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.
Government top-up payments
The Government top-up payment may be provided to eligible employees who have been made genuinely redundant as defined by the Fair Work Act and lost their job.
To qualify for this payment, a native timber employee must meet all of the following conditions.
- you have been given a genuine redundancy* and lost your job
- you go to work in Victoria
- you are an employee*
- 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
* A genuine redundancy is when:
- the person’s job doesn’t need to be done by anyone
- the employer followed any consultation requirements in the award, enterprise agreement or other registered agreement
A dismissal is not a Genuine Redundancy if the employer:
- still needs the employee’s job to be done by someone (for example, hires someone else to do the job)
- has not followed relevant requirements to consult with the employees about the redundancy under an award or registered agreement or
- could have reasonably, in the circumstances, given the employee another job within the employer’s business or an associated entity
**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.
While contactors and business owners may also be eligible for a Government top-up payment, additional steps and evidence are necessary.
At the conclusion of a forestry business support package and any further business activity including income or revenue generation you may be in a position to make your employee role redundant. It should be noted that in this circumstance, your employee role would need to be made genuinely redundant and the business close to be eligible for the Worker Support Program (Government top-up payment).
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.
Contractors and business owners should contact the Forestry Transition Hotline: 1800 318 182 or visit Forestry Transition Program (deeca.vic.gov.au)
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.
Dual capacity employees should contact the Forestry Transition Hotline: 1800 318 182 or visit Forestry Transition Program (deeca.vic.gov.au)
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 your specific moving expenses.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a relocation reimbursement, an applicant must first be eligible for a Support payment and show that they have secured employment at a worksite located 50 kilometres or more away from their current residence.
What can be reimbursed?
The following costs are eligible for reimbursement:
- Relocation-associated legal costs
- Temporary accommodation (staying in a hotel, motel, caravan, or Airbnb)
- Associated medical costs
- School uniforms
- School enrolment fees
- First groceries purchased from grocer’s shop or supermarket to fill your fridge/pantry at your new residence
- Reasonable breaking lease costs of your current place of residence
- Vehicle registration transfer fees (if moving interstate)
- Utility connection and exit costs
- Licence transfer fees
- Rental bond on your new place of residence
- Rent at new location (up to two months)
- Reimbursement of stamp duty* (subject to certain conditions)
Please note that reimbursement of stamp duty requires the employee 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 employee occupies a Government residence at the new location.
Submission of two quotes along with an invoice is necessary for the following items. The reimbursement will cover the costs of the most economical option chosen after considering the provided quotes:
- 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)
How are Government top-up payments 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. 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.
