Worker support

Includes:

• Timber mill workers (except Opal Australian Paper Maryvale Mill workers)
• Harvest and haulage contractors, their workers and sub-contractors.

Eligible for:

• Redundancy top-up payment
• Relocation payment
• 1-1 Case Management
• Funded training and Recognition of Prior Learning
• Employment support and career assistance
• Referral to other services, including Skills and Jobs Centres and Jobs Victoria
• Health and wellbeing support.

Includes:

• VicForests contractors (e.g. road maintenance, seed collectors) other than harvesting and haulage contractors
• 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 only for the following workers who are made redundant or do not have contract renewed because of the Sawmill Opt-out Scheme or mill closure or business downsizing:

• Harvest and haulage contractors
• Timber processing/mill workers (except Opal Australian Paper Maryvale Mill workers).

This includes permanent workers, casual workers, VicForests Harvest and Haulage contractors, their sub-contractors and sole traders.

Worker Support 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 or mill closure or business downsizing.

Worker Support Payments will be up to $120,000 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.

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.
• 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, up to $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.

Worker Support Payments

For permanent workers: Worker Support Payments can be accessed if you are made redundant or do not have your contract renewed because of the Sawmill Opt-out Scheme or mill closure or business downsizing.

For casual workers: Worker Support Payments can be accessed if you are no longer given shifts because of the Sawmill Opt-out Scheme or mill closure or business downsizing.

Worker support payments can only be accessed once.

Worker Support Service

Workers, their families, and community members can register with the Worker Support Program now.

A case manager will work with you to understand your needs and access to training, career support and health and wellbeing support.

You do not need to be made redundant to access the worker support service services but if you change your job it may affect any worker support payments you apply for including in relation to tax.

Worker Support Payments can be accessed if you are made redundant, no longer given shifts as a casual worker or do not have your contract renewed because of a mill closure or business downsizing.

If you change your employment, this may affect worker support payments you apply for, including in relation to tax.

Payments will not be made until your employment has ended.

Worker Support Payments can be accessed if you are made redundant, no longer given shifts as a casual worker or do not have your contract renewed because of a mill closure or business downsizing.

Worker support payments can only be accessed once.

Permanent workers

If you are mill worker or contractor and are permanently employed and quit your current role you will not be eligible for payments.

The exception to this is if you quit and then are employed by another native timber business and then made redundant. However, changing your job may affect any worker support payments you apply for including in relation to tax.

Casual workers

If you are a casual contractor/sole trader working for a head contractor and no longer have work then you are eligible for payments. You will only be able to access a payment from February 2023, and you will have to demonstrate that your employment ended because of native forestry transition.

If you are a casual mill worker and no longer have work, then you are eligible for payments. You will only be able to access a payment from February 2023, and you will have to demonstrate that your employment ended because of native forestry transition.

If you receive a Worker Support Payment, you will not be able access further payments if you return to a job in the native timber industry.

If you do not meet these criteria for a Worker Support Payment, the Worker Support Service will consider an application under exceptional circumstances. You will be able to make this application from February 2023.

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

Worker Support Payments can be accessed if you are made redundant or do not have your contract renewed because of a mill closure or business.

A Worker Support Payment is calculated based on your ordinary hours of work, your ordinary rates and the length of time you have worked in the native timber industry.

If you are made redundant your employer has a statutory requirement to pay any redundancy entitlements. Some small businesses do not have to pay redundancy pay, and the type of employment or period of your employment may mean you are not owed a redundancy.

If your employer cannot pay the redundancy entitlements then the Victorian Government will include this in the Worker Support Payment. These payments will be backdated to the date that you become redundant.

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.

Worker support payments 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 Service, but you will not be eligible for Worker Support Payments.

Worker support payments can only be accessed once.

Different payments will be taxed differently, depending on things like the amount being paid and the circumstances of your employment ending.

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

The Worker Support Payment is separate to superannuation payments.

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

Yes.

The Victorian Forestry Worker Support Service 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, brokerage of employment opportunities, career advice and planning, additional support from Jobs Victoria Employment Services as appropriate 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, training funds administration.

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.