Illegal logging due diligence

What the rule is and who it applies to

The Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 makes it an offence to import illegally logged timber. The Illegal Logging Prohibition Rules 2024, in force since 3 March 2025, set out what is regulated and the due diligence an importer must do. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry runs it.

It applies to the importer of record. That includes a person importing for their own house. The only exemptions that matter for a fit-out are a consignment whose regulated timber is worth $1,000 or less at customs value, and genuinely recycled material. Offcuts made into particleboard or MDF do not count as recycled.

There is no minimum wood content. If the tariff code is listed, the product is regulated. Bamboo, rattan and cork are not timber under these laws, and tiles and stone are not covered.

What due diligence means

• A written due diligence system in place before you import, naming you and the process you follow.
• For each import, gather the product, the common and scientific species name for every timber in it, the country and area of harvest, the country of manufacture, the supplier's details, the quantity and the sales document.
• Assess the risk in writing. The certified route needs an FSC or PEFC certificate that covers that product and species, and an invoice carrying a matching claim. Otherwise you weigh the species, the harvest country's governance and the supply chain.
• If the risk is not low, mitigate it: more evidence, a certified alternative, timber testing or another supplier. Then reassess and record it.
• Keep the records for 5 years from the import date.

How to check it yourself

• Ask the factory for the species and harvest country of every board, veneer and solid timber part, not just the cabinet.
• Check an FSC claim on the FSC certificate database and a PEFC claim on the PEFC search, and confirm the product is inside the certificate's scope.
• Make sure the claim is printed on the invoice. A certified factory can still sell uncertified stock.
• There is no country guideline for China. The guideline that matters is the one for the country where the timber was harvested, if one exists.

What evidence Elje holds per item

• A due diligence file per order in the Project Plan: species, harvest country, supplier, certificate records and the written risk assessment.
• The FSC or PEFC certificate number and scope check where the certified route is used.
• The board supplier per batch, so a change of supplier is caught before it ships.

The common traps with China-made product

• An FSC logo on the brochure but no claim on the invoice, or a certificate that does not cover the product supplied.
• A supplier statement that the timber is legal, offered as the whole answer. It is not enough on its own.
• MDF and particleboard with mixed species nobody can name.
• The factory switching board supplier between the sample and production, which needs a fresh assessment.
• Assuming a homeowner import is exempt. It is not, above $1,000 of regulated timber.

Questions