Australia’s revised FSC Forest Stewardship Standard is entering its final stretch of public consultation, with certificate holders facing substantive changes to highly hazardous pesticide use, expanded coverage of non-timber forest products, and clarified Cultural Empathy Training requirements once the rewrite is finalised.
That is according to the Forest Stewardship Council Australia and New Zealand (FSC ANZ), which last week opened the second and final public consultation on the revised Standard. Submissions close on 29 June 2026 via the FSC Public Consultation Platform, with constructive feedback explicitly invited — particularly suggestions for sharpening specific changes.
“This is the last chance to shape the Standard in its entirety for at least the next five years,” said James Felton-Taylor, FSC ANZ Chair and founder of Australian Sustainable Timbers. “The FSC ANZ Board urges everyone passionate about responsible forestry to participate and help set the new benchmark for responsible forest management in Australia.”
It comes as the National Forest Stewardship Standard rewrite, the Australian Controlled Wood National Risk Assessment overhaul, and the parallel New Zealand Risk Assessment revision all run concurrently — three live processes converging against EU Deforestation Regulation alignment deadlines, as Wood Central reported when the Controlled Wood NRA process formally commenced in February.
The Standards Development Group (SDG) — the technical working group responsible for the revision — has incorporated stakeholder feedback received during the first consultation round, which ran from 1 July to 31 August 2025 and was covered by Wood Central when it opened. Key changes in the second draft include significant amendments to the highly hazardous pesticide requirements, a streamlined indicator set, clarified Cultural Empathy Training, and an expanded scope covering all non-timber forest products, with new NTFP-specific indicators to ensure responsible extraction.
Wood Central understands the streamlined indicator approach is intended to reduce audit complexity for certificate holders whilst tightening substance on pesticide use — a balance the SDG flagged as a priority following first-round operator feedback. The revised Standard will also formally adopt “First Nations” terminology in place of “Indigenous” — a shift that aligns with the FSC ANZ Indigenous Working Group’s recent transition to the First Nations Committee.
A John Deere forwarder loads radiata pine in an FSC-certified plantation — the revised Forest Stewardship Standard is now in its final round of consultation, with submissions closing 29 June 2026. (Photo Credit: © FSC ANZ / Andreas Weiss)
Field testing of the draft is scheduled for 19 to 21 May across a Victorian native forest and a Tasmanian plantation. The trial is designed to verify that the revised requirements remain practical to implement and effectively auditable on the ground, with learnings flowing into the final draft alongside consultation feedback.
FSC ANZ will host a single webinar on Wednesday, 3 June from 14:00 to 15:30 AEST, presented by Senior Policy Manager and SDG Facilitator Stefan Jensen, walking stakeholders through the proposed changes in detail. The session will not be recorded, meaning attendance is the only way to access the live briefing.
Once finalised, the draft Standard is submitted to the FSC ANZ Board for approval before being assessed by FSC International for compliance with the normative process requirements. From there, the Policy and Standards Committee — which holds delegated authority from FSC International’s Board of Directors for decisions on Forest Stewardship Standards — will consider it for final approval, with any conditions identified flowing back to the SDG before the Standard is fully ratified.
The current Standard, FSC-STD-AUS-01-2018, came into effect in 2018 as the first Australian Forest Stewardship Standard jointly defined by economic, environmental, and social stakeholders. FSC International formally greenlit the revision on 26 January 2024 — with the rewrite folding in workers’ rights changes, pesticide reforms, and the Indigenous Cultural Landscapes concept introduced through changes at FSC International.
Please note: Stakeholders can participate in the consultation through the FSC Public Consultation Platform. Questions can be directed to Stefan Jensen at [email protected].
