Forestry NSW fined $450k for illegally logging “significant” habitat near Coffs Harbour

Forestry NSW has been fined $450,000 for illegal logging that occurred six years ago. The cutting down of old growth was found to have caused harm to koala habitat and the Gumbaynggirr people. 

❓What happened: On Friday 13, the NSW Land and Environment Court (LEC) imposed a $450,000 fine on the Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW).

• FCNSW is responsible for managing timber production in NSW’s state-owned native and plantation forests. 

🧑‍⚖️What for: Forestry Corporation was found to have illegally cut down six giant trees and three hollow bearing trees in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest on the Dorrigo Plateau, west of Coffs Harbour.

The illegal logging happened back in June and July of 2020. 

🟡 More than once: The recent conviction isn’t Forestry’s first offence. In 2022, FCNSW was also required to pay fines and costs totalling $285,600 after the EPA prosecuted it over trees felled in exclusion zones in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest that had caused harm to koala habitat.

• Any trees with a diameter of more than 140cm, except Blackbutt and Alpine Ash, are defined as giant trees and must be retained under the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operation Approval. 

• The ongoing survival of endangered hollow-dependent species, such as greater gliders, relies on the availability of trees across the landscape with a range of hollow shapes and sizes.

🐨 Harm to koalas and culture: On Friday, the court found the logging of these trees by FCNSW contractors once again caused harm to koala habitat. This habitat now forms part of the footprint of the Great Koala National Park, according to the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA). 

📍Major location: NSW Greens MP, Sue Higginson, said the illegal logging happened in one of the most significant Koala Hubs in NSW.

• “These giant hollow-bearing trees are irreplaceable ecological assets,” Higginson said in a statement. “They take hundreds of years to form and they provide homes for threatened wildlife that cannot survive without them.”

The court also found the logging caused cultural harm to the Gumbaynggirr people’s connection to Country.  

• The sentence follows a landmark restorative justice conference held in 2025 involving the Gumbaynggirr Traditional Custodians, the EPA, and FCNSW. It was the first time such a process has been used for a forestry-related offence in NSW.

🗣️“This judgment makes it unmistakably clear – the loss of these giant and hollow-bearing trees caused real harm, not only to koala habitat but also to the cultural fabric of the Gumbaynggirr people,” NSW EPA CEO, Tony Chappel said in a statement.

• “This was a serious failure by FCNSW in the planning of forestry operations and the identification of trees that must be retained,” Chappel said. “These ancient, giant and hollow-bearing trees provided significant habitat and biodiversity value and are irreplaceable.”

💵 Where does the money go: The full penalty of $450,000 will be paid to the Yurruungga Aboriginal Corporation (YAC)

• The EPA says the money will go toward several projects in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, focusing on remediation and cultural mapping and will also help create the Gumbaynggirr Guardians rangers' program.

🗣️“The destruction of koala habitat in forests that hold deep cultural significance for the Gumbaynggirr people is a profound harm that should never have occurred in our publicly owned forests,” Higginson said.

"It is an incredibly broken system when Traditional Custodians will now be repairing their lands that the Forestry Corporation illegally desecrated”.

💰Taxpayer money: Higginson says Forestry’s recent fine adds to the more than $1.1 million in fines received by the Forestry Corporation for separate offences since June 2022.

• “The community is again paying the bill for the criminal destruction of public forests carried out by a Government logging agency. Because the Forestry Corporation is a State owned corporation, this $450,000 penalty will ultimately be paid by the people of NSW,” Higginson said.

➡️ What now: The EPA said there are strict forestry rules in place to protect certain habitat and trees, and that it will “continue to hold forestry to account”.

Along with the $450,000 fine, the court orders also require FCNSW to:

• Engage in genuine and meaningful consultation on relevant future harvesting with the Gumbaynggirr people;

• hire an independent consultant to conduct an audit of FCNSW’s resourcing, training, internal procedures and policies on identifying and retaining giant and hollow-bearing trees, and to implement recommendations; and

• publish a notice regarding the offences and sentence in several local, state and industry publications.

Forestry’s apology: “We sincerely apologise for removing nine trees that were required to be protected and have taken significant steps to address the issue and prevent this from happening again,” FCNSW CEO Anshul Chaudhary said in a statement.

The corporation says it has reviewed and updated its standard operating procedures and staff training to “ensure the relevant regulations are clearly communicated and understood by our staff and contractors, minimising the risk of similar errors in future operations”.

Thumbnail: Stump of a giant tree logged in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest. Image: North East Forest Alliance.