Resources for importers

We have developed the following optional guidance material to help you understand and meet your due diligence requirements under Australia’s illegal logging laws.

This guidance material aligns with the legislation and the way we conduct compliance audits and issue Request for Information (RFI) notices. It is the only departmentally endorsed guidance material and you should exercise caution when relying on other guidance resources.

We welcome your feedback on the guidance material to help us enhance and update these resources. You can provide feedback via email to illegallogging@aff.gov.au.

Country Specific Guidelines (CSGs) explain the laws used in other countries to regulate timber harvesting. They provide information to help you determine the risk of illegal logging for timber sourced from key markets. CSGs may provide examples of documents to look for when undertaking due diligence on regulated timber, timber products or raw logs imported from those countries. Each CSG is accompanied by a Quick Reference Guide, which provides a high-level overview of the CSG’s content.

CSGs co-endorsed by the Australian Government and exporting countries are provided below. If a CSG for a particular country is not provided below, it either has not yet been developed or is no longer endorsed.

Canada Country Specific Guideline

Chile Country Specific Guideline

Finland Country Specific Guideline

Indonesia Country Specific Guideline

Italy Country Specific Guideline

Malaysia Country Specific Guideline

Malaysia’s forestry and timber industry operates in three defined regions: Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak. To assist importers, a Country Specific Guideline is available for each region. The Quick Reference Guide covers all three regions.

New Zealand Country Specific Guideline

Papua New Guinea

Republic of Korea

Thailand

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility.

A number of third parties have published material and developed online tools that can be used to inform your due diligence process. We have included a selection, which is not exhaustive, below.

How you use these resources is up to you. However, you need to be aware that you cannot rely on a third party risk assessment to satisfy your due diligence obligations. You still need to undertake your own due diligence process.

If you do use these resources, you should be aware that the information on these websites represents the views of a third party and may not be accurate, up to date, or relevant to your due diligence process.

If you have questions about the information in these resources, you should contact the publisher directly.

Disclaimer:

This content has been prepared to assist timber product importers understand, implement and comply with the requirements of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 and the Illegal Logging Prohibition Rules 2024 with respect of their due diligence obligations. It does not constitute legal advice. Timber product importers may elect to seek their own legal advice in relation to the legislation and related matters.

All third-party materials provided on this webpage are intended to be a guide only, and the Australian Government is unable to warrant its currentness, accuracy, completeness or suitability for any purpose. These materials may be subject to further change.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Australian Government acting through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry disclaims all liability, including liability for negligence and for any loss, damage, injury, expense or cost incurred by any person directly or indirectly as a result of accessing, using or relying on the information provided on this webpage.

Certification schemes

These resources may assist with the Certified Pathway risk assessment method which relies on forest certification standards as defined in s 4 of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Rules 2024.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – Public Search Database
The FSC maintains a database with information about certificate holders, logo and label users, certified products, and so on. This information can be used to help verify FSC certification claims.

FSC – Forest Management Certification Standard
The FSC has a forest management certification standard. Their website sets out the principles, criteria and indicators that a forest operation must adhere to before receiving an FSC forest management certification.

FSC - Chain of Custody Standard
The FSC provides a chain of custody certification. Their website includes information on the core requirements behind this standard.

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) – Public Search Database
The PEFC maintains a database with relevant information about certificate holders, logo and label users, certified products, and so on. This information can be used to help verify PEFC certification claims.

PEFC – Sustainable Forest Management Standard
The PEFC provides a sustainable forest management standard. Their website sets out the benchmark requirements that must be met to be endorsed by PEFC.

PEFC – Chain of Custody Standard
The PEFC provides a chain of custody standard. Their website lays out the requirements and conditions a company must meet for chain of custody certification.

Timber legality

Chatham House – Illegal Logging Portal
The Illegal Logging Portal provides information on the trade in illegal timber. This includes an overview of emerging issues and developments, reports, and a searchable database of global news articles.

Forest Trends – Illegal Deforestation and Associated Trade (IDAT) Risk Tool
Forest Trends provides a series of tools to support the national risk assessments when sourcing timber products. The IDAT risk tool includes country risk ratings and information about specific risks associated with illegal timber entering international supply chains.

Preferred By Nature – Timber sourcing hub
Preferred by Nature’s timber sourcing hub includes national timber legality risk assessments with information on the risks associated with a particular country, and advice on mitigating actions.

