The following is an extract from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources Website
In October 2017, the government announced several reforms to the Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012. These were intended to streamline and clarify the Regulation’s due diligence requirements. The key 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 ‘deemed to comply’ arrangement was debated in the Australian Senate and the associated amendments were disallowed. This means the new streamlined ‘deemed to comply’ arrangement for FSC and PEFC products will no longer be implemented. Parties dealing with FSC and PEFC products will still need to carry out the full due diligence process described in the Regulation.
Further information about the due diligence requirements is available at Illegal Logging – Guidance for Importers and Illegal Logging – Guidance for Processors.
