Warburton Environment v VicForests — The Tree Geebung Win
Filed: 5 June 2020
Judgment: 25 October 2022
In 2020, Warburton Environment Inc. took VicForests to the Supreme Court of Victoria as a last resort to stop unlawful logging. WE argued that VicForests was breaching its own regulations under the Code of Practice for Timber Production by destroying endangered Tree Geebungs, a unique understorey species found only in the Central Highlands. These trees can live for centuries and play a
crucial role in the forest ecosystem.
After more than two years of legal action, Justice Garde ruled in 2022 that VicForests had illegally logged Tree Geebungs, confirming that stronger protections were required. The Court ordered VicForests to survey for the species and retain protective buffers around mature Tree Geebungs wherever reasonably practicable.
This was the first Supreme Court judgment in Victoria to protect an endangered plant from logging, and it set an important legal precedent: VicForests must follow the rules, and the destruction of threatened flora carries real legal consequences.
Read the final judgement:
Warburton Environment Inc v VicForests (No 5) [2022] VSC 633
