Australian Forest and Wood Innovations’ Board Communiqué
March 2025
AFWI’s first 2025 Board meeting was held in a hybrid format on 18 February and chaired by Mr Bob Gordon. Key discussion points included:
AFWI Operations
The AFWI Executive Director attended his inaugural Board meeting and was welcomed by the Board.
The draft Milestone Five report to the Commonwealth was reviewed and subsequently endorsed.
The First Nation’s Sub-Committee’s Charter was endorsed and a follow-up meeting of nominated members will be held.
Research Centres (RCs):
AFWI reported that all three RCs successfully finalised and signed their contract agreements on 18 February 2025. AFWI will provide the Board with quarterly progress updates on the RCs.
National Open Call (NOC) Round One 2024 – Post Board meeting Projects Update:
The following is an update on the current progress of the eight projects.
- Contracting has been finalised for five NOC projects, and they have received the first milestone payments and commenced project activities
- The sixth project, which experienced significant rescoping and delayed commencement, is scheduled for signing before the end of March.
- Negotiations are progressing with contracting the two remaining projects.
NOC Round Two 2025:
AFWI’s proposal of a two-stage Expression of Interest (EOI) process for the NOC Round Two was endorsed. This process fosters the submission of more targeted, beneficial, and higher-quality applications, creating opportunities for collaborative project development between AFWI and applicants. Subsequently, NOC Round Two opened on Friday, 7th March, and funding applications have commenced.
Next Board Meeting:
Our next Board meeting will be an in-person session, scheduled for 27th May in Hobart.
Bob Gordon
Chair, Australian Forest and Wood Innovations Board
