Certificates issued to AS 4708:2013 will be recognised in the Responsible Wood and PEFC systems until 9th of March 2024 under a transition policy approved by the Board of Responsible Wood.
In December 2021 Responsible Wood published the latest version of the Australian and New Zealand Standard for Sustainable Forest Management (AS / NZS 4708).
Click here to register your details and download the new standard
On March 9 2022 the Responsible Wood Board approved a Transition Policy for AS / NZS 4708 – 2021.
This policy defines the requirements for certified organisations and certification bodies to transition from the 2013 version to the 2021 version of AS/NZS 4708 Sustainable Forest Management.
AS 4708:2021 was published in December 2021 and supersedes AS 4708:2013.
POLICY
FOR CERTIFICATE HOLDERS (ORGANISATIONS CERTIFIED TO AS 4708:2013)
Certificates issued to AS 4708:2013 will be recognised in the Responsible Wood and PEFC systems until 9th March 2024. After this date, certificates to AS 4708:2013 cease to be recognised. To remain recognised, updated certificates listing AS4708:2021 in their scope must be in place from 10th March 2024.
FOR CERTIFICATION BODIES
It is recommended that certification bodies commence audits against AS/NZS 4708:2021 as soon as practically possible. It is recommended that observations be raised for non-conformances against requirements to educate and inform certificate holders of changes necessary to their management system. Certification bodies must ensure that their certificate holders transition to AS/NZS 4708:2021 no later than 10th March 2024.
A copy of the Transition Policy is available for download and is located in the Resources Section of the Responsible Wood website.
