Worker support

About the program

The Worker Support Program offers support to eligible native timber employees, supply chain employees, and their families as they navigate the transition away from native timber harvesting in state forests.

It provides a safety net to those who have been made genuinely redundant or had their casual employment contract ended due to the Victorian Forestry Transition Program.

The Worker Support Program provides:

• Support Services
• Support Payments

The Worker Support Program commenced in November 2022 for eligible employees and their families and is available until 30 June 2026.

Who is eligible

The Worker Support Program offers support to native timber employees, supply chain employees, contractors, and their family members.

Eligible employees

You can register if:

• you go to work in Victoria
• you are an employee of an eligible business
• you work in the native timber industry
• you are either a:
  • sawmill employee
  • harvest and haulage employee
  • community forestry employee
  • seed collector
  • chip truck driver
  • supply chain employee
  • pulp and paper employee (including Opal Australian Paper Maryvale Mill employee)
  • employee of an eligible native timber business.

You can also register is you are a family member of a native timber employee or contractor.

Ineligible employees

You are not eligible for the Worker Support Program if:

• you work in plantation timber-related roles
• you are an employee of an ineligible business
• you have been employed for less than 12 months
• you are voluntarily leaving your employment
• your dismissal is due to disciplinary or inefficiency reasons
• your dismissal is for reasons other than genuine redundancy
• your dismissal is because you have reached normal retirement age
• your dismissal is due to reaching the end of your fixed-term contract
• your contract was ended by a principal contractor
• you work outside of Victoria
• you are a trainee or apprentice.

About employees

An employee is a person employed by a business and performs work as a representative of the business. Employees can be:

• full-time
• part-time
• casual
• piece rate
• seasonal.

For more information about employees, visit the Fair Work website.

About Contractors

Contractors provide services under a contract and can work for more than one client at a time. Contractors are also called:

• self-employed workers
• sole traders
• ABN holders
• independent contractors
• contractors
• subcontractors
• business owners.

For more information about contractors, visit the Fair Work website.

The difference between an employee and contractor

Contractors have different rights and obligations to employees. This is because they provide services to another person or business, as opposed to being employed by that person or business.

Support for Contractors

If you are a contractor or business, support is available for you and your native timber business. Please contact the Forestry Transition Information Line on 1800 318 182 or visit our Forestry Transition Program page.

Types of support available

Support Services

The Support Services are a component of the Worker Support Program. Once registered, employees and family members can access the following services.

Services include:

• One to One case management.
• Employment support and career assistance including job matching.
• Funded training up to the value of $8000.
• Health and wellbeing support including referrals to clinical services and gap payments for up to 10 sessions with an approved service provider.
• Referrals to other support agencies including Skills and Jobs Centres.
• Financial counselling.
• Recognition of prior learning and current competencies to formalise skills acquired*
• Pre redundancy training*.

Services marked with an asterisk (*) are specific to employees only.

Support Payments

The Worker Support Program offers various types of Support Payments. These payments provide a safety net for employees who have been made genuinely redundant and lost their jobs as a result of the transition from native timber harvesting in state forests.

Available payments include:

• Government Top-Up payment
• Hardship payment
• Relocation reimbursement.

Government Top-Up payment

The Government Top-Up payment may be provided to eligible employees who have been made genuinely redundant as defined by the Fair Work Act or had their casual employment contract ended.

Employee eligibility

To qualify for this payment, a native timber employee must meet all of the following conditions.

• You have been made genuinely redundant, or your employer ended your casual contract within the last 12 months.
• You worked in Victoria.
• You were an employee of an eligible native timber business.
• You were employed in the native timber industry at the time of your separation.
• Your role was specifically related to native timber.
• Your employment with your most recent employer lasted for 12 months or more.
• You are either a:
  • sawmill employee
  • harvest and haulage employee
  • community forestry employee
  • seed collector
  • chip truck driver
  • employee of an eligible native timber business.

