Victorian Trees on Farms Program

No, you do not need a professional service provider (PSP) to submit a project plan.

However, if you do not have the relevant experience, training, or have not previously completed tree-growing activities of a similar scale, it is recommended that you seek a PSP to assist in the development of your project plan.

If you engage a PSP, you will be eligible to claim the PSP rebate. Funding can be claimed to a value of 20% of the maximum project grant value up to a maximum of $5,000 (exc. GST).

You can find a professional service provider (PSP) that is suited to your project and operates in your region by browsing the PSP register on this webpage. The PSP register will be regularly updated as more businesses and organisations sign up.

You are not required to engage a PSP on the register and you may choose to find one independently.

If you need further assistance in finding a suitable PSP, please contact the VToF program team via plantationforestry@deeca.vic.gov.au.

A professional service provider (PSP) is an individual or organisation that has relevant technical knowledge and expertise – this can be for farm forestry, environmental or biodiversity plantings, revegetation, carbon farming – and has the capacity to assist you in developing your project plan.

A PSP can use their expertise and experience to aid you in understanding how to best to use your land to achieve your tree-growing goals and to translate that into a project plan.

A PSP rebate is a once-off payment available to landowners who do not have prior experience in tree establishment and management.

The PSP rebate will be paid to the landowner after the grant agreement between the landowner and the department has been executed by both parties.

The department is not a party to any relationship or contractual arrangement between the landowner and the PSP.

PSP rebate funding can be claimed to a value of 20% of the project grant value up to a maximum of $5,000 (excl. GST).

An invoice from the PSP is required as evidence to claim the PSP rebate and must be submitted as part of the landowner’s application submitted to VToF.

It is the landowners obligation and responsibility to pay the invoiced amount to the PSP for their engagement in accordance with the payment terms in the invoice.

The invoice must only include services that have been delivered or completed. The invoice must include sufficient detail to demonstrate that the services provided are aligned with the costs charged and represent value for money. The invoice must, at a minimum, include:

• an itemised list of the services provided, and
• corresponding value of the services provided

Applications to VToF that are not successful are ineligible to receive the PSP rebate.

Applicants are encouraged to review the VToF program guidelines to determine the eligibility settings and assessment criteria to determine the likelihood of project applications being approved. Applications to the VToF that meet the minimum program requirements are eligible for funding.

It is the landowners obligation and responsibility to pay the invoiced amount to the professional service provider (PSP) for their engagement in accordance with the payment terms in the invoice.

The department is not a party to any relationship or contractual arrangement between the landowner and the PSP.

Funding for successful VToF project plans must be used to deliver trees in the ground.

This can include any activities associated with planning, site preparation, planting, maintenance, reporting, and accounting for receipt and expenditure of grant funds.

The following are NOT eligible for funding:

• Areas of land with existing native vegetation or land where there has been removal of native vegetation to support a VToF project
• Land that has had native vegetation removed in the previous 5 years
• Plantings that have commenced or have been established prior to entering into a VToF grant agreement with the department
• Replanting areas of failed establishment (infill planting)
• Any costs not directly associated with the project, including, but not limited to:
  • purchases or expenses related to the day-to-day operations or expenses of the applicant or their business
  • the purchase or transport of tools and equipment, machinery, livestock and/or feed
  • the purchase of crop or pasture seed
  • construction of or repairs to non-fencing infrastructure
• Public liability insurance
• Such other costs as reasonably determined by the assessment panel
• Primary producer’s labour costs (however, these can be included as In-kind contribution)

Plantings for VToF projects will generally be established according to the following planting regimes:

• Shelterbelts/timberbelts – a strip of trees, at least 10 metres wide, strategically planted to shelter livestock, crops, and pastures from the elements and some bio-security risks, as well as producing timber products in future years.
• Woodlots – small-scale plantations established for timber production, generally between 3 and 20 hectares and established at a relatively high density.
• Wide-spaced plantings – trees planted several metres apart (minimum 400 trees/hectares) to enable effective grazing of livestock (once trees are of sufficient size) or growth of crops, whilst producing timber.
• Integrated environmental plantings, such as those that buffer riparian corridors, or are established on less productive parts of the land, with the purpose of combating erosion or salinity, increasing biodiversity, pollination, or other environmental services.

For a complete list of project requirements and constraints, and funding exclusions, refer to the Victorian Trees on Farms Program guidelines.

Offer of grant funding will not be made to you if you have performed activities related to your project application on the property, such as tree establishment, prior to the grant agreement being signed by both yourself and the department.

If your project is not successful, the department is not liable for any costs incurred for project activities that began or were undertaken before a grant agreement is executed.

The higher funding for farm forestry plantings is to acknowledge the extra costs associated with pruning and thinning in managing trees to produce timber.

Farm forestry grants will be split over 2 payments – $2,000 per planted hectare (excl. GST) upon completion of milestone 1, and $2,000 per established hectare (excl. GST) upon completion of milestone 3 with evidence of management activities (if completed) or information demonstrating intent to manage for timber production.

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) provide guidance on their additionality requirements here – most notably, see the section on “What you can’t do before registration”. The advice under that heading includes “making a final investment decision about the project”.

Entering into (or potentially applying for) a VToF project agreement with the Victorian Government prior to registering a project under the ACCU scheme would constitute “making a final investment decision about the project”, and therefore would trigger the eligibility clause and would make the ACCU project ineligible.

However, there may be scope to apply for VToF once the ACCU Scheme project has been declared, noting that CER may take up to 90 days (or longer if additional information requirements are requested from applicants) for a project to be declared.

VToF does not exclude projects registered for ACCUs providing tree planting has not already commenced at the point a VToF application is submitted.

No. The PSP register allows landowners to easily browse professionals and service providers that have been vetted and assessed by the department. There is no requirement for a landowner to exclusively engage a PSP from the PSP register.

If your business or organisation is not on the PSP register, you may still provide services to landowners who engage you to develop their project plan.