ForestWorks Response to The Age Coverage
ForestWorks is proud of the work we undertake as an industry owned, not for profit. We work collaboratively with all parts of the industry; employers and workers, in our core area of work, skills development. We’ve also been engaged by Governments to run programs on their behalf.
We operated the Worker Support Program (WSP) from 2022 until 2026 under contract to the Victorian Government. Under that program, now closed, we provided support to eligible native timber employees, supply chain employees, and their families as they navigated the transition away from native timber harvesting in state forests.
The WSP program provided a safety net to those who were made genuinely redundant or had their casual employment contract ended due to the Victorian Forestry Transition Program. We secured strong outcomes for workers under this program and will soon be issuing a report with further detail on the positive outcomes achieved.
The WSP was recently the subject of some negative publicity, and our organisation was named as part of that media coverage. The Age newspaper chose to publish a story, in late June, about a Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO) report which was released in April 2026. The Age story was published the day after a 4 Corners program.
The facts:
ForestWorks was engaged by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action to deliver worker transition services, including one on one case management and tailored support and payments through the WSP. We delivered the WSP as contracted and assisted workers and communities. The program supported 614 redundant workers, with 3,923 approved training plans and 266 Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) outcomes. Approximately 95% of workers have transitioned either to new employment, retirement or have chosen not to look for work.
The Victorian Auditor General’s audit report confirmed that the program supported workers, businesses and communities.
VAGO did make critical comments regarding the program they were auditing. These comments identified areas where the Department could strengthen program administration, monitoring and evaluation.
The audit noted that the department was not able to demonstrate job quality and security outcomes for workers following transition.
Contrary to the impression in The Age story, the program did not require ForestWorks to collect information about new pay levels or employment contracts. What we could do, and did do, was provide tailored, individual support based on each worker’s goals.
The audit also raised matters relating to eligibility, hardship payments and funding limits.
At all times decisions about eligibility and hardship payment approvals sat with the Department. ForestWorks provided evidence to VAGO on its delivery approach and formally responded to matters where we did not agree with the audit’s findings. Those responses are included in the audit appendix.
ForestWorks welcomed the audit’s recommendations to improve program design and evaluation.
We are disappointed that The Age sought to contact us too late to gain our perspective on this program. They also incorrectly claimed that ForestWorks was the primary focus of the VAGO audit.
ForestWorks was also approached by the ABC 4 Corners program regarding the WSP and we responded with factual information. They chose not to proceed with any mention of ForestWorks, or our work.