Forest Products Industry

Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) has launched a new industry research archive – the largest collection of research reports spanning the last two decades bringing together decades of valuable research to make it easier for the forest and wood products sector to access and apply knowledge that drives innovation. Source: Timberbiz The FWPA Industry Research Archive represents the largest collection of industry research spanning the last two decades. It consolidates hundreds of reports, technical papers and findings into one central, searchable platform, streamlining access to information, and ensuring research investments continue to deliver value long after publication. Phase one The first phase of the project brings together more than 40 research reports from the National Institute for Forest Products Innovation (NIFPI) and combines them with FWPA’s existing research. The result is a collection of more than 350 reports, making it by far the most comprehensive industry knowledge base in Australia. FWPA CEO Andrew Leighton said the initiative reflects FWPA’s ongoing role in supporting evidence-based decision-making and driving collaboration across the sector. “FWPA’s role as the enduring organisation supporting the forestry and wood products sector places us in the best position to serve as custodian of these outputs,” Mr Leighton said. “This initiative will help industry partners make better-informed decisions, accelerate innovation, and make past research outputs easier to find and adopt.” The new platform has been designed with usability and longevity in mind. Its advanced search and filtering tools make it easy to locate relevant information, while reports are categorised by topic, date, and research theme. Long-term archival functions ensure valuable data is preserved and accessible well into the future. FWPA’s Head of Research, Development and Extension, Ian Blanden, said the resource will help researchers and industry stakeholders work more strategically. “By consolidating decades of research in one place, we’re helping people find what’s already been done, identify knowledge gaps and focus new investment where it’s most needed,” Mr Blanden said. “It’s about making the most of the work that’s come before to deliver real outcomes for the industry.” Phase two The next phase of the project will see the addition of more than 120 completed reports from Australia’s Regional Forestry Hubs and the integration of AI technology to support data mining and deeper analysis. These enhancements will allow users to uncover insights into both research gaps and areas where existing knowledge can be rapidly applied. By centralising access to research outputs, FWPA is helping the sector harness its collective knowledge, strengthen collaboration, and continue building a sustainable future for Australia’s forest and wood products sector. The FWPA Industry Research Archive is now live and can be accessed via National Institute for Forest Products Innovation – Forest & Wood Products Australia. https://fwpa.com.au/resources-hub/nifpi-reports/

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New Zealand’s forest owners spent almost NZ$4 million controlling more than 160,000 pest animals across 1.4 million hectares of plantation forest in 2025, with pest-control activity reported across 77% of the national forest estate, according to a new survey. Source: Timberbiz The New Zealand Forest Owners Association says the sector’s contribution is often overlooked in the national debate about who is responsible for controlling pests across private land. The survey comes as Federated Farmers calls for greater responsibility from forestry and other land managers, identifying neighbouring forestry and Crown land among sources of pest reinvasion onto farms. NZFOA chief executive Dr Elizabeth Heeg says forest owners already take a proactive role in tackling pests that affect both production forests and the wider environment. “These figures show forest owners’ significant investment in reducing pest pressure, often in places where neighbouring farms, waterways, reserves and native bush also benefit,” Dr Heeg said. “Pest control at this scale not only protects forests, but reduces pressure on native vegetation, wildlife and adjacent land.” The survey found larger forestry companies spent almost NZ$4 million on pest animal control during 2025. Possums made up the largest recorded group, with nearly 90,000 controlled during 2025. The survey also recorded nearly 30,000 goats, 15,000 pigs and 11,000 deer, alongside 17,000 rats, mustelids, chamois and other pests. Deer, goats and other browsing animals can damage plantation forests – particularly young trees – affecting tree establishment and growth; while pests such as possums, rats and mustelids can also affect native wildlife and vegetation within and around plantation forests. Smaller-scale forest owners, including farm foresters and woodlot owners, are likely to add further to the overall figures, with the survey not fully capturing the contribution of this group. The survey findings therefore likely understate the forestry sector’s overall pest-control effort and investment, as well as in-kind contributions. NZFOA environment manager Rachel Millar says pest control cannot be treated as an isolated property-by-property problem. “Pests don’t recognise property boundaries, so neither should pest control,” Ms Millar said. “Forest owners are already doing substantial work, but there is an opportunity to make that work more effective by coordinating it across neighbouring properties and the wider landscape. “This new data provides forest owners a better way to track progress, identify gaps and work more closely with councils, neighbours, contractors, hunting clubs and conservation groups.” Hunting is another significant part of pest control in forests, with forestry companies issuing more than 8000 hunting permits during 2025, according to the survey. “Managed hunting access is an important part of pest control on forestry land,” Dr Heeg said. “When it’s well managed, hunting gives companies a practical way to reduce pest numbers while keeping people safe around forestry operations.” Better coordination between forest owners, farmers, councils, conservation groups, hunting organisations and other land managers could help prevent pests simply moving from one controlled area into another. “Forestry companies are already investing millions of dollars and putting substantial resources into pest control,” Dr Heeg said. “The next step is making sure that effort connects with what is happening on neighbouring land.” The survey provides a clearer picture of forestry’s contribution to national pest-control efforts, but Dr Heeg says this is only one component of a much larger landscape issue requiring collective attention. “Forest owners are already doing their part. The challenge now is to make pest control more coordinated across the landscape, so that the work being done on one property isn’t undermined by reinvasion from another,” she said.

