Payments are available for eligible native timber employee who have been made redundant or had a casual contract ended.
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About the payment
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.
How to access the Victorian Forestry Worker Support Program
Native timber industry employees and their family members
Contact the Forestry Transition Information Line 1800 318 182
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.
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 must supply:
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 must supply:
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.
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.
Businesses should:
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.
Depending on how your business is structured, there are additional 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.
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.
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 ATO published a Class Ruling for the Victorian Forestry Worker Support Program on 6 November 2024. This ruling clarifies that, under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, eligible employees receiving a Government Top-Up Payment may qualify for tax-free and concessional tax treatment up to certain limits, as long as the criteria are met.
The Class Ruling applies to employees in the following categories:
Full-time
Part-time
Casual
Piece rate
Seasonal
Only eligible employees receiving a Government Top-Up Payment can access genuine redundancy tax-free and concessional tax treatment.
Independent contractors that receive a Government Top-Up Payment are not eligible for tax-free or concessional tax treatment.
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.
The ATO Class Ruling can be viewed or downloaded from the ATO website.
A fact sheet explaining the ruling is also available
Redundancy, annual leave, long service leave, sick leave or parental leave payments may impact other government payments you receive.
There may be a waiting period before you can receive an income support payment from Family Assistance, Centrelink or other Government programs after you receive a payment from your employer or the Victorian Government.
You are encouraged to contact Services Australia to find out how long your waiting period will be before you spend your redundancy payment. You may also have a waiting period depending on the amount of other liquid assets (for example, money, shares) you have available.
For all payments, once approved, an eligible employee will receive a test payment within 10 business days to verify your bank account. Following verification, you can expect your government top-up payment within 10 business days.
The Worker Support Program is available until June 30, 2026.
There may be a waiting period before you can receive an income support payment such as family assistance and other Centrelink payments. It may also affect any payments you already receive. To avoid a situation where you have no access to funds and no access to an income support payment, 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.
You may not be eligible for the government top-up payment if you:
Work in plantation timber-related roles.
Are employed by a business not eligible for business transition support.
Have been employed for less than 12 months.
Voluntarily leave your employment or are terminated for reasons other than genuine redundancy.
Are dismissed for reaching retirement age, disciplinary issues, or inefficiency.
Work outside of Victoria, or are a trainee or apprentice.
Your employment ends due to a fixed-term contract or a contrived arrangement to reemploy you.
Terminate your employment yourself or have a termination arrangement not at arm's length.
No, employees working in plantation timber-related roles are not eligible for the government top-up payment. This payment is specifically designed for roles within native timber.
No, you are only eligible for the government top-up payment if you have been genuinely made redundant or if your employer ended your casual employment contract within the last 12 months. Dismissals for reasons other than genuine redundancy, such voluntary separation, you are not eligible for the government top-up payment. The payment is only available in cases of genuine redundancy.
If you are an independent contractor and you have received a Government Top-Up Payment, you will not be eligible for any tax-free or concessional tax treatment. This means that the Government Top-Up Payment will be subject to income tax.
To ensure consistency in the administration of payments under the Worker Support Program and to ensure DEECA correctly meets its tax obligations, the highest marginal tax (47%) is withheld from all Government Top-Up Payments made to independent contractors.
This is because, unlike employees eligible for genuine redundancy, where specific tax treatments apply, independent contractors are not eligible for such concessions. As a result, the tax rate cannot be determined at the payment calculation stage and must instead be assessed based on the contractor’s overall income at the time of their tax return.
It is the responsibility of each independent contractor to work with their tax agent to determine whether they are eligible to claim any of this amount back in their tax return. The availability of a tax refund will depend on individual circumstances.
