Forestry Operations Supervisor

A Forestry Operations Supervisor oversees timber harvesting, reforestation, and forest maintenance activities on commercial or public forestry sites across Australia. They manage crews of fellers, truck drivers, and plantation workers, ensuring compliance with state forestry regulations, workplace safety standards, and environmental protection requirements. The role involves day-to-day coordination of machinery, scheduling of operations, monitoring of productivity, and liaison with forest management planners and timber buyers.

Plan and schedule daily logging operations including crew assignments, machine deployment, and transport routes in accordance with harvesting permits and coupe management plans. Conduct pre-start safety briefings and toolbox meetings with crew members to communicate hazards, procedures, and daily objectives on forestry sites. Inspect felling equipment including chainsaws, skidders, harvesters, and trucks for mechanical fitness and safety compliance before deployment. Monitor timber quality and log sorting on site to ensure compliance with customer specifications and grading standards. Manage traffic and safety controls on site, including flagging operations during road crossings and coordinating with public road authorities where required. Record productivity metrics including volume harvested, crew hours, machine utilisation, and downtime for daily reporting to operations management. Conduct site inspections to verify environmental controls are in place such as erosion management, stream buffers, and habitat protection zones as per state forest codes. Investigate and report workplace incidents and near-miss events to site safety officers and prepare corrective action plans.

The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training (ABS skill level 3). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

You'll be managing crews doing one of Australia's most dangerous jobs, which means constant high-stakes safety responsibility. If someone gets seriously hurt on your watch, that's on you legally and personally. The work is also heavily weather-dependent and remote, so you're stuck on site in all conditions. Pay tops out lower than supervisory roles in other industries, and automation in harvesting is eating into job security.

Practically speaking, work is regional and site-based rather than metro. You'll need to relocate or commute to active forestry regions. Remote work isn't an option here.

• Active Listeningcore
• Goal Setting and Planningcore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Report Writingcore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Stakeholder Communicationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Workflow Prioritisationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Attention to Detail
• Care for the wildlife
• Carry out routine maintenance of wood cutting machinery
• Conflict Resolution
• Negotiation
• Process Improvement Identification
• Record Management
• Research and Analysis
• Rostering and Scheduling Support

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026