Forestry legal harvest assurance

Why legal harvest assurance is needed

The purpose of legal harvest assurance is to:

strengthen the international reputation of New Zealand’s forestry sector
safeguard and enhance market access for the forestry sector
reduce the risk of importing timber that is not legally harvested
help reduce international trade in timber that is not legally harvested.

The work we have done so far

In 2024, we sought public feedback about 2 issues papers. The papers focused on operational details and design options for legal harvest assurance. Your feedback on the papers helped us to prepare options for public consultation.

The next step is to run a public consultation and get feedback on proposed regulations and notices. We expect that to happen in late 2024.

New Zealand’s Legal Harvest Assurance System – Issues paper one: The legal harvest assurance framework [PDF, 4.4 MB]

New Zealand's Legal Harvest Assurance System – Issues paper two: the legal harvest assurance framework [PDF, 5 MB]

How legal harvest assurance will work

These types of people will have obligations:

people responsible for harvest in New Zealand
people that will need to register for legal harvest assurance
people and agencies who are recognised as assessors of due diligence systems.

After the public consultation we will publish more details on this page.

What people responsible for harvest in New Zealand need to do

People responsible for harvesting can be:

the forest owner
a person with the right to harvest the timber
a person acting on behalf of the forest owner or rights holder. This may include agents and forest managers.

These people will need to:

provide legal harvest information when they supply regulated timber in trade (as part of a business)
keep records of the legal harvest information they have provided, and
update their legal harvest information if it changes or becomes inaccurate.

If the regulated timber supplied is from exotic species of trees, the person responsible for the harvest must provide information in a legal harvest statement. This statement must:

identify the timber it relates to, and
include any information and evidence required by regulations.

If the regulated timber is an indigenous species identified in regulations, the person responsible for the harvest must provide the legal harvest information required by the regulations.

We will consult with the public before making these regulations.

Registering for legal harvest assurance

Businesses will need to register with MPI for legal harvest assurance before they:

buy logs grown in New Zealand
export logs grown in New Zealand
process logs they have grown themselves
first process regulated timber
import or export any specified timber products
act as an agent for another business doing any of these activities.

Some exemptions and thresholds will apply.

Some businesses may choose to voluntarily register. They might do this if their customers ask for evidence that timber was legally harvested. If they register, they will need to meet all the obligations that registered people need to meet.

There will be a public register of businesses registered for legal harvest assurance.

What registered businesses must do

People registered for legal harvest assurance must have and use a due diligence system that is kept up to date. This will need to show how they will reduce the risk of dealing in timber that is illegally harvested.

Registered people must have their due diligence systems assessed by a recognised assessor.

Other obligations

Everyone registered will also need to:

continue to be a "fit and proper person"
do an annual compliance declaration, and
update MPI if anything changes.

They may have more obligations in future. These will be known when regulations are set.

Exporter statements

Exporters who are registered will be able to apply to MPI for legal harvest exporter statements. This will help support access to international markets. These statements are not available yet.

When legal harvest statements become available they are expected to replace existing market access statements, including exporter information statements.

You can still apply for exporter information statements as usual. Find out more below.

Steps to exporting timber and wood products

Recognised assessors and agencies

People can apply to become recognised assessors. They will assess the due diligence systems of registered businesses. Agencies can also be recognised and manage assessors who they employ or engage.

Before we recognise an assessor or agency, we will consider whether they are “fit and proper” to be recognised. We will consider their:

competencies and resources to manage and carry out their functions
ability to maintain an appropriate degree of independence and impartiality in managing and carrying out their functions
character and reputation.

There will be a public register of recognised assessors.

How we will ensure compliance

Legal harvest assurance will come into force no later than 1 August 2027. People will have 12 months from then to update their systems and comply with their new obligations before penalties apply.

We will use the VADE compliance model (Voluntary, Assisted, Directed, Enforced). This is based on the principle that most people want to and try to comply.

The model helps us decide how best to support responsible, registered, and recognised people to comply with the Act. For example, we:

promote good practice, and
remind people of what they need to do and what may happen if they do not comply.

Legal harvest assurance VADE model of compliance [PDF, 174 KB]

Find out more

Forests (Legal Harvest Assurance) Amendment Act 2023 – NZ Legislation

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Who to contact

If you have questions, email info@mpi.govt.nz

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