A method for generating decay-classification systems was developed for coarse woody debris (CWD). This method was used to generate a decay-classification system for wet eucalypt forest CWD, and trialled on over 120 pieces of CWD sampled from post-logging coupes in southern Tasmania. The developed system was easier to implement than systems currently used in Tasmania, with logs being explicitly classified into specific classes without the possibility of character states being split between adjoining classes. The classes were well-balanced and correlated with age and residual density of the wood. Density variance within the classes was at least as good as the currently-used systems (e.g. mean Coefficient of Variation within classes was 21.3% for new and current systems).