Silviculture Award

Classification in this award is highly task driven. The safest approach is to match the worker to the actual forest task being required.

• The award uses task specific grades rather than broad generic field worker labels.
• Grade 2 covers planting, pruning, assessment, fertilising, thinning, field data collection and similar field work.
• Grade 3 moves into chainsaw work, certified fire pump work, patrol work, noxious weed work and bushfire or fire suppression duties including tree felling as part of that activity.
• Higher grades cover tree climbers, tree measurers, tree markers and store roles, including in charge roles.

Silviculture businesses need to choose an award compliant 38 hour implementation method and then administer RDOs carefully across public holidays.

• Ordinary hours are worked between 5.00 am and 5.00 pm Monday to Friday and average 38 per week.
• The award allows several methods to implement the 38 hour week, including shorter daily hours, fixed or rotating RDOs, banking accrued days or another agreed method.
• Employees may be required to work up to 10 ordinary hours per day.
• If the workplace uses an RDO method, an employee entitled to an RDO must not have that day rostered on a public holiday.

Piecework is allowed, but only with a written agreement and a real award floor underneath it. It cannot be used to push pay below the ordinary hourly outcome.

• Piecework must be agreed in writing and the agreement must specify the applicable piecework rate.
• A pieceworker must still receive at least the ordinary hourly award outcome for time worked.
• If the piecework amount falls below the award outcome for 3 consecutive shifts, the employee may terminate the piecework agreement by written notice that takes effect after 48 hours.
• Higher duties rules also apply where an employee works at a higher classification for more than 4 hours in a day or shift.

Travel and field conditions are built into this award through allowance rules, so payroll should not stop at the base rate.

• The award identifies special and industry allowances that are paid for all purposes.
• Leading hand allowances apply when an employee is appointed in charge of others.
• Transport allowances compensate for the travel patterns and mobility requirements of the industry and should not be ignored just because the site changes frequently.

Forest work can change quickly from routine cultivation to shift based or fire related duties, and the award treats those situations separately.

• The award has separate clauses for overtime and penalty rates, shiftwork and bushfire fighting.
• That means routine daytime cultivation work and emergency fire related duties should not be assumed to have the same pay treatment.
• When work moves into fire response or shift patterns, re check both classification and pay treatment.

Labour hire and group training arrangements can still be covered, so field work should be checked by task and location, not only by who issues the payslip.

• The award expressly covers on hire labour and hosted trainees performing covered silviculture and afforestation work.
• Host businesses should therefore check classification, piecework and travel obligations even when another employer pays the wages.

PR799280, PR799320, PR799477

The current consolidated award incorporates these recent variation determinations. Use the consolidated wording when checking any affected clause, schedule, rate or allowance.

Affected: 15 - Minimum rates, 17 - Allowances, Schedule A - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule B - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule C - Supported Wage System