The Australian Standard® for Sustainable Forest Management (AS 4708) provides forest managers with economic, social, environmental and cultural criteria and requirements that support management of forests for products and services.
It is intended for voluntary application to any forests in Australia being managed for the production of products and services, whether native or planted forests.
The Australian Standard® for Sustainable Forest Management package comprises the following documents:
- The Australian Standard® for Sustainable Forest Management – Economic, social, environmental and cultural criteria and requirements (AS 4708:2013)
- AS 4708 GN01:2013 Sustainable Forest Management – Guidance for the Certification of Forest Management
- AS 4708 GN02:2013 Sustainable Forest Management – Guidance for the Certification of Group Forest Management
- DIR 2014-01 Group Certification Directive – May 2014 (Updated October 2017)
- Interpretation AS 4708:2013 Clause 5.6 Chemical Use
AS 4708:2013 is the primary normative document which defines the nine criteria and 57 requirements that the AS 4708 Standards Reference Committee has agreed upon.
The two guidance notes have been provided to assist in the use of the Standard by forest managers and owners, certification bodies and other interested stakeholders. The material presented is based on professional and technical advice for practical forest management and reflects the operational level activities of forest management.
AS 4708:2013 replaced AS 4708:2007 which has now been withdrawn. All new certifications after 23 August 2013 must be against AS4708-2013. Transitional provisions apply to existing certifications. AS 4708:2007 and the three supplements which accompanied that version of the Standard can be accessed from the links below:
Please see our Resources section for further documents, including superseded materials.