Employee ineligibility

You are not eligible for the Government Top-Up payment if you meet any of the following criteria or conditions:

• you work in plantation timber-related roles
• you are employed by a business that is not eligible for business transition support
• you have been employed for less than 12 months
• you voluntarily leave your employment
• your employment is terminated for reasons other than genuine redundancy
• you are dismissed because you reached normal retirement age
• you are dismissed for disciplinary or inefficiency reasons
• you work outside of Victoria
• you are a trainee or apprentice
• your employment ends due to reaching the end of a fixed-term contract
• there is a contrived arrangement to reemploy you, or your employer still requires your job to be performed by someone else
• redeployment or transfer was not reasonably considered, or your employer could have reasonably offered you another job within the business or an associated entity
• your employment is terminated at your own initiative, or the termination is not at arm’s length
• an arrangement to reemploy you after termination is made between either:
  • you and your employer
  • your employer and another entity.

Contractor and sub-contractor eligibility

Contractors and sub-contractors may also qualify for a Government Top-Up payment. However, additional steps and evidence are required.

To be eligible, the business owner must provide evidence that:

• the business has not taken, and does not plan to take, any steps to engage in the native timber industry in the future
• the business has ceased operations and is permanently closed.

Additional evidence may be required, depending on the business type and structure.

Business owners should contact the Forestry Transition Information Line on 1800 318 182 to discuss your specific circumstances.

Important note: Receiving a Government Top-Up payment may exclude the owners/directors from any future eligibility and access to forestry business grants and support. Consulting an accountant or seeking legal advice is strongly recommended to assist a business in their decision-making process.

Evidence requirements

Evidence requirements may differ depending on your employment type.

Full-time, part-time, piece rate and seasonal employees

• A letter of termination of employment by reason of redundancy.
• An ‘Employment Separation Certificate’ form from your employer indicating the reason for separation was redundancy.
• Received a redundancy payment* from your employer.

*Some employees are entitled to receive a redundancy payment and statutory entitlements from their employer as per the National Employment Standards and related industrial award.

Casual contract employees

• A letter of termination of employment by reason of the transition from native timber harvesting in state forests and shortage of work available.
• An ‘Employment Separation Certificate’ form from your employer indicating the reason for separation was shortage of work.

Dual capacity employees

Businesses where a director or owner draws a wage as an employee, are known as dual capacity employees.

Dual capacity employees are individuals who serve as both directors and employees of a business entity.

Businesses structured in this manner undergo an assessment to determine if redundancies meet the criteria for a 'Genuine Redundancy' to qualify for a Government Top-Up payment.

Step 1: Consider if a redundancy is required

It's essential to explore alternatives to redundancy, such as transfers, retraining, or redeployment, as many business owners may have alternative options to sustain their business operations.

Businesses preparing for a redundancy decision should assess whether the reason for redundancy would meet the criteria of a 'Genuine Redundancy' as defined by the Fair Work Act.

Step 2: Consider redeployment alternatives

Contractors and business owners in dual capacity roles should consider the alternatives to redundancy and explore options such as redeployment, retraining, or transfers to mitigate the need for redundancies and business closure.

Important note:

• If an employer could have given the employee another job within their company or another company linked to theirs, then the dismissal won't be considered a 'Genuine Redundancy'.
• An employee's dismissal will not qualify as a case of 'Genuine Redundancy' if it would have been reasonable in all circumstances for the employee to be redeployed within:
  • the employer's enterprise, or
  • the enterprise of an associated entity of the employer.

Additional evidence requirements for contractors and business owners

Depending on how your business is structured, there are specific evidence requirements that will relate to your circumstances and business structure.

Business owners should contact the forestry transition information line on 1800 318 182 to discuss your specific business structure.

Genuine Redundancy

A Genuine Redundancy is when:

• the person’s job doesn't need to be done by anyone
• the employer followed all consultation requirements in the award, enterprise agreement or other registered agreement
• the decision to terminate employment was at the employer's initiative.

A dismissal is not a Genuine Redundancy if the employer:

• still needs the employee’s job to be done by someone else (for example, hires someone else to do the job)
• has not followed relevant requirements to consult with the employee about the redundancy under an award or registered agreement
• could have reasonably, in the circumstances, given the employee another job within the employer’s business or an associated entity (redeployment)
• was not the decision maker, and termination occurred at the employee’s own initiative
• made a contrived arrangement to reemploy the employee after termination, either between:
  • the employee and the employer, or
  • the employer and another entity.

