Australia's Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Act 2024

The illegal logging laws of Australia, like similar legislation in the European Union and the United States, have been designed to support the trade of legal timber products into the Australian market. These laws consist of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 (the Act) and the Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012 (the Regulation). The Act makes it a criminal offense to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly import wood, pulp and paper products into Australia or process domestically grown raw logs in Australia that have been illegally logged. It also requires persons and businesses to undertake ‘due diligence’ on certain regulated processes.

Under Australian law, regulations must be reviewed every ten years. The Regulation was originally set to expire in April 2023 but was extended to April 2025. A government review and consultation process led by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry confirmed the need to reform and strengthen the law.

This process has resulted in the passage of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment (Strengthening Measures to Prevent Illegal Timber Trade) Act 2024 in September 2024, and the Illegal Logging Prohibition Rules 2024 in December 2024. These new laws came into effect on March 3, 2025, with a six-month transition period until September 2025. During this time, the Australian Government will continue to conduct audits but will focus on education and guidance regarding non-compliance matters related to the new due diligence requirements.

The Amendment Act

The Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Act 2024 includes several new provisions related to some steps within the due diligence process (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Factsheet):

• Risk assessment: Replaces the three risk assessment methods (Country Specific Guidelines or State Specific Guidelines, Timber Legality Frameworks and Regulated Risk Factors) with two distinct risk assessment pathways for certified timber and timber products/raw logs and non-certified timber and timber products/raw logs; and
• Repeat due diligence exception: Importers and processors are permitted to rely on previous risk assessment and mitigation measures if they import/process the same timber, timber products or raw logs from the same supplier within a 12-month period.

The Amendment Act strengthens the monitoring and investigation powers of the department by using timber testing technologies to verify claims of species and origin of timber and timber products (Division 1A – Introduction of the Amendment Act). It also requires the submission of notice to the department before importing or processing regulated timber, timber products or raw logs. The Secretary may require audits of importers’ and processors’ due diligence systems to verify compliance with due diligence requirements (Section 6 of the Amendment Act).

Additional key changes are underlined in their respective sections below.

Due diligence

Due diligence requires importers of regulated timber products and Australian processors of raw logs to take steps to minimize the risk of dealing in timber or timber products that have been illegally logged.

The obligations for importers and processors vary slightly. Each time an importer brings a regulated timber product into Australia, they are also required to make a declaration (customs declaration) about whether they have complied with the due diligence requirements (see below) (Section 13 of the Amendment Act). Unlike importers, processors are not required to submit a customs declaration. While the Amendment Act establishes the obligations of importers and processors, the Rules specify the required information the importer/processor must provide or the required steps the importer/processor must follow regarding the due diligence process.

Due diligence is exempted for the following three types of products:

1. Products imported into Australia where the combined value of the regulated timber products in the consignment is AUD$1,000 or less,
2. Regulated products made entirely from post-consumer recycled materials; and
3. The recycled component of regulated products that are made from recycled and non-recycled components.

The list of regulated timber products can be found here.

Importer requirements

The due diligence process requires importers to (Sections 12-14; 18 of the Amendment Act):

1. Establish a due diligence system, and in writing, outline the process in which the importer will meet the due diligence requirements and include information on the importer/person responsible for maintaining the system, such as their name, street address, postal address, telephone number and email address (for businesses, the importer’s ABN or ACN is required) (Part 2 Section 7 of the Rules);
2. Gather information about the products being imported and their supply chains, which includes but is not limited to a description of the product, the country and area of the country in which the timber and/or timber product(s) were harvested, and the quantity of the shipment of the product (Part 2 Section 8 of the Rules);
   1. A regulated timber product is a certified timber product if the importer has obtained and verified the following documents (Part 2 Section 8(4) of the Rules):
      1. A copy of a record from a database maintained by the Forest Stewardship council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) that the timber product in question is within the scope of the certification held by the supplier and has verified that the details of this record are true and correct;
      2. A sales or delivery document from the supplier for the regulated timber product that contains a certification claim that is consistent with the certification outlined above.
3. Identify and assess the risk that the logs or timber in these products has been illegally logged. Businesses have two methods to carry out the risk assessment, and depending on the certification of the timber/timber product(s) in question, different information to consider (specified in Part 2 Section 8(5) to (7) of the Rules with some exceptions outlined in Section 8(10)):
   1. Certified timber, timber products and raw logs
   2. Non-certified timber, timber products and raw logs
4. Take steps to avoid importing illegal timber where the assessment suggests there's substantial risk of doing so (conduct a risk mitigation process) (Part 2 Section 8(8) of the Rules),
5. Maintain a standard process for the information gathering and assessment steps and keep written records. The importer must keep records for at least 5 years (Part 2 Section 8(11)).

Processor requirements

The due diligence process requires processors to (Sections 12-14; 18 of the Amendment Act):

1. Establish a due diligence system, and in writing, outline the process in which the processor will meet the due diligence requirements and include information on the person responsible for maintaining the system, such as their name, street address, postal address, telephone number and email address, the name, address and other contact information of the person doing the processing, and business information if the raw logs intended for processing are connected to a business (Part 3 Section 10 of the Rules);
2. Gather information about the raw logs being processed and their supply chains, which includes but is not limited to a description of the raw logs, the State or Territory and area of the State/Territory in which the raw logs were harvested, and the quantity of the shipment of the product (Part 3 Section 11(2) of the Rules);
   1. Raw logs are certified timber products if the processor has obtained and verified the following documents (Part 3 Section 11(3) of the Rules):
      1. A copy of a record from a database maintained by the Forest Stewardship council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) that the logs in question is within the scope of the certification held by the supplier and has verified that the details of this record are true and correct;
      2. A sales or delivery document from the supplier for the raw logs that contains a certification claim that is consistent with the certification outlined above.
3. Identify and assess the risk that the logs or timber in these products has been illegally logged. Processors are obligated to carry out different risk identification and assessments, to a reasonable standard, for certified raw logs and non-certified raw logs (Part 3 Sections 11(4) and 11(5)):
4. Take steps to process illegal timber where the assessment suggests there's substantial risk of doing so (conduct a risk mitigation process) (Part 3 Sections 11(7-9) of the Rules). The risk mitigation process may include the use of wood identification technology to identify the scientific name of the tree that the raw logs came from, as well as the area where the raw logs were harvested (Part 3 Section 11(8), and
5. Maintain a standard process for the information gathering and assessment steps and keep written records. The importer must keep records for at least 5 years (Part 3 Section 11(10)).

For more information about the due diligence requirements, see the guidance for importers and processors.

Penalties

The 2024 Amendment Act expands offenses and their associated penalties, as well as enforcement capabilities.

For example, it introduces a new offense, strict liability offense, in addition to fault-based and civil offenses (Sections 8-9, 12-13). Depending on the offense committed, penalties may range from imprisonment, be subject to penalty units, or both. Some offenses that are subject to penalties include importing or processing illegally logged timber, noncompliance with due diligence requirements, failing to make a customs declaration, and providing false or misleading information related to due diligence requirements.

Offences relating to importing or processing illegally logged timber attract penalties of up to five years imprisonment and/or up to 500 penalty units.

Infringement notices may be issued for strict liability offenses or civil penalty provisions against the Act. Civil and criminal prosecution may also be taken against importers and processors who are non-compliant with the requirements of the legislation. The Amendment Act also allows for public disclosure of non-compliance cases (Section 84A).

Further information about the compliance and enforcement process of the Australian government’s compliance process is available at the website of the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.