National principles related to wood production in plantations

​​​​In accordance with the 1992 National Forest Policy Statement, in February 1995, the Ministerial Council on Forestry, Fisheries and Aquaculture, representing the states, territories and the Australian Government forestry authorities, prepared a statement of national principles to be applied in the management of plantations.

These principles set the framework for a consistent and scientific basis for sound plantation management to which all states and territories subscribe.

The principles are structured into several sections relating to different activities associated with plantation production, including establishment, management and harvesting. The principles apply to both public and private plantations.

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Export controls in relation to plantation forestry codes of practice

The Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021 under the Export Control Act 2020 allow plantation-sourced timber to be exported without a licence if the minister finds that the relevant state or territory's plantation forestry code of practice satisfactorily protects environmental and heritage values.

Before making a decision, the minister must first consider a report prepared by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The report contains CSIRO's scientific assessment of how a code protects environmental and heritage values, measured against the requirements of the national principles.

CSIRO's assessments

CSIRO's original assessments were undertaken in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As codes had been changed since they were originally assessed, in 2010 CSIRO was commissioned to undertake new assessments of all state and territory plantation forestry code of practice.

Following ministerial consideration of the eight reports prepared by CSIRO, plantation forestry codes of practice were approved for all states and territories. CSIRO had assessed a draft Queensland code and its comments were addressed in the final version of the code which was released in July 2015. Notices of approval were published in the Government Notices Gazette on 5 June 2013, 3 July 2013 and 17 March 2016. Copies of the assessment reports prepared by CSIRO are available below.

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Inaccessible third-party content

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