The Australian Forest Contractors Association (AFCA) has entered voluntary liquidation after the Board concluded a materially significant debt owed to Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) could not be resolved. That is according to a public notice obtained by Wood Central tonight, in which the AFCA Board states the wind-up follows “an extended period of financial remediation, stakeholder consultation, and unsuccessful efforts to resolve a historical project-related liability and establish a viable long-term operating pathway for the Association.”
Whilst the September 2025 annual general meeting installed a new Board of Directors, the debt to FWPA was “uncovered at the 29 October Board meeting,” with the AFCA Board’s operational snapshot recording “no means or plan to repay.” A letter from FWPA dated 12 November 2025 outlined communications with the former CEO going back to May 2025 regarding “his financial mismanagement and breach of contract,” as recorded in the Board’s operational snapshot.
The Board entered good-faith negotiations with FWPA on repayment of the debt, with the former CEO terminated in November 2025 “for reasons not related to financial mismanagement,” the operational snapshot records. “The Board concluded that voluntary liquidation represents the most responsible course of action to transparently address the organisation’s liabilities,” the AFCA Board said in its public notice.
Due to insufficient funds, the Board ratified the sale of ForestFit on the recommendation of a working group of former Board members, ceased supplier agreements with administrative contractors, and had Board members take on some administrative duties. The terminated CEO has since lodged a General Protections application with the Fair Work Commission seeking additional monetary compensation, with “no unfair dismissal claim” made, according to the Board’s operational snapshot.
Wood Central understands that the legacy debt remained the central unresolved issue from the 29 October 2025 Board meeting forward, with the AFCA Chair and the FWPA Chair meeting in person in March 2026 and an emergency stakeholder meeting in April 2026 securing no outcome. FWPA subsequently issued a “legal demand letter for debt repayment,” and the majority of written feedback from members and sponsors concluded that the Association “had suffered irreparable reputational damage during the tenure of the terminated CEO.”
The Board finalised AFCA’s national reform agenda in March 2026, based on member priorities, and presented it to State and Federal Ministers, with the operational snapshot recording that “all ongoing projects” were completed in January 2026 as part of the financial governance remediation effort. The public notice closes by acknowledging members, sponsors, stakeholders and industry partners “for their support and contribution over many years.”
Wood Central understands the AFCA Board’s public notice closes a process that began at the 29 October 2025 Board meeting when the legacy debt was first uncovered, with the Board stating, “further information regarding the liquidation process will be communicated as appropriate.”
- Please note: Wood Central has reached out to Lloyd Martin, Chair of the Australian Forest Contractors Association, for more information.