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OneFortyOne’s 2026 planting season has wrapped up, marking the start of the next generation of forests across the Green Triangle. Source: Timberbiz Supported by favourable seasonal rainfall, the Glencoe Nursery dispatched almost 6.5million seedlings to forest growers across the region, including OneFortyOne’s own estate. Estate manager Marcel Griffiths said the planting operation was bigger than ever, with five planting crews working across 45 days, reestablishing 3,143 hectares of land – including OneFortyOne’s recently acquired Limestone Estate in South Western Victoria. “This year we sent 2,635,200 seedlings across the border to re-establish parts of Limestone Estate,” Mr Griffiths said. “This established new radiata pine forests across 1,470 hectares of the estate.” Nursery manager Craig Torney said the busy season needed a team effort across the supply chain. “What stood out this season was the great communication across the entire process, from the Glencoe Nursery team through to delivery drivers and planting contractors,” Craig said. “It’s always rewarding to see the nursery alive with action, and everyone working together and powering through another season.” The nursery delivered a total of 6,467,500 seedlings, of which 5,597,855 were planted in OneFortyOne forests. “The team did an amazing job coordinating an already full schedule while bringing Limestone Estate into the planting program,” Mr Griffiths said. “Their professionalism and commitment ensured a safe and efficient operation and laid the foundations for the next generation of forests.”

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Timber NSW is calling on the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation to release details of its latest marketing campaign including the opening statement, full list of questions, sample size, and margin of error from its latest push-polling effort to end timber harvesting in NSW. Source: Timberbiz About Regional, a widely read online news source, reports that Ken Henry’s Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation commissioned a poll which apparently suggests overwhelming support among South Coast voters for converting state forests into national parks and significant support for ending native forest logging in the region. The Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation says polling found 67% of NSW voters would support the creation of large, protected areas like the Great Southern Forest National Park proposal. The foundation says that for residents of the South Coast electorate, this number jumped to 72%, while 63% of voters in Bega supported the proposal. And it says the pollsters found the support held fairly strong across party lines. According to Timber NSW Chief Executive Maree McCaskill, the published headline figures could not be judged as reliable measures of informed support for the park proposal. “This was nothing more than a push poll to support Ken Henry’s campaign to destroy the timber industry in Australia,” Ms McCaskill said. “The skewed polling was released by the National Parks Association to further muddy the waters as to the true intention of this campaign in which respondents were asked about large new protected areas without being given a detailed description of the boundaries, effects on forestry or park-access. “An enormous amount of what we do is trying to educate people about forestry. Our job is made much harder when we have to counter the false narratives perpetrated by people and organisations trying to ruin Australian industry by disguising their intent and wilfully ignoring hard facts and proven statistics,” she said. “The obsession with destroying the timber industry in Australia has already led to bizarre outcomes – Australia now relies on imported hardwood from questionable sources. This includes Merbau, a listed threatened species imported from unregulated forestry operations across Asia.” Timber NSW says some other information some commentators and numerous politicians ignore is: 90% of publicly owned forests are already in national parks and conservation reserves in NSW (nearly 8M ha) State forests cost less than a tenth of the cost of managing National Parks State forests contribute to an industry that generates $1.1b annually in value added to the NSW economy. State forests that have been well managed for timber over 100 years remain full of native species.

