On 30th November 2014 the Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Regulation comes into force. The Regulation and its associated Act prohibits the import into Australia of illegally harvested timber as well as the processing of illegally harvested raw logs, and is similar to legislation operating in Europe and the United States.
It is therefore vital that businesses understand their obligations and what they must do to comply. The Timber Development Association (TDA), with support from industry via FWPA (Forest & Wood Products Australia), has developed a suite of tools and guidance for both importers and domestic processors. The tools are based on compliance tools developed by industry in Europe and the United States, and are have been extensively refined in consultation with Australian timber importers, domestic industry, their industry associations as well as the Federal Department of Agriculture.
For importers an Australian Industry Timber Due Diligence (AITDD) system has been developed. This is a comprehensive suite of guidance tools focused on setting up and implementing a due diligence system for any importing business, and includes templates such as company due diligence manual, information gathering and risk assessment worksheets as well as a questionnaire for suppliers to gather additional information where it is lacking.
For businesses processing locally grown logs the risk of sourcing illegally harvested logs is widely recognised as being very low. The ‘Timber due diligence’ website includes a Domestic Processors Overview and a Domestic Processor Due Diligence Summary to help domestic processors document where their raw logs are coming from and that they have the relevant permission to supply logs to the processor.
All the guidance and tools are freely available on-line via the Timber Due Diligence website. www.timberduediligence.com.au
For further information a recording of a DAFF webinar can be found at the following FWPA link.
