Buying and selling native timber in New Zealand
Milling native timber is regulated. Anyone buying native timber should be confident the timber has been milled legally in line with the Forests Act 1949.
To harvest and mill native timber, you need one of these 4 types of approval from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI):
- an approved sustainable forest management plan, or
- a sustainable forest management permit, or
- a personal use approval, or
- a milling statement.
Sawmills must also be registered with MPI to mill timber.
Find out more about the legal requirements for milling indigenous timber
What to do when selling native timber
If you’re selling native timber, particularly online, include the MPI approval number on the sale listing. The approval number is at the top of the approval document given to you by MPI.
This lets the public know the timber comes from a legal source. By doing this you are:
- showing you have followed the law
- proving the timber has been sustainably produced or comes from a source approved under the Forests Act (for example, salvaged timber)
- giving customers assurance that the timber has been milled legally, so it cannot be seized by MPI.
What to do when buying native timber
If you’re buying native timber, you should be confident the timber you’re buying has been legally milled.
When buying native timber, ask the seller for the milling statement or other MPI approval number. This shows that the timber has come from a legal source.
By doing this you are:
- helping prevent people profiting from illegal forest clearance
- supporting sawmillers who are operating within the law
- avoiding the timber you have bought being seized by MPI if we find it was illegally milled
- avoiding committing any offences.
You can contact us with the approval number or milling statement to check it is genuine. Email indigenous.forestry@mpi.govt.nz
Who to contact
If you have questions about the information on this page, email indigenous.forestry@mpi.govt.nz
