Approved treatments for timber
Approved Non-Permanent Treatments for Timber
AQIS approved non-permanent treatments will kill insects and some nematodes and fungi present in timber at the time of treatment but give no protection against post treatment infestation. Therefore exposed timber components of containers that are not treated with an approved permanent preservative and timber packaging and dunnage that is not ISPM 15 compliant must be treated within 21 days of export for every trip to Australia.
Non-permanent treatments that are approved for timber include:
- Fumigation treatments
Methyl bromide or sulphuryl fluoride are the only approved fumigation treatments for packed containers. - Heat treatments
Must be performed before containerisation.
Please Note: Additional non-permanent treatment options are available for certain commodities (please check relevant ICON cases). Information on these treatments will be added to this web page at a later date.
Approved Permanent Preservative Treatments For Timber
Permanent preservation is one of a number of quarantine treatment options available for treating commodity timber and timber products for import into Australia. It is also widely used as a treatment for timber components of cargo containers and for timber packaging and dunnage.
In general, unlike a fumigation or heat treatment, a permanent preservative treatment must be performed on the individual timber components of a manufactured product before the product is constructed. Treatment must be carried out in a commercial pressure treatment facility. If treated timber is cut, checked or drilled, the exposed surfaces should be treated with a brush on preservative, however, this protection cannot be expected to be as effective as the original treatment.
AQIS permanent preservation requirements for quarantine purposes
When assessing individual permanent preservation formulations for quarantine purposes AQIS had for decades used the Australian Standards for timber preservation as the basis for acceptability. However, some restrictions on penetration requirements must be met for imported timber to address the additional quarantine risk of exotic pests and diseases entering Australia. Please see the two permanent preservation web pages below for more detailed information.
The existing lists of AQIS approved permanent preservation treatments are based on AQIS assessments of individual trade or brand names and were formerly located in Appendix I of Cargo Containers – Quarantine Aspects and Procedures. These treatments will continue to be accepted for timber components of cargo containers and imported commodity and non-commodity timber. Please note that AQIS no longer assesses preservative formulations for inclusion on these lists.
See these lists at: AQIS Approved Timber Permanent Preservative Formulations
An additional permanent preservative treatment option
AQIS now also accepts compliance to Australian Standards AS 1604 (specifications for timber preservative treatment) as an additional permanent preservative treatment option. Unlike the AQIS lists, AS 1604 specifies only chemical classes of preservative, e.g. copper chrome arsenic (CCA), not the individual preservative formulations (trade names). For detailed requirements please see:
AQIS Requirements for Compliance to Australian Timber Preservation Standard AS 1604)
Any enquiries regarding timber treatments for quarantine purposes should be referred to: Timber National Coordination Centre, +61 3 8318 6929, or email Timber Imports
Full details of the correct certification of treatments, and the documentation required for quarantine clearance.