Illegal Logging Prohibition Act Compliance
Your obligations
Do you currently conduct due diligence on your imports of regulated timber products?
Do you know whether your imports are classified as regulated timber products?
Do you know the source of the timber products you import?
Have you mapped your supply chains to the forest source?
If your answer to any of the above questions is no, your business is at risk of facing enforcement action and even prosecution under the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 (Cth) (‘the Act’) and Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012 (Cth) (‘the Regulation’).
You may face severe penalties for failing to comply with this legislative framework. The Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has recently increased its enforcement activity in this space.
Businesses that have failed to comply with due diligence obligations adequately may face fines of up to $27,500 (100 penalty units) per finding of non-compliance. Penalties for importing regulated timber products that are found to contain illegally logged timber is up to 5 years imprisonment or up to $137,500 (500 penalty units).
Your business may be fined not only for failing to correctly conduct aspects of your due diligence process, but also for coming to risk assessments or conclusions that are found to be not reasonable. Your business must be able to support all assessments it makes with evidence and information as a part of this process.
It is essential that businesses that conduct any importing of regulated timber products, or domestic processing of raw logs, meet their due diligence requirements to avoid being issued significant fines by the Department.
If you do not currently conduct due diligence regularly, or at all, it is becoming a matter of when, not if, you will receive a Request for Information from DAFF.
OUR solution
Hikari Solutions has extensive experience in dealing with both the Act and Regulation. We offer a range of products and services to suite the needs of your business, no matter its size or industry.
DIY due diligence system packages
We have created a complete due diligence system (including a due diligence manual and forms for you to use in conducting your risk assessment) which can be purchased directly from our shop. This package also includes a short training video which can be used to help your people understand the processes contained in your manual and how they can conduct the due diligence process. You will need to conduct your own implementation and contextualuse the system to your own business.
Reviewing existing systems
If you have an existing due diligence system that you would like reviewed for compliance to the Act and Regulation, Hikari Solutions can review your current system, processes and records to provide you with advice as to whether or not your system comlpies, and what needs to change.
We are also able to review a sample of your due diligence records to assess compliance, and check whether there are any areas of your supply chain that pose an increased risk to your business that may be overlooked or incorrectly assessed.
Facing enforcement action
If you have recieved a request for information (RFI) from the Department, Hikari Solutions can assist you in issuing your response to DAFF, as well as helping you to reconstruct or amend your system as will be required if any non-compliances are found.
Hikari Solutions can also assist you if you have concluded an enforcement process with DAFF and need assistance in making the amendments required to demonstrate compliance to the Department.
For enquiries, please contact us at admin@hikarisolutions.com.au
Testimonials
"We were recently subject to an Illegal Logging compliance audit by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Although there had been significant work conducted on this internally, given the importance of the issue, we engaged with Hikari Solutions to assist us in managing the request for information.
Natalie Reynolds (ably supported by Renée Andreacchio and the team), was not only able to ensure that we had both the best preparation to respond to the direct enquiry, but also helped us to re-write and refine our compliance manual to meet the challenging and complex web of expectation around this legislation.
As well she provided the supporting documentation including supplier questionnaires, risk assessments covering a variety of potential scenarios, and a simple to understand pathway though the technically difficult process to both meet the legislation requirements going forward and ensure that we were confident that our supply lines had the lowest possible risk of using illegal logged material.
All of this in a very tight turnaround of just a few weeks.
I really appreciated the high quality of work, the pragmatic approach, and the commitment to getting the job done that the Hikari team showed and would unreservedly recommend them for any requirements in this area. Woodhouse Timber will be working with Hikari again. Thanks!"
Alan Bones
General Manager (Commercial) - Woodhouse