Forest Legality Alliance – Forest Products Risk Tool
The Forest Legality Alliance website provides resources to help businesses source legal timber products. This includes a listing of current logging and export bans; country and species-specific risk information; and a sustainable procurement guide.

TimberLex – Country Specific Legal Information
The TimberLex database provides country-specific legal information on forest management, timber production and trade.

FSC – Risk Assessment Tool
The FSC’s Risk Assessment Platform provides an overview of the FSC national risk assessments. The platform includes summaries of the risk descriptions and control measures in the original risk assessments.

European Timber Trade Federation – Timber Trade Portal
The Timber Trade Portal includes country profiles outlining timber trade; forestry frameworks; relevant documents; and key points of contact.

APEC Experts Group on Illegal Logging and Associated Trade (EGILAT) – Country Timber Legality Templates
In 2014, APEC EGILAT member economies agreed to develop legality guidance documents. These legality templates seek to provide clarity on what constitutes legal and illegally logged timber within individual APEC member economies.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Wood Risk Tool
Launched in 2023, the WWF wood risk tool (the tool) aims to help companies and other wood buyers and regulators to assess, understand, and manage risks associated with logging and trade, and contribute to a more sustainable future. The tool provides consolidated information from a range of sources to provide information on origin and species risk.

Mapping – Illegal logging, deforestation and armed conflict

World Resources Institute – Global Forest Watch
The Global Forest Watch website hosts geographical datasets that can be used to analyse and identify illegal logging, including forest change, forest cover and forest use data. The site has concession maps (including names of licensees) for logging and plantation concessions in many countries.

Forest Link – Mapping of Illegal Logging Reports
Forest Link is an initiative which maps community alerts of illegal forest activities and information from in-country investigations.

Crisis Group – Crisis Watch Conflict Tracker
Crisis Watch is a global conflict tracker. The tracker is updated monthly with summaries of political and security developments in crisis areas and vulnerable countries.

Emmeline Carto – Conflict Map
Emmeline Carto maps all major active conflicts across the globe, providing succinct information on each conflict.

Corruption and governance

Transparency International – Corruption Perception Index
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. A low CPI ranking (less than 50) could suggest that a country’s forestry governance arrangements are vulnerable to illegal logging.

World Bank - Worldwide Governance Indicators
The Worldwide Governance Indicators report governance indicators for over 200 countries looking at several aspects of governance including control of corruption, regulatory quality and government effectiveness.

Endangered Species

International Union for Conservation of Nature – Redlist of Threatened Species
The IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species lists plants and animals that are facing a high risk of global extinction. This includes information on geographical ranges and potential vulnerability to illegal logging.

Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species – Appendices I, II and III
The Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species. Species at risk because of trade are listed in the Appendices.

Australia Government – Trading in endangered species
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)’s website provides advice on the regulatory requirements associated with trading in endangered species, including timber species.

Media and NGO Reports

Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) – International
The EIA website provides information on recent forest reports and forest news, including deforestation, illegal logging and timber trafficking issues.

Global Witness
Global Witness in an international NGO investigating environmental and human rights abuses. Global Witness investigations and articles found here may help you stay on top of emerging issues.    

WWF - Forests Forward
WWF’s Forests Forward website focusses on WWFs work in forestry and plantations. Forests Forward highlights the areas of action for WWF in forestry. The Newsroom provides information on key issues in global forestry.

Mongabay – Illegal logging news
Mongabay is a non-profit conservation news platform. The illegal logging news page may help you stay aware of emerging issues.

Other resources

Global Timber Tracking Network (GTTN) - Service Provider Directory
GTTN’s Service Provider Directory provides a system to help anyone seeking wood identification services to find information on scientific methods and available laboratories.

SPOTT Assessment Score
SPOTT is an online platform assessing commodity producers, processors and traders on their public disclosure regarding their practices related to environmental, social and governance issues. SPOTT considers palm oil, timber and pulp, and natural rubber.

Open Timber Portal – Producer Transparency Rating
The World Resources Institute’s Open Timber Portal focuses on the Congo Basin and uses a range of information to calculate a transparency score for each producer.

Preferred by Nature – Guide to identifying fake documents
This guide includes examples of forged documents, ways of distinguishing between genuine and fake documents, and advice on what to do if you encounter fake documents.

APEC EGILAT - Compendium of Resources
APEC EGILAT compiled ‘The Compendium of Resources for the Facilitation of the Trade and Distribution of Legally Harvested Forest Products in the APEC Region.’ The Compendium identifies and organises a range of resources, similar to some of those listed here, that aims to facilitate the trade in legal forest products.