AHEC guidelines to help Australian importers of American hardwoods with compliance

AHEC has developed a comprehensive and easily accessible set of guidelines for its members to help Australian importers of American hardwoods comply with the new AUSILPAR legislation.

The Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Regulation (AUSILPAR) comes into full effect on 30th November.

The AHEC guidelines document has been created to explain to American exporters how best they can assist Australian importers with the ‘due diligence’ requirements of AUSILPAR, which necessitates a thorough risk assessment of the legality of timber imports.

According to AHEC Oceania Director Roderick Wiles, all US hardwood producing regions are considered low risk in terms of illegal harvest - confirmed through both the Seneca Creek Study and the FSC Risk Register draft risk assessment. Since the US has a history of good forest governance, AHEC is confident that exporters will be able to supply Australian importers with the information they need to meet their AUSILPAR obligations accurately.

Dominic McNeil, Director at Britton Timbers, one of the major importers of American hardwoods into Australia finds the guidelines to be of great assistance to companies like Britton that import American hardwood into Australia. Having already used them as part of their due diligence for AUSILPAR, he finds that the guidelines are very helpful as they set out for American suppliers exactly what Australian importers require in terms of information, facilitating a more efficient and streamlined process.