Mr Wightman said he was given cabinet approval on Monday to draft changes to the National Parks and Reserves Management Act to give him more authority to delegate to an authority board of five members and a chief executive.

He said the draft changes, after public consultation, were hoped to move through parliament sometime after it resumed next month.

The new authority will be in charge of managing up to 500,000 hectares of new reserve, as part of the Tasmanian Forestry Agreement, and 220,000 hectares of reserve previously managed by Forestry Tasmania.

The authority will mean big changes for the Parks and Wildlife Service and Forestry Tasmania.

Mr Wightman said Parks and Wildlife employees were briefed this morning on the transition and reassured that their jobs were not at-risk.

He said Forestry Tasmania officers could be recruited after the land transfer to help manage land.