Why Australia Needs Country of Origin Labels on Timber Products!

Floors, decks, furniture, notepads, toilet paper, tissues, and prefabricated buildings are all tied up in one of the world's most profitable trans-border environmental crimes in the world.

Australia’s forestry and forest products industry will turn its attention to the federal election after last night’s 2025-26 budget, which did not deliver any meaningful new investment to help our industries realise their potential for the climate, economy, and communities. That is according to Diana Hallam, CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association, which nonetheless acknowledged a small number of measures from last night’s budget.

“We will now shift our focus squarely to the Federal Election campaign to secure what our sector needs as outlined in our Platform – Australian Timber. Australia’s Future, to help fix the national housing crisis, strengthen our sovereign capability in timber and wood-fibre and ensure a healthy and well-promoted and understood sector,” Ms Hallam said.

“We welcome the additional $20 million for the Buy Australian campaign, but to really drive Australian products in the marketplace, we need the introduction of country of origin labelling to allow consumers to readily choose locally grown timber and wood fibre. It is currently far too difficult for Australian consumers to discern where timber products come from and we will be campaigning hard for this policy in coming weeks.”

Diana Hallam, the Australian Forest Product Association’s CEO, on the importance of country of origin certification.
Ms Hallam said the Budget’s $181.9 million in funding for the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES) over the forward estimates is acknowledged: “But reform and more work are needed to optimise the transport of timber and wood resources across Bass Strait.”

“It was also disappointing that the forest products supply chain, as one of Australia’s largest manufacturing sectors, wasn’t included in the Government’s Budget announcements around green production credits, which went to aluminium and iron. As a sector that is truly carbon positive with innovation potential across a range of nation building products – including bioenergy options from woodchip and timber residues – we really should be at the forefront of the Government’s planning in this policy space.”

Ms Hallam was disappointed that the Australian forest products supply chain was not included in government announcements around green production credits.

“We also reiterate our support for the $54 million announced over the weekend for prefabricated and modular housing and to assist in certification for this type of manufacturing, on which timber and wood-fibre businesses are leading the charge. It is timely that the government has acknowledged that pre-fabrication has expanded from just the old donga to include innovative timber panel systems, which are more modern, attractive, affordable, and climate-friendly solutions.”

Try living without Australian timber and paper

Earlier this week, AFPA launched a new video showcasing the importance of Australian timber and paper to everyday life. Footage courtesy of @AustForests.

AFPA has the forest facts before the next election!

Last week, Wood Central revealed that AFPA had established a new website to address misinformation directed at the industry – forestfacts.com.au – a go-to information source ahead of the next election. “The team has been busy promoting our Platform, which includes key policy and funding requests, to policy and decision makers across all sides of federal politics over the past few weeks,” Hallam said. “It’s now time to launch the next stages of our campaign to support our Platform.”

“There is a huge amount of disinformation being spread by activists about Australia’s sustainable and world-leading forestry sector,” Hallam said. “The idea behind forestfacts.com.au is that people interested in the truth about how Australian forestry operates can have somewhere to go to have myths dispelled and find further scientific information, as well as a basic overview of the industry.”

Source: Wood Central