19 April 2016
Purpose
To inform wood exporters, brokers and departmental officers that an export licence from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is no longer required to export wood harvested from plantations in Queensland.
Background
The Export Control Act 1982, and the Regulations under this Act1, require an export licence from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources for the export of two tonnes or more of:
- 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
Prior to 17 March 2016, the requirement for an export licence for unprocessed wood under the Regulations, was dependent on where the wood has been sourced. The Regulations stated that an export licence for unprocessed wood was NOT required if the wood is sourced from a region covered by a Regional Forest Agreement (RFA), or a plantation in any state or territory except Queensland.
On 17 March 2016, the Australian Government approved the Timber Plantation Operations Code of Practice for Queensland. This removed the export requirement for a wood export licence when exporting wood harvested from plantations in Queensland.
A copy of the approval is available on the website.
Summary of changes and key points
Exporters are no longer required to have an export licence from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources when exporting wood harvested from plantations in Queensland.
For further information, a copy of the code is on the Timber Queensland website.
1. The Regulations under the Export Control Act 1982 are the Export Control (Unprocessed Wood) Regulations, Export Control (Hardwood Wood Chips) Regulations and the Export Control (Regional Forest Agreements) Regulations.
Exporter’s responsibilities
Exporters must be aware that if they intend to export wood harvested from plantations, they do not require a licence to export unprocessed wood prior to export.
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.
Exporter should refer to the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICoR) prior to export to ensure that they can comply with import conditions.
Authorised officer’s responsibilities
The only responsibility authorised officers have in relation to this IAN is to inform unprocessed wood exporters that they are no longer required to hold a licence to export unprocessed wood that has been harvested from a plantation in Queensland.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this IAN please email Wood Export phone (02) 6272 4610.
Mr Andrew Wilson
Acting Assistant Secretary
Forestry Branch
Sustainable Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry