According to NSW State law, when a dividing fence is damaged and needs repairing or replacing, both landholders of the adjoining properties are equally responsible for the costs.
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But when you share your boundary with a state forest, the onus is not quite so clear-cut.
Many properties in the Nambucca Valley which were affected by the bushfires back onto state forests, and Guardian News has been told that in some circumstances there has been significant damage done to fences by trees toppling over from state forests -
And the significant clean-up and repair costs are being worn by the property owners.
We asked Forestry Corporation if there was any way affected landholders could be reimbursed for their costs. This was their reply:
"The fires in NSW have been extensive and have impacted private properties as well as large areas of native forests and timber plantations," a Forestry Corporation spokesperson said.
"State forests are free to access and Forestry Corporation does not require fences for its own purposes, such as along roads or adjoining other public land.
"In line with other public land managers, in some instances Forestry Corporation makes a voluntary contribution towards fencing materials as a community service. However, the scale of the fires this year and the level of our involvement in firefighting have meant this has not been possible.
"State forests have tens of thousands of kilometres of boundaries with private properties state-wide, including many impacted by the fires, and unfortunately Forestry Corporation is unable to make a voluntary contribution to all the neighbours affected.
"Forestry Corporation is looking to work with groups providing disaster recovery assistance where possible to provide materials for fence posts from the forest."
So it seems, through no fault of their own, our Valley's affected landholders will have to keep forking out of their own pockets.