Australia is beefing up its enforcement against illegal logging, with the federal government months away from introducing new compliance rules, which will have major implications for timber importers and processes. Starting March 3, 2025, the Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Act 2024 – an update on the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act from 2012 – promises to streamline risk assessments, enhance enforcement, and support adherence to due diligence requirements.
According to a statement from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, key changes include the following:
- Revised risk assessments: The existing three methods will be replaced by two pathways—one for certified timber and one for non-certified timber.
- Repeat due diligence exception: Importers and processors can rely on prior risk assessments for the same timber or timber products from the same supplier within 12 months, irrespective of certification status.
- Processor exemption: Businesses harvesting their raw logs will no longer need to meet due diligence requirements for those logs.
- Advance notice requirement: A future requirement to notify the department before importing or processing timber will be implemented once a new IT system, currently in development, is operational.
Wood Central understands that the new laws will grant the department additional powers to encourage compliance, with investment in:
- Timber testing technologies: These will be used at the border to verify species and origin claims.
- Publication of non-compliance: Details of serious or repeated breaches will be published, encouraging legal sourcing and educating consumers.
- Flexible enforcement options include injunctions, enforceable undertakings, and tiered penalties to address violations proportionally.
“To assist businesses in adapting to the changes, the department will focus on education and guidance during the first six months of implementation (to September 2025),” a media statement from the department said. “Audits conducted during this period will prioritize support over penalties for issues related to the updated requirements.”
Illegal logging is a problem for timber arriving at Australian ports
In late October, Wood Central revealed that the department finished a timber testing trial investigating the best way to implement technologies verifying claims of species and harvest origin of regulated timber and timber products.
According to Matt Lowe, Australia’s Deputy Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Policy, illegal timber accounts for 15-30% of all wood traded globally: “Using timber testing technologies will strengthen Australia’s ongoing efforts to address this problem by enhancing existing compliance and due diligence efforts under our illegal logging prohibition laws.”
“They offer a means of verifying if claims made about the species and harvest origin of timber are accurate. The trial tested 146 products and 39 distinct species. A range of scientific methods were used, including DNA, stable isotope, trace element, wood fibre and wood anatomy analyses,” he said. “The results showed approximately 25% of products tested had an inconsistency with declared species, origin, or both.”
- For more information about the role that illegal logging plays in driving a thriving “timber trafficking” economy, click on Wood Central’s special feature.
