Forestry Act 1959

Every person holding any lease, licence, permit or other authority or entitled to any right or privilege under an agreement or contract granted or made under this or any other Act over or in respect of the whole or any part of any State forest, timber reserve or forest entitlement area or the forest products thereon (the holder), shall at the person’s own cost and expense—

at all times make all reasonable provision for preventing, detecting, controlling and extinguishing bush, grass, or other rural fires on the State forest, timber reserve or forest entitlement area or, as the case may be, part thereof, over or in respect whereof or the forest products thereon, the lease, licence, permit, authority, agreement or contract was so granted or made; and

on becoming aware of any fire burning on the State forest, timber reserve or forest entitlement area, or as the case may be, part thereof as aforesaid, or burning elsewhere, which is likely to spread to such State forest, timber reserve or forest entitlement area, or as the case may be, part thereof (such not being a fire authorised under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1990, chapter 4A, part 1), promptly do everything reasonably within his or her power to extinguish the fire whether or not there is immediate danger of it causing damage, and shall forthwith cause the nearest forest officer or person performing duties under this Act to be notified of the fire and of the measures taken by the person to extinguish the same, and if, at the time of so notifying the forest officer or person performing duties under this Act, the fire is not extinguished, the person shall continue so far as possible to control and endeavour to extinguish the fire until it is brought under control or extinguished or until the person obtains the approval of the forest officer or person performing duties under this Act to desist.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(b)—holder shall include any agent, manager, supervisor or other person whomsoever acting in the general management or control of the business of the holder carried on, in or on the State forest, timber reserve or forest entitlement area, or part thereof as aforesaid (the agent).

A forest officer or person performing duties under this Act who is notified of a fire under subsection (1) must immediately notify a plantation licensee or plantation sublicensee for a licence area of the fire if the fire is likely to spread to the licence area.

Any person refusing, neglecting or failing to comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be deemed to have committed an offence.

False statements as to whereaboutsAny holder or agent who makes a false statement as to his or her whereabouts or makes a statement knowing the same to be false as to the whereabouts of any of the employees or agents of the holder at the time of the outbreak of any such fire shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

Nothing contained in this section shall be read as to relieve any person from any liability or obligation to which the person may be subject under the person’s lease, agreement, contract, permit, licence, other authority, or under any other Act or law, and the provisions of this section shall be read as in addition to and not in derogation from the provisions of any other Act.

This section does not apply to a plantation licensee or plantation sublicensee or any manager, supervisor or other person acting in the general management or control of the business of the plantation licensee or plantation sublicensee carried on in or on a licence area.