Export Control (Hardwood Wood Chips) Regulations 1996.

The purpose of these Regulations is to provide for a system of granting licences to export hardwood chips that ensures that chips exported are derived from regions to which a Regional Forest Agreement applies. A Regional Forest Agreement is an agreement between the Commonwealth and a State with respect to the conservation of forest resources in identified areas. Hardwood exported from regions not covered by an Agreement is subject to a national volume ceiling and the harvesting of such hardwood shall be carried out in a way such as to protect areas which are, or may be, needed to establish a comprehensive, adequate and representative national forest reserve system. If, after a transitional licence for a region (old region) is granted, a Regional Forest Agreement comes into force for a region that is, or includes, part of the old region: (a) the validity of the licence is not affected only because the Agreement has come into force; and (b) the Minister must decide whether, or to what extent, to reduce the authorized export mass for the licence. A person may apply, in writing, for a degraded forest licence to export, as wood chips, hardwood derived from a forest situated on land that is privately-owned. (43 regulations and one Schedule listing regions)