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                    Highest and Best Use (HABU) Timber Program

                    Tree in city park
                    Our Highest and Best Use (HABU) timber program recognises the potential to better utilise the City of Melbourne tree assets post-removal, as well as demonstrate sustainable urban forestry practices and Council’s commitment to a circular economy.

                    While felled trees in the City of Melbourne are typically chipped, mulched and used within the Council parks and gardens, our goal is to find the Highest and Best Use (HABU) for our timber. As a result, we have made available some high-quality timber that has been diverted from mulching and been transferred, stored and milled locally. 

                    To date, we have repurposed some of this timber for various projects across our municipality, including for furniture such as seating, habitat logs and nature play. 

                    We are now offering the opportunity for individuals, community groups and organisations to make use of our salvaged timber by registering their interest in purchasing the timber.

                    Our HABU Timber Sale 2021 expression of interest (EOI) is now closed

                    City of Melbourne is seeking expressions of interest from individuals, community groups, commercial and not-for-profit organisations to purchase our high-graded milled and unmilled timber. 

                    Profits from the sale will be directed to Council’s Urban Forest Fund to support future greening projects across the city.

                    Applications closed at 5pm Thursday 4 November 2021. Submissions are currently being reviewed and successful applicants will be notified in coming weeks.

                    Why our timber is special

                    Our timber is special in many ways. We can tell you about the history of the tree it came from and the exact street where the tree was growing. The trees are grown here within the municipality and the salvaged timber is stored locally, to limit our carbon footprint post-tree removal. The diversity of our timber is unique, including unusual species such as Elm that are not available in the commercial market.

                    Further information

                    Read on to find out more about the Timber Sale:

                    Timber available for purchase

                    We are selling a selection of high quality milled and unmilled timber (logs). Milled timber will be sold as rough sawn (milled timber that carries the saw marks from the milling process).

                    EOI submissions for timber must meet the reserve price specified by Council.

                    Timber for sale will include English elm from Grattan Street, London plane from St Kilda Road and Himalayan cedar from Alexandra Gardens.

                    You can find descriptions, photos and reserve prices for all the timber for sale in the document below:

                    Please note – the milled timber is furniture grade only. No stress grading has been conducted by a qualified timber grader, the timber is not structurally certified under Australian standards and therefore is not fit for structural purposes. Timber will be ‘sold as seen’. The City of Melbourne will not be liable for any unforeseen costs incurred once the timber has been purchased.

                    Indicative timelines from EOI to sale

                    • Expression of interest submissions closed at 5pm Thursday 4 November 2021.
                    • EOIs evaluated by internal assessment panel by Friday 12 November 2021.
                    • Notification of outcomes to registrants by Monday 15 November 2021.
                    • Successful registrants required to collect timber from storage site within 14 days of receiving contract of sale documentation and invoice.

                    Registrants will be notified if any changes to the timelines occur. This information will also be updated here.

                    Register your interest in viewing the timber

                    Public drop in sessions to view timber are closed.  

                    Before submitting an expression of interest, prospective buyers had the opportunity to attend a drop in session at our timber storage site on Friday 29 October 2021 to view the lots in person and assess the condition of the timber prior to registering their interest in purchasing the timber.

                    Selection criteria

                    ​Submitted expressions of interest will be evaluated by an internal Assessment Panel against the information provided by the bidder in the expression of interest submission. Submissions will be considered against a weighted financial and non-financial criteria. 

                    Financial:

                    • Bidding price for the timber, with higher weighting given to higher bid offers relative to the specified reserve price of each individual timber lot.  

                    Non-financial:

                    • Timber use, with higher weighting given to EOI submissions that demonstrate the highest and best use of the timber in the opinion of the Panel. City of Melbourne will not accept offers for low quality uses such as firewood or mulching. 
                    • Timber benefits, with higher weighting given to EOI submissions with proposed timber uses that have more anticipated community and/or the environmental benefits.  
                    • Timber distribution, with higher weighting given to local businesses or EOI submissions that propose the end use of the timber product in the City of Melbourne municipality.

                    Information for successful bidders

                    ​Process:

                    1. If at the completion of the expression of interest process, the Council may at its absolute discretion make an offer to sell a specific timber lot to a Registrant/s who are deemed successful. This offer will be made wholly in writing, and on any terms that the City of Melbourne considers appropriate. 
                    2. Interested parties will notified of the outcome of their expression of interest bids by Monday 15 November 2021.
                    3. Contract of sale documentation (offers) will be sent out with an invoice for payment to Successful Registrants. 
                    4. Successful Registrants must send back completed contract of sale documentation and acceptable risk assessment and methods statement. The Invoice must be paid.
                    5. Timber must be collected within 14 days of receiving contract of sale documentation (at a time and place, and in a manner to be agreed with the City of Melbourne). Proof of payment will be required at the time of collection. 

