Plantation forestry method

This method is a variation of the 2017 plantation forestry method. It’s been varied to provide more opportunities for the industry.

If your project started under the 2017 method, we have guidance for participants impacted by the revocation of the 2017 plantation forestry method. 

Refer to this guidance for:

• the key differences between the 2017 method and the new method
• how the varied method affects your project
• how to transfer your project to the new method.

You can run a project by:

• establishing a new forestry plantation
• converting a short rotation plantation to a long rotation plantation
• continuing to plant forestry where it would otherwise be converted to non-forested land
• transitioning to a permanent planting in circumstances where it would otherwise be converted to non-forested land.

Some activities may require project land to be in a national plantation inventory (NPI) region. You can find these regions in our plantation forestry method guide. 

Establishing a new forestry plantation

To be eligible, your project land must be in an area where there hasn't been forestry plantation in the previous 7 years.

Converting a short-rotation plantation to a long-rotation plantation

Eligibility requirements:

• You must have plantation forest in, or within 100 kilometres of, a NPI region.
• You must thin or prune a plantation after the start date for the long rotation. This ensures the long rotation is at least 10 years longer than the original short rotation.
• The conversion must occur part-way through the short-rotation plantation cycle or following the harvest of a short-rotation plantation.

If there's existing short-rotation plantation underway at the time of application and thinning or pruning has occurred your project may be ineligible (refer to subclause 5(1) and 5(2) of the method).

Continuing rotational harvest cycles in a plantation forest

Eligibility requirements:

• The land must be in, or within 50 kilometres of, an NPI region.
• The plantation forest must be of an age, or be harvested at an age, that’s within 2 years or older than the relevant default clear fell age (schedule 6 of the method).
• You must meet a plantation forestry requirement and non-continuation requirement (schedule 3(3) and schedule 3(4) of the method)
• You must provide method specific evidence as that land would otherwise be converted to viable, non-forested land use within 24 months.

Transitioning a plantation forest to a permanent forest

Eligibility requirements:

• You must provide method specific evidence that land would otherwise be converted to viable, non-forested land use within 24 months.
• You must meet a plantation forestry requirement and non-continuation requirement (schedule 4(3) and schedule 4(4) of the method).

25 years.

Projects under this method are subject to permanence obligations.

You must use and download the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's 2016 Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) tool to calculate project carbon stock and abatement. The department provides instructions on how to do this.

For more information, you can refer to our FullCAM Guidelines for the 2022 plantation forestry method. 

Emissions associated with the project are activity and method specific. Abatement must be calculated accordingly.

Refer to division 4.3 of the method for further information on how to calculate abatement.

You must report between 6 months and 5 years and can report as often as you want in this timeframe.

Reports must include the submission of a project offsets report with:

• the calculated project abatement
• the required monitoring
• documentation of project activities.

We provide you with an audit schedule when your project's declared.

You must provide audit reports according to this schedule.

We schedule at least 3 audits for regular projects. Extra audits can be triggered.

Approved low-risk plantation forestry projects only have one initial audit. However, a portion of these projects may be subject to compliance audits under the annual assurance program funded by us.

Refer to our audit information to find out more.