Some builders in Australia’s bushfire-prone areas may have unknowingly used timber not dense enough to meet the national bushfire standard, with the consumer watchdog alleging a Victorian importer sold its Meranti as fit for purpose in those areas. That is according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which last week revealed that the importer had paid a $19,800 penalty over “allegedly false or misleading statements” about its timber.
“It is crucial that builders and homeowners can rely on the accuracy of claims about building products,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said. State and territory building regulators have received the commission’s findings, so they can help homeowners and builders with concerns about a particular project.
In October last year, the importer sent customers a price list claiming its Meranti had a density of 400 kilograms per cubic metre. It also marketed the timber for BAL-12.5 building work, the second-lowest bushfire attack level, where Australian Standard AS 3959 sets a minimum density for some uses.
However, the ACCC alleges the Meranti was not suitable for BAL-12.5 door frames, nor for windows or external cladding less than 400 millimetres from the ground. Wood Central understands that frames that are low at BAL-12.5 must be made of bushfire-resisting timber or a species with a density of at least 650 kilograms per cubic metre.
Meanwhile, other timber suppliers stripped potentially misleading bushfire attack level claims from their public material after the ACCC approached them during its investigation. The watchdog says that where a species is grown can change its density, which may affect whether a product clears the minimum at a given bushfire attack level.
Nearly three years ago, Wood Central revealed that lower-density timbers were being substituted for Victorian species in bushfire-prone areas, in the wake of the state’s decision to end native forest harvesting. The Australian Glass and Window Association had named Meranti among the timbers at risk of falling short of the standard, and told manufacturers to hold supplier documentation proving compliance.
And Meranti is one of several imported tropical hardwoods, alongside merbau and balau, filling the gap as Australia winds back native harvesting. Three Indonesian suppliers feeding merbau into that supply chain had their Forest Stewardship Council certification suspended or terminated earlier this year.
Under the Australian Consumer Law, the ACCC can issue an infringement notice where it has reasonable grounds to believe a business has broken certain consumer protection rules. Even so, the importer’s payment of the penalty is not an admission that it contravened the law.
Keogh noted that many areas in Australia are “not bushfire-prone and therefore not subject to these timber density requirements.” The commission says homeowners and builders with concerns about their timber should consider contacting their state or territory building regulator, which in Victoria is the Building and Plumbing Commission.
