1 May 2018
Purpose
The purpose of this Industry Advice Notice is to inform wood exporters, brokers and departmental officers of the requirement to obtain an export licence from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to export some types of unprocessed wood (including woodchips).
Exporter’s responsibilities
Exporters intending to export unprocessed wood that has not been harvested from plantations or from an RFA region, or wood sourced from another country, must obtain an export licence from the department prior to export.
Exporters must refer to the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICoR) prior to export to ensure they comply with import conditions. If the importing country requires phytosanitary certification for the unprocessed wood, the exporter must provide details of the wood source to the authorised officer at the time of inspection booking.
Background
The Export Control Act 1982, requires an export licence from the department for the export of two tonnes or more of unprocessed wood:
- woodchips
- wood in the round, which is intended to undergo further processing following export
- wood with a cross sectional area of 225 square centimetres or greater, which is intended to undergo further processing following export.
An export licence is not required if the wood has been sourced from a plantation in Australia, or if the wood has been sourced from an area covered by a Regional Forest Agreement (RFA). The department provides a map showing the RFA regions in Australia.
The department provides information on exporting Regulations including an application form.
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding this Industry Advice Notice please email Wood Export or phone 02 6272 4601.
Ms Michelle Lauder
Assistant Secretary
Forestry Branch
Sustainable Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry