EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by Authority of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Export Control Act 2020
Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Rules 2026
Legislative Authority
The Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Rules 2026 (the Amendment Rules) are made by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) under section 432 of the Export Control Act 2020 (the Act).
Section 432 of the Act relevantly provides that the Secretary of the department (the Secretary) may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act, or that are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
A number of provisions in the Act set the parameters of the Secretary’s rule-making power and either:
- provide examples of the kinds of things for which the Secretary may make provision in the rules; or
- set out the default matters for the provision and allow the Secretary to give further detail, or set out additional requirements, in the rules.
Under section 289 of the Act, the Minister may give directions to the Secretary about the performance of the Secretary’s functions or the exercise of the Secretary’s powers in making rules under section 432 of the Act. Directions made by the Minister to the Secretary are legislative instruments but are not subject to disallowance or sunsetting. At the time of commencement, a Ministerial direction has not been made under section 289 of the Act for the purposes of rules relating to the export of goods.
Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations or by-laws) the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any such instrument.
Purpose
The Amendment Rules amend the Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021 (the Wood Rules) for the purposes of:
- explaining (through a note) that subsection 6(1) of the Regional Forest Agreements Act 2002 (RFA Act) provides that ‘RFA wood’ (which is defined in the RFA Act) is not prescribed goods for the purposes of the Act;
- specifying that wood and woodchips exported from Australia in their end-use form and are not intended to be processed further after export, are taken not to be prescribed wood or woodchips; and
- extending the initial consideration period for an application for a wood export licence and an application to vary a wood export licence or the conditions of a wood export licence.
Background
The department regularly reviews the rules made under the Act to ensure that they support the competitiveness and productivity of Australia’s agricultural export sector.
The amendments address issues that have been raised by stakeholders or identified by the department. The amendments ensure that the rules made under the Act remain fit for purpose and are updated to reflect current operational requirements.
Impact and Effect
The amendment to the Wood Rules to explain that ‘RFA wood’ is not prescribed goods ensures that the references in the Wood Rules to the RFA Act in relation to RFA wood remain current.
The amendment to the Wood Rules to provide that wood and woodchips are taken not to be prescribed goods if they are exported from Australia in their intended end-use form and are not intended to undergo further processing after export ensures that goods that are not intended to be regulated by the Wood Rules, such as utility poles, are not taken to be prescribed goods.
The amendment to the Wood Rules to provide an initial consideration period of 60 days for an application for a wood export licence or an application to vary a wood export licence or to vary the conditions of a wood export licence ensures that the initial consideration period includes sufficient time for a fit and proper person assessment to be conducted as part of the process.
Consultation
Amendments to the definition of ‘RFA wood’ in the RFA Act were made by the Environment Protection Reform Act 2025. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) consulted the department during the development of amendments to the definition of ‘RFA wood’. As part of that consultation, the department advised DCCEEW that consequential amendments to the Wood Rules would be progressed to reflect the amendments to the definition of ‘RFA wood’.
Public consultation on the remaining amendments was conducted between 8 December 2025 and 30 January 2026 through the Have Your Say platform on the department’s website. Public consultation through the Have Your Say Platform was also supported by direct industry engagement, which included correspondence with industry participants to inform them of the consultation process. Following the public consultation process, no feedback or survey responses were received.
Details/ Operation
The Amendment Rules are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
The Amendment Rules commence on the day after registration.
Details of the Amendment Rules are set out in Attachment A.
Other
The Amendment Rules are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is set out in Attachment B.
ATTACHMENT A
Details of the Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Rules 2026
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the name of the instrument is the Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Rules 2026 (the Amendment Rules).
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides that the Amendment Rules commence on the day after the instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
The note below the table provides that the table relates only to the provisions of the Amendment Rules as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of the Amendment Rules. The purpose of this note is to clarify that the commencement of any amendments is not reflected in this table.
Section 3 – Authority
This section provides that the Amendment Rules are made under the Export Control Act 2020.