How Government top-up payments are calculated

The Government top-up payment is calculated based on years of service in the native timber industry and is comprised of:

• four weeks of pay for each year of service in the native timber industry
• unused sick leave (up to 152 hours)
• reduced by the genuine redundancy amount received from final employer.

This payment has a maximum cap of $150,000 including any genuine redundancy paid by the employer.

Employees over the age of 45 years will receive a further 3 weeks of pay for every year of service in the industry after the age of 45. This payment is calculated separately from the Government Top-Up payment and has a cap of $50,000.

Weekly pay rates will be based on:

• For common law employees of native timber businesses, their most recent ordinary rate of pay (pro-rata for part-time and casual contract employees).
• Contractors and business owners may calculate an average annual salary for the best two financial years from 2018-2019 to 2021-2022. From this they can determine a weekly pay rate. This will be capped at $120,000 per annum.

Years of service in the native timber industry is calculated by:

• Summing all eligible periods of employment and rounding down to the nearest whole year. For example, if an employee has worked for 5 years and 6 months, their years of service will be recorded as 5 years.

Payment process

• Once all required evidence and documentation have been submitted to the Service Provider or the Department, the application for your Government Top-Up Payment will be assessed. A representative from the Worker Support Team will contact you to inform you whether the application has been approved or if additional information or actions are needed to support or verify your application.
• Once approved, a test payment will be issued to you within 10 business days to verify the bank account to which the payment will be made.
• Following verification, you can expect to receive your Government Top-Up payment swiftly.

Tax treatment of Government Top-Up payments

The Government Top-Up payment is subject to tax treatment under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. If you receive a Government Top-Up payment, you will need to report it correctly in your tax return. You are encouraged to seek personal financial and tax advice.

If you receive a Government Top-Up payment

Did you receive a payment for a redundancy, annual leave, long service leave, sick leave or parental leave?

If you did, there may be a waiting period before you can receive an income support payment from Family Assistance, Centrelink or other Government programs. To avoid a situation where you have no access to funds and no access to income support payments, you should contact Services Australia to find out how long your waiting period will be before you spend your termination payment. You may also have a waiting period depending on the amount of liquid assets (for example, money, shares) you have available.

Please visit Services Australia for further information.

Hardship payment

The one-off hardship payment is a singular payment of $3000 specifically for native timber employees working in Community Forestry. The payment is available to employees who have experienced significant hardship due to the transition away from native timber harvesting and have not been receiving or received any other government payments.

Eligibility

To qualify for this payment, you must fall into one of the following categories:

• Community forestry license holder or employee.
• Seed collector.

Relocation reimbursement

The Worker Support Program will reimburse eligible employees and families for relocation costs of up to $45,000. The relocation reimbursement can be tailored to accommodate an employee's specific moving expenses.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a relocation reimbursement, you first must have been made genuinely redundant, or your employer ended your casual employment contract within the last 12 months and show that you have secured employment at a worksite located 50 kilometres or more away from your current residence.

Submission of two quotes along with an invoice is necessary for some costs to be reimbursed. The reimbursement will cover the costs of the most economical option chosen after considering the provided quotes. Your case manager will work with you regarding which items will need to be evidenced with more than one quote when making a claim for reimbursement.

What can be reimbursed?

The following categories of costs are eligible for reimbursement.

Exceptional circumstances

Exceptional circumstances are intended to support eligible employees and their families who may face challenges beyond their control. Please note that exceptional circumstances apply only to those who are eligible employees.

To apply for exceptional circumstances, you first need to confirm your eligibility for the Worker Support Program or the Government Top-Up Payment. Once your eligibility is confirmed, you can submit your application for exceptional circumstances in writing, either directly to the Department or through your service provider. The Department will then assess your circumstances in alignment with the policy intent of the Worker Support Program to ensure they satisfy the criteria for exceptional circumstances.

Frequently asked questions

Page last updated: 29/08/24