Stephen Mitchell Associates

When it comes to straightforward compliance with the Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation the focus is usually on the FSC forest certification scheme. However, the other sustainable forest certification and labelling system that is accepted in the Regulation is often overlooked - PEFC. PEFC stands for Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification and, as its name suggests, it's a bit more complicated than the FSC system. While products may be labelled and mar

I am as guilty as any in posting articles on LinkedIn about illegal logging of wood. This may give the impression illegal logging is rampant around the world. The reality is that in many parts of the globe wood is legally harvested day in and day out. The harvester has legal authority, they comply with a harvesting plan, royalties have been paid, indigenous peoples rights are not adversely affected and so on. The challenge as an importer into Australia is how, when undertakin

The Australian Department of Agriculture has provided the following information in their Illegal logging laws e-update #29. Since early 2015, the Department has been conducting regular compliance audits of businesses' due diligence systems. Audited businesses are asked to provide information about their due diligence system and how it has been applied to a particular timber product. Recent compliance assessments have shown that some businesses are still struggling with elemen