About the FAA

The Firewood Association of Australia was established in October 2005 to represent the Australian commercial firewood supply industry. The need for a whole of industry representative body was highlighted during the development of the government’s Voluntary Code of Practice for Firewood Suppliers.

After the Code was accepted by the Natural Resources Management Ministerial Council the next step was to encourage its adoption by the firewood industry. Government policy was to encourage consumers to buy from the environmentally responsibility members of the industry who comply with the Code, and to reduce the environmental impact of unregulated self-collection and illegal harvesting. There are plenty of firewood sellers who create a negative image for the industry, by selling wet or incorrectly measured firewood, or by stocking environmentally unacceptable firewood.

To be a member of the FAA a firewood supplier must make a commitment to comply with the Code of Practice. Compliance to the Code is assessed by audit before FAA membership is granted.

The constitutional division of powers in Australia means that most legislation concerning the harvesting and sale of firewood is controlled by the individual states and their local governments. However, the federal government has an important role to play in the industry due to its administration of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation

Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and also the National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009.

This complexity of legislation covering the industry, combined with the fact that firewood is often transported across state boundaries, makes it essential that the industry representative body is national. The firewood industry faces many political, environmental and commercial challenges that affect resource access and availability, wood heater regulation, wood smoke, industry image and consumer demand. The FAA is the only organisation that is working effectively to protect and grow the firewood industry.

There is clear evidence that firewood buyers are “choosing for the environment” by seeking out sustainable firewood suppliers, so FAA membership also provides strong and immediate commercial benefits. FAA members are promoted directly to consumers through this website and through a 1300 phone number.

FAA Membership

There are three categories of membership in the Association. Full members, Associate members and Affiliate members.

Full Members

Full membership of the Association is open to all persons and enterprises actively involved in the commercial firewood supply industry, including firewood cutters, firewood wholesalers, retail merchants and bagged or packaged firewood distributors. To be a full member of the Association a person or enterprise must comply with the Code of Practice for Firewood Suppliers. The following rights and benefits apply to full members:-

Issued individual Member Number.
Entitled to use individual sustainable firewood supplier logo in advertising, documentation and promotion.
Web listing, opportunity to advertise and set up web-links.
FAA promotion through the website, 1300 number responses and referrals, print media.
Reviews and summaries of relevant legislation.
FAA stakeholder relations, representations and statements on issues affecting the firewood industry.
Access to website database.
General member support and advice.
Member networking opportunities.
User-pays participation in specific industry benefit projects.
Voting rights at general meetings. Entitled to serve as an office bearer on the Committee of Management.

For an application form click here.

Associate Members

Associate membership is open to all persons and enterprises involved in the commercial firewood supply industry. This membership category is suitable for persons or enterprises that wish to support their industry through the Association, but do not seek the benefits of being recognised as sustainable firewood suppliers. The following rights and benefits are provided for associates:-

Use of associate logo.
FAA stakeholder relations, representations and statements on issues affecting the firewood industry.
Web listing and opportunity for sponsorship.
Access to website database.
General member support and advice.
Member networking opportunities.
Entitled to serve as an ordinary member on the Committee of Management.

For an Associate membership application form click here.

Affiliate Members

Affiliate membership of the Association is open to all persons and enterprises that are not directly involved in the commercial firewood supply industry, who wish to support the Association. The following rights and benefits are provided for affiliates:-

Use of affiliate logo.
Web listing, opportunity to advertise and set up web-links.
FAA promotion through the website and print media.
FAA stakeholder relations, representations and statements on issues affecting the firewood industry.
Access to website database.
General member support and advice.
Member networking opportunities.
User-pays participation in specific industry benefit projects.
Entitled to serve as an ordinary member on the Committee of Management.

For an Affiliate membership application form click here.

For a copy of the Firewood Association of Australia Inc. Rules of association click here.

The FAA Management Committee

President	Anthony Wilson	Longburn Wood
Vice President	Peter Chauncy	Best Burning Fire Fuels
Secretary	Paul Harriss	Firewood Devils
Treasurer	Doug Schutz	The Woodyard
Member	Michael Spillane	The Green Centre
Member	Joel Belnick	Jetmaster Fireplaces (Aust)

“Using responsibly sourced firewood allows us to provide reliable heating while supporting sustainable forestry practices. Being part of the Firewood Association helps build trust with customers and strengthens our industry.”