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PEFC is strengthening its presence in New Zealand, with a refreshed national governing body, a new board representing experience from across the forestry and timber supply chain, and a clear ambition to grow certification in step with the markets it serves. Source: Timberbiz Formerly the New Zealand Forest Certification Association, PEFC’s national member has been renewed and revitalised as PEFC New Zealand. The renewal was launched publicly at the New Zealand Timber Design Awards in Auckland in June, bringing the announcement to an audience of designers, engineers, manufacturers and forest owners. It marked not just a change of name, but a signal of intent: to strengthen PEFC’s presence in New Zealand, grow certification and continue adapting the PEFC approach to the country’s needs. Chaired by Mark Ross, the new board brings together experience from across New Zealand’s forestry and timber supply chain. Its early priorities are already clear. “One of PEFC New Zealand’s first priorities is supporting the current revision of the Australian/New Zealand Sustainable Forest Management Standard,” said Mr Ross. PEFC New Zealand’s renewal is a living example of the PEFC approach: national systems, built and governed locally, endorsed against shared PEFC’s international Sustainability Benchmarks rather than imposed from the top down. It is a model designed to fit each country’s own forests, ownership structures and communities, and to evolve as those needs evolve. Central to New Zealand’s next chapter is its trans-Tasman partnership. “As part of the global PEFC alliance, PEFC New Zealand is working closely with Responsible Wood, the PEFC member for Australia, which continues to provide technical and administrative support as the New Zealand scheme grows,” said PEFC South Pacific Programme Manager, Richard Laity. “By drawing on shared experience across the Tasman, we are helping ensure the scheme remains credible, cost-effective and fit for purpose, while meeting the needs of both New Zealand businesses and their customers.” New Zealand’s renewal comes as businesses and specifiers face growing expectations for transparency about the sourcing of forest and tree-based materials. Architects, specifiers and buyers are increasingly looking for credible information and independent assurance to support responsible sourcing decisions. PEFC certification can help respond to this demand by providing independently verified assurance of responsible forest management and traceability of forest and tree-based materials through the supply chain. PEFC New Zealand’s renewal offers a useful reference point for other national members navigating change. It shows how renewed governance, stronger market focus and collaboration across the PEFC Alliance can help a national member prepare for its next stage of development, while remaining firmly rooted in local context.

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A new Senate Committee report highlighting the need for stronger action and tougher reforms to prevent Russian timber products entering Australia has been welcomed by AFPA. Source: Timberbiz The Senate report featured strong recommendations to combat conflict timber entering Australia, including urging the Federal Government to explore tighter sanctions against Russia and ensure penalties evolve with global developments to keep pace with circumvention efforts. AFPA Acting CEO Richard Hyett said sanctions had stopped direct imports from Russia but there has been increased timber imports from third countries known to be using Russian fibre. “Russia has the largest forest estate in the world, and timber is an important economic driver, so it beggars’ belief that a resource of this scale could simply be turned off and replaced by other sources,” Mr Hyett said. Mr Hyett said recent forensic testing by Source Certain continued to identify Russian fibre in timber products around the world, often with documentation that mislabelled or misrepresented the product’s origin. “Addressing this imports issue is vital for Australia’s $6 billion timber manufacturing industry, which supports around 80,000 direct and 100,000 indirect jobs and supplies essential materials for hundreds of thousands of Australian homes every day,” Mr Hyett said. Mr Hyett said stronger testing and enforcement was also needed to protect Australian jobs, manufacturers and consumers while ensuring sanctions against Russian timber were genuinely effective. “It’s time for the Government to act and implement a testing program that can tell Australians what is actually being imported, and not just rely on paperwork from high-risk importers,” Mr Hyett said. “We also need to introduce Country of Origin labelling. “As part of the Senate inquiry, we sincerely thank Senator Raff Ciccone for his support by encouraging producers to seek an Anti-Dumping Commission investigation into Russian timber entering Australian markets.  We appreciate Senator Ross Cadell and Senator Susan McDonald for supporting industry and raising serious concerns about the lack of policing of timber imports. “Enforcing stronger sanctions will ultimately support Australian manufacturers, uphold our international commitments and ensure a level playing field for domestic producers.”

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