                    Terms and conditions

                    1. Registration conditions 

                    1.1. The Registration Conditions for Expression of Interest reference Contract No. 8263 form a binding part of the Council’s Highest and Best Use (HABU) – Timber Sale, Invitation to Register an Expression of Interest and must be read in conjunction with the Online Registration Form, the Selection Criteria, the Council’s Privacy Policy and Information Collection Statement.

                    2. Definitions

                    2.1. In these Registration Conditions the following terms will, if not inconsistent with the context, have the meaning indicated: 

                    2.1.1. “Expression of Interest” means these Registration Conditions, the Selection Criteria, and the Online Registration Form that the Registrant is required to duly execute and complete and lodge with the Council in accordance with Registration Conditions including agreeing to the Council’s Privacy Policy and Information Collection Statement;

                    2.1.2. “Online Registration Form” means the online registration form located at Timber Sale - Expression of Interest that must be fully completed by the Registrant, and includes any responses to requests for information contained in the online registration form;

                    2.1.3. “Selection Criteria” means the criteria used by the Council to evaluate a valid Expression of Interest in clause 11. 

                    2.1.4. “Registrant” means the person or persons or organisation identified on the Online Registration Form and includes all persons on whose behalf the person named therein may be deemed to have lodged the Expression of Interest; and

                    2.1.5. “Council” means the Melbourne City Council trading as the City of Melbourne.

                    3. Expression of interest process

                    3.1. The Expression of Interest is the process of assessing whether the Council considers it appropriate to offer to sell timber to a specified Registrant on terms to be determined at the Council’s absolute discretion. The Expression of Interest may also be used to assist Council to refine its specifications.

                    3.2. Registrants to this Invitation to Register an Expression of Interest will be evaluated against pre-defined criteria on the information requested in the Online Registration Form. Registrants will be responsible for submitting all the information that is requested and for lodging their Expression of Interest by the stated closing time and date.

                    3.3. Registration of consortia will be accepted for evaluation on the condition that Registrants provide full details of their proposed legal and operational business frameworks.

                    3.4. Persons or organisations that are successful in the Expression of Interest evaluation procedure will be notified of next steps. Persons or organisations that have not been successful will also be notified. 

                    3.5. Persons or organisations submitting an Expression of Interest accept that Council’s decisions relating to the Expression of Interest are final.

                    4. Invitation to register expression of interest documents

                    4.1. The Invitation to Register an Expression of Interest document shall consist of:

                    4.1.1. Online Registration Form;

                    4.1.2. the Selection Criteria; 

                    4.1.3. these Registration Conditions,

                    4.1.4. any document hyperlinked to the Online Registration Form 

                    4.1.5. any additional documents issued by Council which are stated to apply to the Expression of Interest.

                    4.2. The electronically submitted Expression of Interest submitted by a Registrant including any data remains the property of Council and may only be used for the purpose of preparing a response to the Invitation to Register an Expression of Interest, unless otherwise stated or as required by law.  

                    4.3. All submitted Online Registrations Forms and any data and/or submitted documents by the Registrant become the property of Council.  Ownership of intellectual property in the Expression of Interest remains vested in the Registrant.  In submitting an Expression of Interest, the Registrant grants the Council an irrevocable licence to use, retain and copy the information contained therein for the purpose of evaluating Expressions of Interest, identifying preferred Registrant(s), negotiating any resultant Contract and in responding to a claim raised by a Registrant concerning the Expression of Interest evaluation process.

                    4.4. The Online Registration Form may contain details relevant to the proposed contract. No representations, advice, information or material whatsoever regarding the Expression of Interest have any force or effect unless they appear expressly in, or in a written Addendum to, the Online Registration Form issued by the Council and identified by the Expression of Interest reference Contract No. 8263. The Expression of Interest reference Contract No. 8263 is published at the top of the Online Registration Form.

                    4.5. Without limiting the above paragraph, the information contained in the Online Registration Form supersedes any prior representations made to the Registrant or advice, information or material previously provided to the Registrant with regard to the Expression of Interest and/or the proposed contract.