Section 4 – Schedules
This section provides for the amendment or repeal of instruments as set out in a Schedule to the Amendment Rules. This enables the amendment of the Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021 (the Wood Rules).
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021
Part 1—Wood and woodchips that are not prescribed goods
Item [1] – Subsection 2-1(2) (note)
Subsection 2-1(2) of the Wood Rules provides that wood or woodchips are not prescribed goods if the wood or woodchips are derived from trees sourced from a plantation in a State for which there is an approved code of practice.
The note following subsection 2-1(2) previously explained that processed and unprocessed wood (including woodchips) sourced from a region covered by a Regional Forest Agreement within the meaning of the Regional Forest Agreements Act 2002 (RFA Act) (not including wood sourced from a plantation in a State unless there is an approved code of practice for that State) is non-prescribed goods and refers the reader to subsection 6(1) of the RFA Act, the definition of RFA wood in section 4 of the RFA Act and the definition of non-prescribed goods in section 12 of the Act.
Subsection 6(1) of the RFA Act provides that RFA wood is not prescribed goods for the purposes of the Export Control Act 2020 (the Act).
Items 637A and 637B in Schedule 1 to the Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 repeal and substitute a new definition for ‘RFA wood’ in the RFA Act. Those amendments commence on a date to be fixed by Proclamation, or if any of the provisions do not commence within the period of 12 months beginning on the day the Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the day after the end of that period.
This item repeals the note following subsection 2-1(2) and substitutes a new note. The new note following subsection 2-1(2) explains that subsection 6(1) of the RFA Act provides that RFA wood (which is defined in the RFA Act) is not prescribed goods for the purposes of the Act.
This amendment is consequential to the amendment of the definition of ‘RFA wood’ in the RFA Act. It ensures that the reference in the Wood Rules to the RFA Act in relation to RFA wood remains accurate and consistent with the definition of ‘RFA wood’ in the RFA Act.
Item [2] – Section 2-2
This item amends section 2-2 of the Wood Rules to insert “(1)” before “For”. This amendment is consequential to the amendment in item 3 of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Rules, which inserts new subsection 2-2(2).
Item [3] – At the end of section 2-2
Subsection 28(1) of the Act provides that the rules may prescribe kinds of goods (prescribed goods) for the purposes of the Act.
Subsection 28(4) of the Act provides that the rules may provide that a kind of goods is taken not to be prescribed goods for the purposes of the Act in the circumstances prescribed by the rules.
Subsection 2-1(1) of the Wood Rules provides, for the purposes of subsection 28(1) of the Act, that woodchips, wood in the round, and wood with a cross-sectional area of at least 225 square centimetres, are prescribed goods for the purposes of the Act.
For the purposes of subsection 28(4) of the Act, section 2-2 of the Wood Rules prescribes the circumstances in which wood or woodchips covered by subsection 2-1(1) of the Wood Rules are taken not to be prescribed wood or woodchips.
This item inserts new subsection 2-2(2) at the end of section 2-2 of the Wood Rules.
New subsection 2-2(2) provides that for the purposes of subsection 28(4) of the Act, wood and woodchips covered by subsection 2-1(1) of the Wood Rules are taken not to be prescribed wood or woodchips if the wood or woodchips are to be exported in their intended end-use form and are not intended to be further processed after being exported.
This amendment has the effect that in addition to the circumstances prescribed in subsection 2-1(1) of the Wood Rules, wood or woodchips that are to be exported in their intended end-use form (that is, the wood or woodchips have already undergone processing) and are not intended to be further processed after being exported, are not prescribed goods for the purposes of the Act. Non-prescribed goods do not fall under the regulation of the Wood Rules and therefore do not require a wood export licence in order to be exported from Australia. Examples of wood or woodchips that are in their end-use form and not intended to undergo further processing after export include utility poles, railway sleepers and large structural beams.
