Forest Products Industry

FSC has revised its core standard setting general requirements for certification bodies, FSC-STD-20-001, and published a new version (V5-0) on 1 April 2025. Source: Timberbiz The transition period for implementation will run until FSC invites stakeholders to join a public webinar introducing the revised standard to support them in understanding and applying the updated requirements. This session will provide a clear and practical overview of the key changes and new concepts introduced in FSC-STD-20-001 V5-0 General requirements for certification bodies, as well as their implications for implementation. The webinar will also include a live Q&A session, giving participants the opportunity to raise questions and gain clarity on practical application and compliance expectations. Key topics Overview of FSC STD 20 001 V5 0 revision process Major changes compared to previous versions New concepts and requirements for certification bodies Implementation considerations and timelines Interactive Q&A session This public webinar is open to all interested stakeholders, including certificate holders, certification bodies, FSC members, FSC network partner staff, and other relevant stakeholders seeking clarity and guidance on the revised standard. The webinar is on 30 June 2026, 18:00 – 19:30 AEST/20:00 – 21:30 NZST Register at: https://fsc-int.zoom.us/meeting/register/X22iPqJqQKO_Y31b2XdjkA#/registration

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The New Zealand government’s review of how Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) is funded should be accompanied by a wider examination of whether FENZ is delivering for rural communities, forest owners say. Source: Timberbiz The New Zealand Forest Owners Association (NZFOA) and Federated Farmers wrote to Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden last week, calling for an independent review just 10 years after FENZ was first established. The Minister has since confirmed a review of the insurance-based levy which provides most of FENZ’s funding. NZFOA chief executive Dr Elizabeth Heeg says the review presents an opportunity to assess whether the 2017 fire services reform has achieved its intention of delivering improved fire capabilities and protection for rural communities. “Rural landowners carry substantial cost and risk under the current system, with limited evidence of delivering the efficiencies, transparency and service improvements that were originally expected,” Dr Heeg said. “For example, has the merger of urban and rural fire services delivered the efficiencies and benefits originally intended when FENZ was established? “Examining whether rural communities are receiving fair and effective fire and emergency services, relative to the risks they face, should be a central part of the review’s scope.” NZFOA fire spokesperson Sean McBride says the forestry sector plays a critical role in managing fire risk. “Forest owners and farmers are at the frontline of rural fire prevention and control,” he says. “The capacity and expertise that our people bring to fire management is a critical extension of our country’s response network.” Strengthening collaboration with FENZ during large-scale incidents, where local expertise is often essential for effective suppression, will be critical to ensuring this capability is fully utilised. “With climate pressures increasing the frequency and scale of fire risk, the industry needs confidence that FENZ has the specialist knowledge, capability and focus needed to manage large-scale vegetation and landscape fires,” Mr McBride said. “Spending decisions and performance measures must also reflect the very different risks and operating environments across rural New Zealand.” NZFOA’s priority is to ensure New Zealand’s fire response system adequately supports frontline response, training and capability. “Forest owners understand risk and responsibility better than most,” Dr Heeg said. “We are not asking for concessions. We are asking for a system that is transparent, evidence-based, and clearly demonstrates it is delivering the fire protection and capability it is funded to provide.” She says the call for a wider review is consistent with questions being raised across the primary sector about whether expected gains from structural reform have been fully realised. “Reviewing whether FENZ is delivering for levy payers is not a criticism of frontline firefighters or volunteers, who continue to do outstanding work,” Dr Heeg said. “ It’s about giving landowners and rural communities assurances that the organisation supporting them is efficient, accountable and aligned to the risks it is designed to manage. “As FENZ enters its second decade, it is appropriate to ensure those expectations are being met.”

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WorkSafe New Zealand has provided practical safety guidance to hundreds of wood manufacturing businesses, as part of a significant proactive focus on one of the country’s most dangerous sectors. Source: Timberbiz WorkSafe’s health and safety inspectors visited 657 businesses between January and March, from toy makers to joiners and wood processors, sharing education and guidance material with 83% of them. “Many businesses were committed to improving safety and welcomed the chance to talk through their health and safety practices,” said WorkSafe’s project lead Savio Valladares. “These visits are about helping businesses get it right, not catching them out.” However, the assessments also revealed persistent safety gaps. About half the businesses visited were required to make prompt changes to help prevent harm. The most common issues were inadequate machine guarding, missing or out-of-date hazardous substances inventories, and workers exposed to wood dust without effective controls such as ventilation and protective equipment. “Manufacturing workers deserve to go home healthy and safe at the end of every day. These visits are about helping businesses and workers understand what good looks like – and most were receptive to that. While we can see progress is being made, too many are still missing safety essentials,” said Savio Valladares. The findings reinforce why the sector is a priority focus for WorkSafe. Manufacturing has the highest rate and number of injuries resulting in more than a week off work of any sector – around 200 machinery-related injuries occur each year. An average of four to five manufacturing workers are killed at work each year, roughly two thirds of fatalities occur in food, wood, and metal product manufacturing. WorkSafe will continue proactive visits to manufacturing businesses. From July to September, the focus shifts to food manufacturing. WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses and workers to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe.  