                    5. Preparing to lodge an expression of interest 

                    5.1. The Expression of Interest must be submitted on a completed using the Online Registration Form authorised by a representative of the Registrant; and

                    5.2. Registrants must lodge their Expression of Interest in accordance with the requirements set out in Clause 4. Failure to comply with any or all of these requirements may result in the Expression of Interest not uploading successfully and/or be considered as a non-conforming Expression of Interest.

                    6. Expression of interest lodgement

                    6.1. Expression of Interest must be submitted to Council by the closing time using the Online Registration Form. Council will not accept Expression of Interest lodged in any other manner.

                    6.2. In order to properly lodge an Expression of Interest, a Registrant must be in receipt of a confirmation email from Council. If such a receipt is not provided, an Expression of Interest will not be deemed to have been properly received by Council and will not be considered for evaluation. The successful lodgement of an Expression of Interest is solely the Registrant’s responsibility.  

                    6.3. The registrant should allow sufficient time to upload all Expression of Interest submission documents. Depending on your Internet speed and many other factors, the time required to submit Expression of Interest may vary. The registrant may choose to lodge larger files early and outside normal business hours, when Internet traffic is reduced.  

                    6.4. The Registrant is solely responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all the information and documentation provided to Council and for the timing of the Expression of Interest. Council is not responsible for:

                    6.4.1. loss of Expression of Interest responses, documents and/or other information in transit from a Registrant to Council; and

                    6.4.2. its inability to assess an Expression of Interest response due to inaccurate or incomplete documentation or information provided by a Registrant.

                    6.5. The Council will not make any payment to the Registrant for the preparation and submission of the Expression of Interest.

                    6.6. Council may require at its discretion a subsequent hard copy response of the Registrant.

                    7. Non-conforming expressions of interest and late lodgement

                    7.1. Any Expression of Interest failing to comply with and/or containing provisions contrary to the Online Registration Form and/or these Registration Conditions will be considered non-conforming and may be rejected at the discretion of the Council. The Council reserves all rights to consider and accept non-conforming Expression of Interest submissions.

                    7.2. Any Expression of Interest received after closing time will be deemed late and therefore no late Expression of Interest can be lodged and considered.

                    8. Acceptance of expressions of interest

                    8.1. The Council may accept any Expression of Interest.

                    8.2. The Council is not bound to accept any Expression of Interest.

                    8.3. Notwithstanding any other requirements of the Online Registration Form and/or these Registration Conditions the Council may, before any Expression of Interest is accepted, require any Registrant to submit promptly on request and without charge, any further information relevant to the Expression of Interest.

                    8.4. The Council may conduct post-Expression of Interest discussions with one or more of the Registrants for the purpose of concluding the Expression of Interest.

                    8.5. An Expression of Interest will not be deemed to have been accepted until the Council has notified the Registrant in writing.

                    9. Registrant to inform itself

                    9.1. The Registrant acknowledges that:

                    9.1.1. It has had full opportunity to:

                    9.1.1.1. examine and acquaint itself with the Expression of Interest;

                    9.1.1.2. it will fully inform itself regarding any proposed contract, if an offer of sale is made in accordance with clause 17 of these terms and conditions.

                    9.1.2. it has satisfied itself as to the correctness and sufficiency of its Expression of Interest; 

                    9.1.3. it has no claim against the Council due to the accuracy or otherwise of information obtained from the Council and upon which the Registrant has based its Expression of Interest; 

                    9.2. If a Registrant has any doubt as to the meaning of any provisions or aspect of the Expression of Interest including the Online Registration Form it will either:

                    9.2.1. request in writing that the Council clarify the issue in writing; or

                    9.2.2. When submitting the Expression of Interest, include a statement of the interpretation upon which its Expression of Interest has been prepared.

                    9.3. A Registrant must submit any request made for clarification, in accordance with clause 9.2, to the Council Contact Officer not later than four (4) working days before the closing time for the Expression of Interest.

                    9.4. The Council may respond to a request for clarification or respond to a statement of interpretation. The Registrant must not rely on any response by the Council or assert that any such response affects the Registrant’s rights unless the response is made in writing. The Council may circulate such responses to any other Registrant.

                    9.5. In communicating with the Council for the purposes of the Expression of Interest, the Registrant will liaise only with the Contact Officer specified on the Annexure to the Conditions of Registration or such other person as the Council designates.

                    9.6. The Registrant in lodging its Expression of Interest submission acknowledges that the Council will be relying on the Registrant’s professional expertise to fully and competently evaluate and compile its Expression of Interest.

