Wooden poles, piles, rounds and sleepers

Country
New Zealand (NZ)
Group
Timber
End use
Processing
NPPO Details
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
Relevant Web Addresses
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/
https://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/biosecuritynz
Criteria Criteria Required?
Import Permit Refer below
Phytosanitary Certificate Refer below
Additional Declaration/Endorsement Refer below
Protocol Market No
Consignments are to be free from pests, soil, weed seeds and extraneous material.

This ICR applies to:
  • poles
  • piles
  • rounds
  • sleepers including new and used railway sleepers
  • any wood pieces greater than 300mm in minimum thickness (cross-section) - the department considers logs to be included in this category.
An import permit or a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Direction may be issued for products under this Micor case with equivalence measures for the treatment options listed in the Treatment section below. If the consignment is to be exported under an import permit or a CTO Direction, a copy of the import permit or the CTO Direction must be presented to the Authorised Officer at the time of inspection.

Consignments must be free of extraneous material (eg.: leaves, soil). NZ MPI considers a contamination rate of up to 0.01% w/w extraneous material acceptable.

Consignments must be free of any bark.

Pieces of wood (not including sleepers) that are smaller than specified may be imported into New Zealand under the requirements of the IHS: Sawn wood.

Consignments must be packed and/or shipped in a manner that prevents infestation and/or contamination by live regulated pests, if packaged prior to shipping.

Break-bulk consignments of poles, piles, rounds and/or sleepers must be transported to New Zealand in a manner that allows for pre-unloading inspection of the consignment on the vessel.

Consignments may be exported using one of the following options for the purpose of certifying the treatment status:
  • Phytosanitary certificate issued following inspection of the consignment, which is found to be free from regulated pests specified by MPI. Any treatment is to be endorsed on phytosanitary certificate;

OR

  • Consignments treated in accordance with MPI requirements and accompanied by a treatment certificate issued by the manufacturer or operator/manager of the treatment company. A phytosanitary certificate is not required if the consignment is exported under this option.
Note:

If using the treatment certificate option, timber is a non-prescribed good therefore consignments do not require inspection by an Authorised Officer or issuance of an export permit.

Explanation of the endorsements

Endorsement 8203:
  • Only applies when the consignment is to be exported under a CTO Direction and the CTO specifically requires this Endorsement.
  • MPI's list of regulated pests potentially associated with poles, piles, rounds and sleepers can be found in Appendix 1(a) of the Import Health Standard: Poles, Piles, Rounds and Sleepersfrom All Countries (PPRSWOOD. IHS).
Information for logs:
 
The Export Control Act 2020 and the Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021, require an export licence issued by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for any exports of two tonnes or more of:

  • woodchips;
  • wood in the round (i.e. logs);
  • wood with a cross-sectional area of at least 225 square centimetres

These are considered 'prescribed goods' under the Export Control (Wood and Woodchips) Rules 2021. 

A licence is not required for the above listed wood and woodchips if:
  • the wood or woodchips are sourced from an area covered by a Regional Forest Agreement (RFA). Details regarding the areas covered by RFAs can be found here: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/forestry/policies/rfa.
  • the wood or woodchips are derived from trees harvested outside Australian territory, including those transiting through Australia.
  • the wood or woodchips are sourced from a plantation in a State with an approved code of practice for the establishment, management and harvesting of all plantations in that State.

If an export licence is required, it is the responsibility of exporters to obtain a licence to export prescribed wood or woodchips prior to export.

Exporters can find information on how to obtain an export licence for prescribed wood or woodchips on the departments website - Exports of unprocessed wood and woodchips (wood export licensing) - DAFF.

Any enquires on what is classed as prescribed wood or woodchips should be directed to: wood.export@aff.gov.au, or call (02) 6272 4353.

The only responsibility authorised officers have in relation to the export licences for unprocessed wood is to inform unprocessed wood exporters of the possible requirement to hold a licence to export unprocessed wood.


