Illegal logging due diligence - its real and the department are auditing

Illegal logging due diligence - its real and the department are auditing

When the audit notice arrives from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), so many importers tell 3DL that they didn’t know they had to have a due diligence system in place and conduct a regulated risk assessment. They tell us that they spoke to their importer friends who were also unaware of the requirement and hadn’t done anything themselves.

As they are not sure what is required, they bundle their commercial import documentation together and send it to the compliance team at DAFF, only to be told that they are non-compliant and may face ‘administrative measures’ or ‘civil or criminal prosecution investigation’.??

For Regulations that have been in place since 2012, there is still too little awareness within the importing community of the illegal logging requirements. And with an apparent increase in compliance activity by DAFF in 2022, the risk of failing to comply is even more real.

If you import goods worth over $1,000 in one of the following categories, then it is likely you are importing regulated timber products:

• Chapter 44 – for wood and articles of wood
• Chapter 47 – for pulp of wood
• Chapter 48 – for paper and paperboard
• Chapter 94 – for furniture

It doesn’t matter what shape, size of form the goods are, you likely require a due diligence system and must have undertaken a written risk assessment.

If you have imported these types of goods in recent months or are planning an import and don’t have a due diligence system in place for your business, and have completed a written product risk assessment in accordance with the Regulations, get in touch with the 3DL due diligence team today at [email protected].