                    9.7  The Registrant acknowledges that the milled timber that is the subject of this Expression of Interest is furniture grade only. No stress grading has been conducted by a qualified timber grader, the timber is not structurally certified under Australian standards and therefore is not fit for structural purposes. The Council will not be liable for any unforeseen costs incurred once the timber has been purchased.”

                    10. Addenda

                    10.1. Any time up to three (3) working days before the Expression of Interest closing time, the Council may issue Addenda to the Invitation to Register an Expression of Interest documents to modify or clarify the Invitation to Register an Expression of Interest Documents in any manner whatsoever including responses to any enquiries from Registrants. All Addenda will be consecutively numbered and will be sent to each Registrant to which an Invitation to Register an Expression of Interest document has been issued.

                    10.2. When it is necessary to issue Addenda at any time less than three working days before the current Expression of Interest Closing Time, the Addenda will also advise a new Closing Time such that the Addenda is issued not less that three working days from the amended Expression of Interest Closing Time.

                    10.3. The Registrant shall confirm in its Expression of Interest that all Addenda have been taken into account in the Expression of Interest.

                    11. Expression of Interest Evaluation 

                    11.1. Expressions of Interest will be assessed against:

                    11.1.1. The Council will determine the relative importance of the criteria by a weighting system, and;

                    11.1.2. The bidding price for individual timber lots provided by the Respondent (must meet reserve price)

                    11.1.3. Whether the proposed use of the timber by the Registrant is, in the opinion of the Council, the highest and best use of the timber 

                    11.1.4. Whether the proposed use of the timber by the Registrant provides environmental and/or community benefits

                    11.1.5. The distribution of timber based on location of the business purchasing the timber, and the location of where the end product of the timber will be used, relative to the City of Melbourne municipal area. 

                    11.2. Online Registration Form encompasses all the evaluation criteria. Expressions of Interest that do not address all Schedules may be deemed non-conforming.

                    11.3. Evaluation will comprise assessment of the information submitted by Registrants. The information required by Council is detailed in the Expression of Interest including the Online Registration Form, and any other information that may be requested by Council during the evaluation process.

                    11.4. An Expression of Interest may not be considered further unless the Registrant is assessed as meeting an acceptable standard for all relevant criteria categories. Information may be assessed as non-conforming where it is regarded by Council as being invalidated by a qualification stated in the Expression of Interest. 

                    12. Non-compliance with goods representations

                    12.1. Once possession of the goods is formally transferred to the successful Registrant, failure to comply with any representations regarding the proposed use specified by the Registrant in the Expression of Interest may affect that person’s or that organisation’s ability to contract with Council in the future.”

                    13. Advertising

                    13.1. No Registrant shall make any public statement in relation to the Expression of Interest documentation, the Registrant’s completed or draft Online Registration Form, the short-listing of Registrants and proposed Contract without the prior written permission of the Council.

                    14. Disclosure Of Information

                    14.1. Council may discuss any submitted Expression of Interest in open session of Council Committee meetings.

                    14.2. If any Registrant wishes to include in its Expression of Interest any information relating to:

                    14.2.1. a trade secret of a Registrant; or

                    14.2.2. other matters of a business, commercial or financial nature which if disclosed would be likely to expose the Registrant unreasonably to disadvantage, and the Registrant requires that information be maintained by Council as confidential, the Registrant must identify that information in the Schedule of Commercial in Confidence Information

                    14.3. In considering whether specific information should be categorised as a trade secret, the Registrant should assess:

                    14.3.1. the extent to which it is known outside of the Registrant's business;

                    14.3.2. the extent to which it is known by the persons engaged in the Registrant's business;

                    14.3.3. any measures taken to guard its secrecy;

                    14.3.4. its value to the Registrant's business and to any competitors;

                    14.3.5. the amount of money and effort invested in developing the information; and

                    14.3.6. The ease or difficulty with which others may acquire or develop this information.

                    14.4. In considering whether disclosure of specific information will expose a Registrant's business to unreasonable disadvantage, the Registrant should assess:

                    14.4.1. whether the information is generally available to competitors; and

                    14.4.2. Whether it could be disclosed without causing substantial harm to the competitive position of the business.

                    14.5. The Registrant must provide written justification as to the reasons for classification of this information as 'Commercial-in-Confidence'.  Merely labelling information as such will not be sufficient.

