What a registered log trader must do

Applying to register as a log trader

From 6 August 2022, log traders can register in the new system. They have one year to become registered before it is an offence to practice without registration.

Log traders are businesses. Registered log traders have passed a background check, including a criminal record check for decision makers in the business.

Find out if you need to register as a log trader

How to register as a log trader

Your obligations as a registered log trader

Once you register as a log trader, there are certain things you need to do. If you don’t, you may be subject to compliance action and your registration may be suspended or revoked. If this happens, you would be committing an offence if you continued to trade more than 2,000 cubic metres of logs per year.

As a registered log trader, you must:

• pay the application fee to register, and the annual levy
• continue to be able to pass the background check and tell us if anything changes
• meet the forestry practice standards when conducting business
• keep records about log trading transaction details
• provide annual reports to us about your log trading activity in an annual return
• comply with any other obligations we may publish here in future.

The forestry practice standards are being developed and will be published on this website.

Fees and levies

The fee to apply to register as a log trader must be paid using a debit or credit card when you apply.

Your registration as a log trader lasts for 5 years. If you apply to renew your registration, you will need to pay a renewal application fee.

You must pay an annual levy. You will be notified when this is due.

If you are applying to register as both a log trader and forestry adviser (dual registration), each fee and levy is reduced by 50% as below.

Meeting the conditions of the background check

Registered log traders must provide information for a background check during registration. The background check for each person asks questions about the conduct of each decision maker in the business. This includes sole traders.

These things are done to confirm that the business and each decision maker meets the “fit and proper person requirements” in the regulations. Read more below.

Fit and proper person requirements: Section 5, Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Regulations 2022 – NZ Legislation

While you are registered as a log trader, you must continue to meet the requirements of each background check. You must tell us if anything changes.

Criminal record check

For each decision maker in the business, you must provide a criminal record check from the Ministry of Justice that is less than 3 months old.

Request your criminal record online - Ministry of Justice

Civil liabilities

Civil liabilities are penalties imposed by a court or regulator for various forms of conduct. You must answer questions about your conduct, including relevant civil liabilities for your business and each decision maker in the business.

Relevant civil liabilities

For your business:

• business conduct, including fraud, bankruptcy, false advertising, fair trading, consumer guarantees, defamation, financial markets conduct, health and safety, penalties in the Emissions Trading Scheme, and/or Resource Management Act (RMA) breaches
• a breach of a duty of care, including negligence, contract, and/or nuisance.

For sole traders and each decision maker in a business:

• conduct in commercial activities, including fraud, bankruptcy, false advertising, fair trading, consumer guarantees, defamation, financial markets conduct, insurance, and/or real estate
• personal conduct, including trespass and/or insurance
• a breach of a duty of care, including negligence, contract, and/or nuisance
• environmental and climate performance, including penalties in the Emissions Trading Scheme, and/or RMA breaches.

When you apply for registration, you must provide us with either:

• a declaration that there are no relevant civil liabilities for the business and each decision maker, or
• all information relating to any civil liability findings against the business and any of the decision makers. This includes any penalties imposed by a court or regulator.

Keeping records as a registered log trader

Registered log traders must keep certain records. You will need these to complete your annual report. You won’t need to provide these to us unless we ask for them.

Keeping records of log trading transactions

As a registered log trader, you must keep records of all transactions involving logs you have:

• traded
• transferred
• processed from trees you have grown.

Records must include these details:

• total annual volume of logs
• grade
• age
• price
• species
• region of origin
• immediate next destination. For example, the logs were for domestic processing, on-sale as logs, or export.

Keeping records about complaints and disputes

As a registered log trader, you must keep records when:

• someone makes a complaint to you
• you make a complaint directly to someone else, including a business
• you are involved in a dispute.

When any of these things happen, you should keep records of:

• the document (for example, email) that raised or started the complaint or dispute
• any notes you made about the background to the complaint or dispute, and how it was handled
• any relevant correspondence (for example, with a mediator or us)
• the outcomes (this might include resolution by agreement, or referral of the matter to arbitration) and
• further actions, including what you will do to avoid similar issues from happening again.

Format of records

Records must be kept in a way that makes them available for 7 years. They can be:

• in hard copy or digital form
• handwritten or drawn
• photographs
• audio recordings.

When you may need to provide records

You must provide us with information in your log trader annual report, explained below.

We may ask you for information to get a better understanding of trends and behaviours in the forestry supply chain. We can request this information under section 63G of the Forests Act 1949.

MPI or a complaints' panel may also ask you for your records, to verify you are complying with your obligations as a log trader.

Log trader annual reports

As a registered log trader, you need to provide us with certain information about your log trading activity for each financial year ending 30 June. These are called log trader annual reports. We use this information to check if you have done what registered log traders need to do. If you don’t give us this information every year, you may face compliance action.

By 1 December each year, as a registered log trader you must:

• tell us the total volume of logs you traded, transferred, or processed if you grew them
• confirm you have met your obligations as a registered log trader
• confirm the information you provided when you registered hasn’t changed.

If you haven’t met your obligations, you must provide an explanation of:

• how and why you haven’t met the obligations
• what you have done to deal with any issues.

For example, if a complaint was made against you during that year, you must tell us how you have dealt with the issues that led to the complaint.

Renewing your registration

Your registration as a log trader expires 5 years after your application to register was approved. To continue trading logs, you must apply to renew your registration as a log trader at least 3 months before your registration expires.

When renewing, you must:

• pay a registration fee of $510.60 including GST
• provide details of your current registration
• confirm these details are the same as you gave us when registering or later.

Each decision maker in the business must provide a criminal record check from the Ministry of Justice that is less than 3 months old. You must also declare any relevant civil liabilities.

When renewing, you must declare that you have met the obligations of a log trader during the 5 years since you registered or renewed your registration. If you haven’t met these obligations, you must explain:

• how and why you haven’t met the obligations, and
• what has been done to deal with any issues that prevented you from meeting them.

Keeping your information up to date

As a registered log trader, you need to keep your information up to date. This means telling us about any changes to:

• information on a forestry register
• information provided when you applied for registration. For example, changes to decision makers, or new criminal or civil proceedings.

To update your information, email TeUruRakau@mpi.govt.nz

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Who to contact

For more information about the registration system for log traders and forestry advisers, email TeUruRakau@mpi.govt.nz