Importing Low Risk Wooden and Related Articles
All articles imported into Australia containing wood, bamboo, cane, rattan, willow and wicker are subject to quarantine and may require treatment or inspection to address the risk of introducing pests and diseases into Australia. Some manufacturing processes for these materials address the pest and disease concerns and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) has a system in place to assess these processes. If they meet Australia's quarantine requirements, goods manufactured through these processes may be granted a low risk status under the Low Risk Wooden and Related Articles Scheme (LRWRA).
For information about products, processing, treatments and quality control requirements of the LRWRA Scheme please download the Low Risk Wooden and Related Article Treatment Standard.
Low Risk and Wooden and Related Article Treatment Standard
A frequently asked questions (FAQ) page is also available about the LRWRA Scheme and its requirements.
LRWRA status is granted for two year periods. Importers are required to submit a new application for LRWRA status prior to expiry of any LRWRA approval, or previous Low Risk Wooden Article (LRWA) approval they currently hold.
A fee will be charged for the desk audit of this process and it will be based on the time taken for each individual assessment. An initial payment is required at the time the application is lodged and can be made by cheque, cash or credit card. As these assessments are charged on a time-based fee for service, you may receive a letter to request further payment on completion of the assessment. It is important to note that the fee paid is used for the administration and assessment of the low risk status application and the outcome of the assessment will not be provided until full payment has been received.
Please refer to the Fees and Charges for Import Clearance on the AQIS website.
Please contact the Timber National Coordination Centre for the initial application fee for a Low Risk Wooden and Related Article application.
Clearance mechanisms
Standard import conditions for manufactured wooden and related articles indicate these goods require treatment, or a full unpack and inspection, before they are released from quarantine control. In comparison, manufactured wooden and related articles with LRWRA status do not need to satisfy these treatment or inspection requirements. However, a percentage of articles identified as having LRWRA status are still referred to quarantine for random physical inspection at a Quarantine Approved Premise.
Failure to comply with the conditions applicable to LRWRA status (documents, quarantine concerns, treatments, products) will result in consignments covered by the LRWRA accreditation being profiled. The following five consignments will be subjected to a full unpack and inspection at a Quarantine Approved Premise.
Profiling will only be cancelled after five consecutive consignments have been unpacked, inspected and found to be compliant with the Scheme. Low risk status will be reinstated for the remaining term of the approval.
All inspections and treatments will be at the importer's expense.
Information required for Low Risk Wooden Article status assessment
All information provided to AQIS is treated as commercial–in–confidence, and is only accessible by AQIS and Biosecurity Australia staff.
LRWRA status is granted to a specific product from a specific manufacturer and is applicable to Full Container Load (FCL), Less Than Container Load (LCL) and airfreight consignments. As the approval is given to specific products, a separate application must be submitted for each product.
Applicants are encouraged to provide as much information as possible to assist in the assessment process. If insufficient information is provided, the process may be delayed by requests for additional information and explanation, or the application may be rejected owing to insufficient information available to carry out an assessment of the product.
Applicants should note that the assessment process can take up to six months to complete, depending on the complexity of the product.
Application form and payment information
Low Risk Wooden and Related Article Status application form 
PDF [27kb]
Low Risk Wooden and Related Article Status application form 
Word [56kb]
Applicants wishing to apply for LRWRA status should send a completed application to:
Low Risk Wooden and Related Article Assessment
Timber NCC—AQIS
PO Box 1006
Tullamarine VIC 3043
or
email: Timber Imports
It is important that all components of the application are completed. A fee will be charged for the desk audit of this process and will be based on the time taken for each individual assessment. An initial payment is required at time of lodgement and can be made by cheque, cash or credit card. As these assessments are charged on a time-based fee for service, you may be forwarded another letter to request further payment on completion of the assessment. It is important to note that the fee paid is used for the administration and assessment of the low risk status application and the outcome of the assessment will not be provided until full payment has been received.
Applicants can pay their application fees by cash, credit card or cheque in one of the following ways:
- in person at a local AQIS office in Australia
- by mailing or faxing credit card details, with your application form, to: Timber NCC—AQIS, PO Box 1006, Tullamarine VIC 3043 or fax:03 8318 6777. Download and attach a completed credit card payment form to your application
Credit card payment form PDF [24kb]
Credit card payment form Word [39kb]
- by cheque, with your application form, to the above address. Cheques should be made payable to the 'Collector or Public Monies, DAFF' and be in Australian dollars
Please note: The LRWRA scheme is to facilitate clearance of timber and timber-related items (including timber, bamboo, willow, wicker articles, cane and rattan) of minimal risk through quarantine only. It does not reflect the requirements of other agencies.