                    14.6. Council will make a preliminary determination as to whether any part of an Expression of Interest submission should be treated as confidential.  Where Council considers that there is not sufficient grounds to treat the material as 'Commercial in Confidence', Council will inform the Registrant of its decision and will seek the Registrant's consent to disclose the information classified as 'Commercial in Confidence'.

                    14.7. If the consent in clause 14.6 is not provided, Council reserves the right to exclude information marked as 'Commercial in Confidence' from the Expression of Interest evaluation process.

                    14.8. Notwithstanding any other provision of this clause 14, in the absence of a Council resolution determining that the process will be confidential, Council will not accept Expressions of Interest which have 'Commercial in Confidence' applied to the whole document.

                    14.9. Council is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (FOI Act).  It may be requested by any person to provide access to documents in its possession, including documents submitted by any Registrant or generated by the Expression of Interest process. The right of access is subject to certain exemptions from access, to protect, amongst other things, business affairs of persons.

                    14.10. Council will take reasonable steps to maintain confidential all information included in an Expression of Interest which is marked 'Commercial in Confidence'.  If that information becomes the subject of a request for access under the FOI Act, the views of the Registrant will be sought before Council determines whether the details are exempt matters under the FOI Act.

                    14.11. Whether any Commercial in Confidence material is exempt from access under the FOI Act may ultimately be decided by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).  A Registrant may be required to give evidence at a proceeding at VCAT in relation to whether information in an Expression of Interest is exempt from access under the FOI Act.

                    14.12. Council has adopted the Information Privacy Principles derived from the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic). Where it may be unclear, Registrants must identify the personal information submitted by the Registrant that should not be disclosed.  Consent for the disclosure of any personal information must be obtained by the Registrant. 

                    15. Canvassing

                    15.1. The Expression of Interest of any Registrant who seeks to canvass or who contacts a Councillor in relation to this Expression of Interest process will not be considered by the Council.

                    16. Collateral contracts

                    16.1. The submission of an Expression of Interest by a Registrant will not give rise to any contract governing, or in any way connecting, the Expression of Interest process, or any aspect of the Expression of Interest process. The Council expressly disclaims any intention to enter into any such contract.

                    17. Offers of Sale

                    17.1 At the completion of the Expression of Interest process, the Council may at its absolute discretion, elect to make an offer to sell a specific timber lot to a Registrant who has been deemed successful, in accordance with these terms and conditions. Any offer made by the Council, will be made wholly in writing, and on any terms that the Council considers appropriate at that time. The registrant will be given a specified period of time to consider an offer of sale. No contract will be formed until the Registrant executes and returns the sale of agreement issued by the council within the required timeframe.

                    Privacy policy and information collection statement

                    ​The personal information supplied on this form is required in order to provide the service requested.  It will be used by Council staff and stored in our record system for only as long as necessary.  During this time, it can be accessed and amended by you, and will only be given to third parties with your consent or as required by legislation.

                    The Registrant must read and agree to Council's Privacy Policy and information collection statement above as a requirement of successful completion of the Online Registration Form.

                    HABU Timber Sale – FAQs

                    Will City of Melbourne provide transport services for the timber?

                    ​City of Melbourne will not provide transport. Successful bidders must be able to collect and transport their purchased timber. This must occur within 14 days of receiving contract of sale documentation and invoice.

                    Can I apply for multiple timber lots?

                    ​Yes. If you are interested in bidding for multiple timber lots, only one EOI submission is required. However, you must specify in the EOI form an individual bid price against each lot. 

                    Can not-for-profit organisations obtain the timber for free or purchase it at a significantly reduced cost?

                    ​No. To ensure a fair process for this sale, all bidders must meet the specified reserve price.

                    Can I seek an extension on the deadline?

                    ​No. Applications for City of Melbourne’s HABU Timber Sale 2021 closed 5pm Thursday 4 November 2021.

                    Do you sell ‘Dressed All Round’ (DAR) milled timber?

                    ​No. Our milled timber for sale is as rough sawn (milled timber that carries the saw marks from the milling process) and will be ‘sold as seen’.

                    Where are the profits of the sale going to?

                    ​Profits from the sale will be directed to Council’s Urban Forest Fund to support future greening projects across the city. Find out more about the Urban Forest Fund.  

                    Skip Image Gallery

                    HABU project gallery

                    Wooden outdoor seatingCarved wooden log in gardenFallen log in garden setting by roadTree with log seating next to playground

                    More information

                    ​For more information, contact the Urban Forest and Ecology Team at melbourneurbanforest@melbourne.vic.gov.au or 9658 9658.

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