Forest Products Industry

The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has welcomed the Albanese Government announcement of a review into Australia’s gas market regulations to ensure ‘they’re fit for purpose and deliver in the national interest’, as timber and wood-fibre processors and manufacturers continue to battle high energy and other input costs, Chief Executive Officer of AFPA, Diana Hallam said. Source: Timberbiz “The rising cost of gas and electricity is a major risk to our processing and manufacturing supply chain with several major businesses on the brink as a result. “We welcome this gas market review announced by Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Resources Minister Madeleine King and encourage it to work towards sufficient and more affordable gas supply going forward,” Ms Hallam said. The gas market review will examine the impact of: The Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM) The Gas Market Code Heads of Agreement with major east coast gas exporters. The review will also consider the role of market bodies and investment that aims to boost supply and put downward pressure on prices. “Australian forestry and forest products businesses are the nation’s 6th largest manufacturing sector and affordable gas and electricity is essential to make production trees into the range of sustainable and renewable everyday products we create – from timber house-frames to cardboard boxes,” Ms Hallam said. “In addition to energy, logistics and insurance costs are also rising – meaning some businesses are being forced to consider whether they continue manufacturing at all. Over the first term of the Albanese Government energy costs for a number of our members more than doubled – further increases of this magnitude are simply not sustainable. “Our sector is responsible for injecting $24 billion into the economy annually. We directly employ 80,000 people and indirectly employ another 100,000 on top. Many of these jobs are the lifeblood of regional centres. It’s vital to maintain the scale and integration of our sector – if the cost of one element in the supply chain becomes too difficult it will have a huge ripple impact across the rest of the sector. “The Albanese Government must support manufacturing, and the gas market review is a good step to examine the impact of what is a major input cost, placing considerable pressure on our industry.”  

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The Forest Stewardship Council Australia and New Zealand has launched the first public consultation on the revised FSC Forest Stewardship Standard for Australia. The public consultation marks an important milestone in the revision process initiated by FSC ANZ to ensure the FSS continues to promote best-practice responsible forest management and remains fit for purpose. Source: Timberbiz “The Board considers the Forest Stewardship Standard to be the keystone of everything FSC ANZ does as an organisation, locking the whole together,” new chair James Felton-Taylor said. “We are grateful for the incredible work the SDG has put into developing this first draft. We encourage everyone with a passion for responsible forestry to take part in the public consultation.” The consultation is open from 1 July to 31 August 2025. All stakeholders are invited to review the draft and provide feedback via the FSC Public Consultation Platform. To support stakeholder understanding and engagement, FSC ANZ will host two identical webinars presenting an overview of the revision process and the main proposed changes to the Standard: 29 July, 18:00 – 19:30 PM AEST – go to https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/1bb8afa5-1b62-4480-92d3-8f171ed61965@124e69db-ef65-496b-96a9-5d56bec1d291 to register 1 August, 10:00 – 11:30 AM AEST – go to https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/6ed9666f-4fa4-48b1-bd63-81d7223b235f@124e69db-ef65-496b-96a9-5d56bec1d291 to register Members of the Standards Development Group (SDG), who drafted the revised version of the FSS, will attend both webinars. The webinars will not be recorded. Some of the most significant proposed changes include: Stricter controls on the use of highly hazardous pesticides Stronger safeguards for workers’ rights The introduction of the Indigenous Cultural Landscapes concept New cultural empathy requirements for specific forestry roles. Feedback from the consultation will be compiled by FSC ANZ and submitted to the SDG to inform the development of the second draft, scheduled for consultation in 2026. A public consultation report and the SDG’s formal responses to the feedback received will be shared in the second round of consultation. The SDG encourages all interested stakeholders to provide feedback on this first draft of the revised standard. It welcomes feedback that can help improve the draft and encourages stakeholders to be as constructive as possible in their feedback. Input that suggests how specific changes can be improved is especially welcome. If you have any questions contact Stefan Jensen, Senior Policy Manager at FSC ANZ and SDG facilitator: s.jensen@au.fsc.org For more information about the revision process, go to https://anz.fsc.org/forest-management-certification/revision-of-fsc-std-aus-01-2018-en-national-forest-stewardship Take part in the consultation go to https://consultation-platform.fsc.org/en/consultations/take/c3b2e63e12551

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