We have created a special page for our Australian visitors about "What you need to know to import a wooden prefab house", "What you need to do" and "What you can't do"
STRUCTURAL CERTIFICATES
Structures erected in Australia require a structural certificate. Regardless whether it is designed by an architect or home owner a structural certificate must be obtained from a registered structural engineer. This forms part of the Building Permit application. We have been scrutinized by a foremost Australian engineering company and they concluded that our company's architectural system and its professional structural engineering complies with the Australian building regulations. In addition our Australian representative would be happy to help and advise.
We recommend however prior to purchase one of our units to consult building certifiers in your local area to address specific requirements of the proposed building site and local building regulations.
We also recommend that coating be done in Australia. Not only the price of the unit will be lower but it will also accelerate the import approval process at customs.
IMPORT
As long as the containers are properly fumigated in Bali with Ethylene Oxide and/or Methyl Bromide there are no import issues and the goods will be released by customs at the port of entry. Our company works together with a Bali based company who is licensed by AQIS for the fumigation process.
ILLEGAL LOGGING ACT EFFECTIVE AS PER NOVEMBER 30, 2014
The Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 came into operation in November 2012. Under the Act, it is now a criminal offence to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly import illegally logged timber or timber products into Australia. This prohibition applies to all imported timber and timber products. This means that if you are importing timber or timber products into Australia and you receive information that it was illegally logged, or you have reason to suspect it was illegally logged, or you think that there is a significant risk that it was illegally logged, you should not import that timber. If you do import that timber and it is later found that it was illegally logged, you could face significant penalties, including imprisonment and heavy fines (AU$ 85,000 for an individual or AU$ 425,000 for a corporation). These regulations appeared to be a significant burden on customers and corporations as to find out whether the timberw as legally felled. In many cases, it was unclear that you could rely on existing or modified systems and practices to comply with these requirements. The law has therefore been amended as per November 30, 2014
What happens after 30 November 2014?
The second element of the illegal logging laws, as outlined in the Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Regulation 2013, will come into effect on 30 November 2014. After this date, if you import certain timber or timber products into Australia (as defined in the regulations) the importer will need to assess and manage the risk that they have been illegally logged. This is known as carrying out ‘due diligence’. The importer will be asked to make a declaration to Customs about the compliance with the due diligence requirements. This will be in the form of a Community Protection Question asked as part of the import declaration process. As such all responsibility will be borne by the importer. All timber used by our company complies with the regulations outlined in the <V-legal system> as such import into Australia is allowed.
As per november 30, 2014 the import of timber into Australia is prohibited, provided the exporting body has a V-legal certificate in place (as does our company). If you import certain timber or timber product into Australia (as defined in the regulations) you will need to assess and manage the risk that they have been illegally logged. This is known as carrying out ‘due diligence’. You may be interested in downloading the following documents: <What timber products are regulated>, <Answering the illegal logging community protection question> and in particular for importers: <Use of timber legality framework for importing>, <Use of country specific guidelines> and <Guidance dor importers>.
OUR COMPANY IS IN POSSESSION OF A V-LEGAL CERTIFICATE AND AS SUCH IMPORT INTO AUSTRALIA OF OUR WOODEN HOUSES AND/OR GAZEBOS IS REGULATED AND ALLOWED WITHOUT ADDITIONAL PAPERWORK FROM THE CLIENT'S SIDE
For an article about our company in the Austrialian & New Zealand Timber Magazine click <here>
