Review and consultation
In recent years, several reviews have been conducted on the operation of Australia’s illegal logging laws. Copies of these reports can be found below.
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Statutory review of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012
On 16 January 2019, the Australian Government published the report of the ‘Statutory review of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012’. The review examined the first five years of operation of Australia’s illegal logging laws.
The review:
- assessed to what extent the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 and associated Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012 have met the Australian Government’s illegal logging policy objectives
- highlighted operational issues encountered during the Act’s first five years of operation
- identified potential options for improving the Act’s operation.
In October 2019, after considering advice provided by the Forest Industry Advisory Council (FIAC) on the review’s outcomes, the Australian Government will not make any significant changes to the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 at this time.
Future changes to the Act will be considered as part of a further review of the Act and supporting Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012 in late 2021.
This will provide industry members with an extended period of regulatory certainty, during which they will be able to focus on ensuring they only trade in legally sourced wood products.
Download the Review Report
| Document | Pages | File size |
|---|---|---|
Statutory review of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 - Review report PDF
 | 59 | 1.2 MB |
Statutory review of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 - Review report DOCX
 | 59 | 2.1 MB |
If you have difficulty accessing these files, please visit web accessibility.
2017 Regulation Impact Statement
In October 2017, the Australian Government published the Reforming Australia’s illegal logging regulations - Regulation Impact Statement (RIS). The RIS built on the findings of the earlier KPMG Independent review (see below).
The RIS looked at options for reducing costs associated with complying with the due diligence requirements. It examined six potential regulatory options:
- Continue with the 'status quo'
- Change the consignment value threshold
- Remove personal imports
- Establish a deemed to comply arrangement for timber legality frameworks
- Establish a deemed to comply arrangement for Country or State Specific Guidelines
- Establish a deemed to comply arrangement for low-risk countries
The RIS was informed by a public consultation process undertaken in late 2016. A full list of the submissions made to the review can be found at the back of the RIS document.
The RIS resulted in a series of proposed regulatory amendments being tabled in Parliament in October 2017. These were intended to streamline and clarify the due diligence requirements. The key proposed reform was the establishment of a new 'deemed to comply' arrangement for products certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for Endorsement Certification (PEFC) schemes.
On 8 February 2018, the proposed ‘deemed to comply’ arrangement was debated in the Australian Senate and the associated regulatory amendments were disallowed. Other minor technical amendments that were progressed in the same package were not affected by the disallowance.Download the Regulation Impact Statement
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KPMG independent review
In December 2014, the Australian Government commissioned KPMG to conduct an independent review of the illegal logging laws. The review examined whether the due diligence requirements struck an appropriate balance between:
- the costs of compliance for small businesses, and
- reducing the risk of illegally logged timber entering the Australian market
The review found there was an opportunity to amend the Regulation to strike a better balance between the two objectives.
A government response released in February 2016 provided in-principle support for the review’s findings and committed to progressing a package of reforms. This included the consideration of regulatory reforms through a further RIS process (see above).
Download the KPMG independent review
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2011 Regulation Impact Statement
In 2011, as part of the development of the illegal logging laws, the Australian Government published the “Australian Government policy on illegally logged timber” Regulation Impact Statement (RIS). This original RIS assessed the potential costs and benefits for business, individuals and the Australian economy of regulatory options to restrict the importation of illegally logged timber into Australia.
Download the Regulation Impact Statement
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Small Business Impact Statement
This statement categorises the structure and nature of small businesses operating within the Australian forest products industry. It also assesses how the illegal logging policy will affect those businesses.
Download the Small Business Impact Statement
| Document | Pages | File size |
|---|---|---|
|
Small Business Impact Statement, Cailum Pty Ltd PDF | 28 | 471 KB |
|
Small Business Impact Statement, Cailum Pty Ltd DOC | 28 | 617 KB |
If you have difficulty accessing these files, please visit web accessibility.