill closure or business downsizing.

Redundancy top-up payments will be based on:

• four weeks of pay for every year of service in the native timber industry, including any statutory entitlements
• up to 152 hours of unused sick leave
• capped at $150,000.

Length of service and rate of pay will be determined by

• Permanent and casual workers: records showing employment for six of 12 months of each financial year claimed. Workers will be paid at their most recent ordinary rate capped at $120,000.
• Contractors and sub-contractors: the rate of pay will be based on your average yearly earnings for the best 2 financial years between 2018-2019 and 2021-2022, divided by 52 capped at $120,000 per aunnum.
• Where no record of industry service is provided, payment will be based on records from the most recent employer or contractor.

Individual payments may be different due to tax and must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Any support provided under the program will be calculated pre-tax. It is recommended that eligible workers get independent tax advice. Changes to employment arrangements now may affect workers’ individual payments, including in relation to tax.

Redundancy top-up payments will be based on:

• four weeks of pay for every year of service in the native timber industry, including any statutory entitlements
• up to 152 hours of unused sick leave
• a payment for an extra three weeks pay for each year of service since turning 45 years old capped at $50,000
• capped at $200,000.

Length of service and rate of pay will be determined by:

• For permanent and casual workers: records showing employment for six of 12 months of each financial year claimed. Workers will be paid at their most recent ordinary rate capped at $120,000.
• For contractors and sub-contractors: the rate of pay will be based on your average yearly earnings for the best two financial years between 2018-2019 and 2021-2022, divided by 52 capped at $120,000 per annum.
• Where no record of industry service is provided, payment will be based on records from the most recent employer or contractor.

Individual payments may be different due to tax and must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Any support provided under the program will be calculated pre-tax. It is recommended that eligible workers get independent tax advice. Changes to employment arrangements now may affect workers’ individual payments including in relation to tax.

The following costs are eligible for reimbursement, provided two quotes and an invoice are submitted, and the cheapest option has been chosen:

• Utility connection and exit costs
• Relocation-associated legal costs
• Temporary accommodation (staying in a hotel, motel, caravan, or Airbnb)
• Associated medical costs
• School uniforms
• School enrolment fees
• First groceries to set up house
• Reasonable breaking lease costs
• Vehicle registration transfer fees (if moving interstate)
• Licence transfer fees
• Rental bond
• Rent at new location (up to two months)
• Removalists and removalist insurance
• Truck hire
• Storage
• Trailer hire
• Non-rent accommodation at new location (up to two weeks)
• Gardening fees
• Cleaning fees
• Pet boarding fees (up to one month)
• Reimbursement of stamp duty*

Reimbursement of stamp duty requires the worker to demonstrate the following:

• sold a residence at their old location
• occupied a residence at the new location within 15 months of the effective date of the promotion, transfer, or redeployment
• provided satisfactory evidence of expenditure.

Reimbursement of stamp duty is not available if the worker occupies a government residence.

Support for workers will not stop on 1 January 2024. The Victorian Forestry Worker Support Program is fully funded and available until 30 June 2026.

All native timber workers will receive one to one case management support until they have secure employment or no longer require support services.

Worker Support Payments, including a one-off $3000 hardship payment, are available for community forestry businesses, including seed collectors, and their workers.

An employer has the final say in deciding whether to make workers redundant when a position is no longer required. A position may no longer be needed due to changes to business, operational, or industry requirements - including take-up of the Sawmill Opt-out Scheme, Sawmill Voluntary Transition Package, Harvest and Haulage Support Package or Community Forestry Support Package.

To receive a redundancy top-up payment a redundancy must be a 'genuine redundancy'.

A genuine redundancy means:

• a worker’s position that is not required by the employer, in this case due to the consequence of the transition away from harvesting native timber from state forests and the dismissal is because of the redundancy of the position (and not for any other reason)
• There must be no arrangements (such as promise of another job) or other circumstances which indicate the redundancy is not genuine

Some workers may be categorised as ‘dual capacity’ employees, in that they are engaged by an employing entity, and are also a decision maker or officeholder of that entity.  The department will seek to understand the nature of the termination in these circumstances to determine if there is a genuine redundancy.

Workers cannot choose to make themselves redundant – it must be done by their employer.

There could be many reasons why a worker has not been made redundant, including an employer seeking to continue work in forest and fire management with DEECA.

The Worker Support Program can support small purchases of equipment for new employment.

Yes, requests for travel reimbursement will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The redundancy-top up payment can be accessed if you are made redundant or do not have your contract renewed because of a mill closure or business downsizing.

The redundancy-top up payment is calculated using:

• your ordinary work hours
• your ordinary pay rates
• how long you have worked in the native timber industry.

If you are made redundant your employer has a statutory requirement to pay any redundancy entitlements.

If you are owed back pay, your employer is required to pay this. If they cannot pay any back pay owed you may wish to seek legal advice or support from your union.

The redundancy-top up payment can only be accessed once.

‘Employment ending’ means you have been made redundant, your contract has not been renewed or you are no longer receiving shifts at your workplace.

If you quit your job, you will be able to access the Worker Support Program, but you will not be eligible for the redundancy-top up payment.

Different payments will be taxed differently, depending on things like the amount being paid and the how your employment ended.

You should get independent tax advice before leaving your role or changing your job.

The redundancy-top up payment is separate to superannuation payments.

You should seek independent financial advice for any queries around managing your financial situation, including superannuation.

Yes.

The Worker Support Program offers dedicated one-on-one support and other accessible worker transition services, including:

• Employment Support – referral to skills and jobs centres for job searching, digital employment skills, career assistance services such as resume and application support, local employment advice, career advice and planning, and referral to other support as needed.
• Training/Retraining – development of a training plan and access to a suite of potential training programs or courses (funded training and recognition of prior learning) that will be identified for each worker, assistance with education providers.

Harvest and Haulage

VicForests are currently paying stand down payments to harvest and haulage contractors. When triggered these payments are linked to supply levels in their existing harvest and haul contracts and VicForests contractual obligations to these. Previous stand down payments were based on the contractual requirement of 67% of average harvest and haul rates. In November 2022, anticipating significant stand down periods and the requirement for additional financial support to ensure that crew wages and equipment payments could be made, this was revised to 75%.

Anticipating that further stand downs would continue beyond December 2022, bringing additional financial hardship and significant risk to losing this capacity, following discussions with AFCA and the Department, it was decided to revise this to 100%.

VicForests have finalised the Deeds of Variation for this adjustment. To receive these payments, principal contractors need to agree that they and their sub-contractors will retain the required capacity of machinery and pass on the required wage portion of the payments to their staff.

Sawmills

Early compensation payments are available via VicForests commercial arrangements for sawmills who choose to take it up. This is an opt-in process and some mill owners may choose not to take it up.

These payments are linked to supply levels in existing Timber Supply Agreements and VicForests contractual obligations to these.

The payments are designed to provide financial relief for mills experiencing cash flow pressure to keep workers in jobs. The payment deeds contain a requirement for mills to keep permanent workers employed and paid.