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AFPA has made a submission on the Federal Government’s proposed amendments to the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Collection Act 2024, broadly supporting the objective of improving the effectiveness and flexibility of the levy system. Source: Timberbiz The submission relates to the public consultation on the policy changes the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is considering in relation to the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 2024. AFPA says the Australian forestry industry welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed amendments to the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Collection Act 2024. It broadly supports the department’s intent to enhance the effectiveness of the levies system through improved data use and administrative flexibility. According to the submission the reforms have the potential to strengthen evidence-based policy, improve research quality, and support system integrity. However, inclusion of robust safeguards, clear limits on scope, and strong transparency and accountability mechanisms are needed to ensure ongoing effective implementation. AFPA supports, in principle, the ability of DAFF to share information with trusted third-party providers for intended uses and supports the proposed powers for the Secretary to make rules under the Act that enable the collection of levy/charge payer and collection agent personal information for the establishment and maintenance of levy payer registers. AFPA also supports the proposal to enable the use and disclosure of levy payer and collection agent personal information for research, policy development and data analysis purposes, including by ABARES. Improved data quality and survey capability represent important public benefits. However, for industry to properly understand the scope and implications of these changes, and to ensure adequate data privacy and there are no unintended consequences, the exact legislative wording outlining the circumstances under which information sharing may occur must be clearly, transparently, and explicitly articulated in the primary legislation or accompanying rules. AFPA’s recommendations: Define data sharing purpose limitation Explicit data access provisions for Industry Representative Bodies Legislative clarity Third-party data controls De-identification by default Transparency measures Opt-out mechanisms where feasible Independent oversight and audit Data breach protocols   The submission can be downloaded at https://ausfpa.com.au/publications/submission-on-proposed-levy-collection-reforms/

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While Senator Pauline Hanson was telling the National Press Club that, “From its chairman down, the ABC has proven itself to be completely in denial about its profoundly transparent political bias and the activists in its ranks.” The ABC was doing its best to prove her correct according to Timber NSW chief executive Maree McCaskill. Source: Timberbiz “Any pretence that the ABC Four Corners ‘journalists’ are anything more than activists disappears when they describe one of their interviewees, in an email, as a ‘formidable opponent’,” said Ms McCaskill. “This latest stitch-up of the sustainable forestry industry which has harvested trees for generations, and re-grown forests for generations is based entirely on a fiction being spread by the national broadcaster. “Forestry policy needs to be based on science not opinion and yet, sadly, ABC Four Corners prioritises uneducated opinion over evidence-based science when it comes to the timber industry. “Activists at the national broadcaster are working tirelessly to shut down the forestry industry in NSW and the rest of Australia as quickly as they can based on conjecture and opinion expressed by unnamed environmental groups from “down south” to quote the Four Corners journalist during a lengthy interview with Andrew Hurford, the head of a multi-generational timber industry group. “Four Corners is attempting to portray the forest products industry as immoral by making false allegations that parts of the industry have been paid compensation when they haven’t suffered loss of contracted timber supply. “In addition, the ABC activists essentially debunk scientific evidence used by the CSIRO by giving equal weighting to opinion and conjecture from unnamed environmental groups. “Four Corners interviewed Andrew Hurford in a part of a forest that had been harvested only two years earlier, yet they refused to acknowledge that fact because it didn’t show the devastation that they were looking for. “In audio recordings of the interview the birdsong is almost too intrusive to conduct an interview, reflective of a very healthy ecosystem. “Their attempt to sway public opinion against the forestry industry even goes as far as showing footage of a timber haulage truck arriving at a mill complete with feigned gasps of horror without acknowledging that the timber was from private land, not a public forest and that it was the only delivery of large logs in a nearly a year. “There must be a limit to the lengths that ABC activists will go to in order to destroy a viable, sustainable forestry industry in NSW,” Ms McCaskill said. Timber NSW was established in 1906 as the representative organisation of the timber and forest products industry in NSW. Its mission is to work with members, stakeholders and the broader industry to build an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable timber industry in New South Wales. Tonight, on the ABC’s Four Corners program, the station is broadcasting an investigation titled “Timber Turmoil“.  The episode, reported by Jessica Longbottom, investigates the current state of Australia’s native forest logging industry.

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