Part 2—Initial consideration period for applications relating to wood export licences
Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021
Item [4] – Section 6-4
Section 379 of the Act details the requirements for dealing with certain applications made under the Act including applications under Part 2 or 3 or Division 1 of Part 4 of Chapter 6 of the Act (export licences). Subsection 379(3) of the Act provides that the consideration period for the relevant application is the period (the initial consideration period) prescribed by the rules for an application of that kind, as extended under subsection 379(5), (6), (7) or (8) of the Act.
Section 6-4 of the Wood Rules provides, for the purposes of subsection 379(3) of the Act, the initial consideration period for an application under section 190 of the Act for a wood export licence or an application under section 199 of the Act to vary a wood export licence or to vary the conditions of a wood export licence.
This item omits “30” and substitutes “60” in subsection 6-4 of the Wood Rules.
The effect of this amendment is that the initial consideration period for an application under section 190 of the Act for a wood export licence or an application under section 199 of the Act to vary a wood export licence or vary the conditions of a wood export licence, is 60 days instead of 30 days.
Subsection 373(1) of the Act provides that the rules may prescribe kinds of persons who are required, for the purposes of Chapter 5 (approved arrangements) or Chapter 6 (export licences) of the Act to be fit and proper persons. Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Export Control Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Rules 2025 amended the Wood Rules to prescribe, for the purposes of subsection 373(1) of the Act, that applicants for a wood export licence and holders of a wood export licence are persons who are required to be fit and proper persons.
Due to the new requirement for applicants for a wood export licence and holders of a wood export licence to be fit and proper persons, the application process for a wood export licence now requires a fit and proper person assessment to be conducted. On average, the processing of a fit and proper person assessment takes between 30 and 60 days. This amendment ensures that there is sufficient time within the initial consideration period for a wood export licence application to account for the fit and proper person test, avoiding applications unintentionally being deemed refused because of the operation of subsection 379(2) of the Act, which deems applications not decided within the prescribed consideration period to be refused.
Part 3—Application provisions
Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021
Item [5] – Chapter 12 (heading)
This item repeals the heading of Chapter 12 of the Wood Rules and substitutes a new heading “Chapter 12—Application and transitional provisions”.
This amendment is consequential to the amendment made by item 6 of this Schedule which inserts application provisions in Chapter 12 of the Wood Rules. Chapter 12 of the Wood Rules previously only provided for transitional provisions.
Item [6] – In the appropriate position in Chapter 12
This item inserts new section 12-3 at the end of Chapter 12 of the Wood Rules. New section 12-3 provides application provisions relating to the Amendment Rules.
New subsection 12-3(1) provides that the amendments of section 2-2 made by Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Rules apply in relation to the export of wood or woodchips on or after the commencement of that Part.
New subsection 12-3(2) provides that the amendment of section 6-4 made by Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Rules applies in relation to the following:
- an application made on or after the commencement of that Part;
- an application made before the commencement of that Part, where the Secretary had not made a decision on the application before that commencement and the consideration period (referred to in subsection 379(3) of the Act) for the application had not ended before that commencement.
New section 12-3 makes clear that the amendments of the Wood Rules made by Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Rules have prospective effect.
ATTACHMENT B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Rules 2026
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
The Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Rules 2026 (the Legislative Instrument) is made under the Export Control Act 2020 (the Act) and amends the Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021 (the Wood Rules) to:
- explain that subsection 6(1) of the Regional Forest Agreements Act 2002 (RFA Act) provides that ‘RFA wood’ (which is defined in the RFA Act) is not prescribed goods for the purposes of the Act;
- provide that wood and woodchips that are to be exported in their intended end-use form and are not intended to be further processed after being exported are taken not to be prescribed wood or woodchips; and
- provide that the initial consideration period for an application for a wood export licence or for an application to vary a wood export licence or the conditions of a wood export licence, is 60 days (previously 30 days) in order to account for the fit and proper test now being required to be met as part of the application process.
Human rights implications
This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Victoria Anderson
Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry