1   Short title

                   This Act may be cited as the Native Forest Protection Act 1996 .

2   Commencement

                   This Act commences on 31 December 1996.

3   Objectives

                   The object of this Act is to provide protection for Australia’s native forests by:

                     (a)  phasing out the export of woodchips from native forests; and

                     (b)  prohibiting logging in defined categories of native forest on public land immediately; and

                     (c)  prohibiting the export of woodchips from defined categories of native forests immediately; and

                     (d)  implementing a transitional strategy for the wood products industry.

4   Act to bind Crown

                   This Act binds the Crown in all its capacities.

5   Interpretation

                   In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

financial corporation means a financial corporation formed within the limits of the Commonwealth to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution applies.

foreign corporation means a foreign corporation to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution applies.

forest means a vegetation community dominated by trees with a projective foliage cover greater than 30%.

high conservation value native forest has the meaning given by section 6.

native forest means forest dominated by tree species native to the locality in which it occurs and where natural regeneration processes operate either fully or in part for recovery of canopy structure following natural or artificial disturbance.

old growth native forest means native forest that is ecologically mature (the upper stratum or overstorey is in the late mature to over-mature phases) and has been subjected to negligible unnatural disturbance such as logging, roading and clearing.

plantation means an area of trees planted and managed in an agricultural context for purposes including wood production.

rainforest means native forest which is fire sensitive, has a more or less continuous closed canopy of variable height and has a characteristic diversity of species and life forms, and includes:

                     (a)  transitional and seral communities with sclerophyll emergents that are of similar botanical composition to mature rainforest in which sclerophyll emergents are absent; and

                     (b)  disturbed native forests that can be expected to recover the defined characteristics.

species includes a sub-species.

trading corporation means a trading corporation formed within the limits of the Commonwealth to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution applies.

wilderness means any area larger than 3000 hectares which has a National Wilderness Inventory wilderness quality of 12 or greater, and any area identified as wilderness under the Wilderness Act 1987 of New South Wales.

World Heritage Convention means the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage that has been adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, being the convention a copy of the English text of which is set out in the Schedule to the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983 .

6   High conservation value native forest

A high conservation value native forest is a native forest on public land that satisfies one or more of the following paragraphs:

                     (a)  a native forest growing on land within a subcatchment containing rainforest or within 500 metres of rainforest, whichever is the lesser area;

                     (b)  a native forest place listed on the Register of the National Estate or the Interim Register of the National Estate for their biological values;

                     (c)  a World Heritage Area identified under the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983 , a place that the Commonwealth is obliged to protect under the World Heritage Convention, or a place identified as having world heritage value;

                     (d)  a subcatchment or area of at least 500 hectares surrounding sites in which any of the following species have been recorded since 1 January 1980:

                              (i)  species listed in Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 ;

                             (ii)  species listed as endangered or vulnerable in the Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 1994 of Queensland (for sites in Queensland);

                            (iii)  species listed in Schedule 12 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 of New South Wales (for sites in New South Wales);

                            (iv)  species listed as threatened in section 13 of the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 of Tasmania (for sites in Tasmania);

                             (v)  species declared specially protected flora and fauna under paragraph 14(2)(ba) or section 23F of the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 of Western Australia (for sites in Western Australia);

                            (vi)  species listed in the Schedule to this Act (for sites in Victoria);

                     (e)  an old growth native forest covering 10 hectares or more;

                      (f)  a wilderness area.