Emily Davis — Association Member & Firewood Supplier

Why Join the FAA

There are many reasons why the commercial firewood supply industry needs a strong association. Firewood is not widely recognised as a renewable, carbon friendly energy source and its use is threatened by policy at all three levels of government. The image of firewood is not helped by the bad practices of some suppliers – illegal and unsustainable harvesting, selling green wood and selling short measure. Government departments, green groups, some health lobby groups and even the general public believe that cutting and burning firewood is bad for the environment.

Many problems threaten Australia’s firewood markets, as well as the industry’s supply base.

New laws and government policies to protect biodiversity, even on private land. E.g. restrictive codes of practice for private native forestry, complex approval processes, controls over dead timber.
Smoke pollution awareness campaigns, wood heater bans and phase out programs are being introduced by Councils with the support of some state EPA’s. Calls for wood heater bans are coming from various health lobby groups as well as The Greens who want to bring about an end to the harvesting of native timber species for firewood.
Wood heater replacement incentive programs are sponsored by gas and electricity suppliers.
Unfair price competition from casual sellers who do not have the overheads and other costs of legitimate practices of reputable businesses.
Public perceptions that firewood is bad for the environment and a lack of knowledge about the greenhouse benefits of firewood as a source of renewable energy for heating.

The FAA provides the industry with a strong voice and the collective power to address these threats and to give its members a viable, long term future. Firewood is an efficient, renewable, sustainable and greenhouse friendly heating fuel. This environmental image is being actively promoted by the association. Member sales are directly assisted by the widespread use of the FAA website. The reputation of the industry is being improved by encouraging consumers to choose “sustainable firewood suppliers” who comply with a government endorsed industry Code of Practice.

The Firewood Association of Australia Inc. (FAA) is a not-for-profit incorporated association established in October 2005. Members of the firewood industry set up the association to improve the long-term sustainability of the firewood supply chain and to protect its members from the threats faced by the industry. The FAA has established itself as a point of contact and reference for government bodies, the media and other groups with an interest in the collection and use of firewood.

To be effective in achieving its aims the FAA needs a strong membership base of reputable firewood suppliers in all areas of Australia. By joining the FAA you can help to protect the future of the Australian firewood industry and achieve a healthy future for your business.

The Benefits of Firewood Association Membership

Increasing the demand for your firewood

Full members of the Firewood Association of Australia (FAA) are entitled to use the FAA member logo, and can advertise as suppliers of “sustainable firewood”.

Searches for “firewood” in Google bring up the FAA web listing.

Full FAA members will be recognised as the preferred suppliers of firewood to the rapidly expanding number of environmentally concerned consumers.

Firewood retail outlets prefer to obtain their supplies from FAA accredited wholesalers.

The FAA refers all enquiries for firewood to the nearest FAA member.

Member services and contacts

Membership provides you with numerous opportunities to improve supply chain relationships and develop strong contacts throughout the industry.

The FAA has relationships with organisations and departments that influence government policy on firewood collection and use.

The FAA provides advice on trade measurement practices and laws as they are applied in each state.

The FAA will assist members by providing representation on issues that threaten the industry such as resource access and smoke emissions.

The FAA provides free training on testing wood for moisture content.

FAA members receive newsletters that provide a firewood industry perspective on issues of interest to the industry.

Membership qualification, member categories and costs

The FAA has set its fees to make membership affordable to all firewood suppliers. Application is free for all classes of membership. Applicants for full membership must be able to show that their firewood business complies with the elements of the National Code of Practice for Firewood Suppliers before their application is accepted. Annual membership fees range from $330 up to $990 for retail suppliers and from $550 up to $1,100 for wholesalers, depending on the annual quantity of a member’s firewood sales. Associate membership (for cutters, carters etc.) and affiliate membership (for wood heater manufacturer and retailers, or other interested stakeholders) is also available at $275 per annum.

If you would like an application form or if you want to know more, please contact the FAA by phone on 1300 131 481 or by e-mail info@firewood.asn.au. You can submit an on-line application via this link or we can post an application form to you in the mail.