Consignments of poles, piles and rounds must be fumigated or heat-treated as per the below treatment requirements.

Consignments of new and used sleepers must be heat-treated as per the below treatment requirements.

Treatment options are as follows:

a) Fumigation with methyl bromide or sulphuryl fluoride of filleted (separated vertically or horizontally by a minimum of 5mm airspace in one dimension, every 200mm) at:
  • i) 160 g/m3 for more than 48 continuous hours, at a temperature between 10°C and 15°C;
OR
  • ii) 120 g/m3 for more than 48 continuous hours, at temperatures 15.1°C and above.
OR

  b) Heat treatment (or kiln drying) at one of the following minimum continuous core temperature and minimum time combinations:
Core temperature (°C)
Time (minutes)
70240
80120
9060
10030
11020
12015
OR

c) Chemical preservation of poles, piles and rounds (not including sleepers) to full sapwood penetration using one of the chemicals as specified in the following table:

ChemicalMinimum Retention
Boron compounds
(insecticidal and limited fungicidal protection) 		0.1% Boric Acid equivalent minimum loading in the sapwood core
Copper + didecyldimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC)
(insecticidal & fungicidal protection) 		0.35% mass/mass OR
2.8 kg/m3 in softwood timbers,
5.60 kg/m3 in hardwood timbers.
Copper azole
(insecticidal & fungicidal protection) 		0.27% mass/mass OR
1.35 kg/m3 in softwood timbers,
2.7 kg/m3 in hardwood timbers.
Copper Chrome Arsenic (CCA)
(insecticidal & fungicidal protection) 		0.27% mass/mass OR
3kg/m3 minimum preservative retention
Arsenic
(insecticidal protection only) 		0.04% minimum preservation loading in sapwood core
Permethrin
(insecticidal protection only) 		Minimum retention of not less than 0.06% mass/mass
All consignments that are fumigated or heat-treated prior to export must be treated no more than twenty-one (21) days before packaging/loading/shipping to New Zealand.

d) Fungicide treatment (only applicable if allowed on an import permit or a CTO Direction):

Consignment is to be treated with an appropriate fungicide at recommended label rates.

Certification information:

Certificates for consignments that have been fumigated may contain the following declaration:

“The poles/piles/rounds/sleepers have been fumigated with ____ (methyl bromide or sulphuryl fluoride) ___ at __ (Fumigant concentration (g/m3)) __ for __ (Duration of treatment) __ at a minimum temperature of __ (Minimum temperature during treatment) __ on the __ (Date of treatment (dd/mm/yy) __.”

Certificates for consignments that have been heat-treated (or kiln dried) may contain the following declarations:
“The poles/piles/rounds/sleepers have been heated for __ (Duration of treatment) __ at a minimum core temperature of __ (Minimum core temperature during treatment) __ on the __ (Date of treatment (dd/mm/yy) __.” or
“The poles/piles/rounds/sleepers have been kiln dried to __ (Moisture %) __ percent moisture content at temperatures exceeding __ (Temperature during treatment) __ for__ (Duration of treatment) __ on the __ (Date of treatment (dd/mm/yy) __.” 

Certificates for consignments that have been chemically preserved may contain the following declaration:
“The poles/piles/rounds/sleepers have undergone chemical preservation using ____ (active ingredients of preservative) ____ by _____ (method of preservative application) ___ achieving a preservative active ingredient loading of _____ (kg/m3, or weight/weight %, or net dry salt retention) ____.”
Option 1 (EXDOC Endorsement 8203)

1) The railway sleepers/poles/beams in this consignment have been inspected according to appropriate official procedures and are considered to be free from the regulated pests specified by MPI and to conform to New Zealand's current phytosanitary requirements.

Import Health Standard: Poles, Piles, Rounds and Sleepers from All Countries dated 17 October 2018, import permit dated 21 April 2023, CTO Direction dated 22 June 2023.

11/09/2025 - New Endorsement 8203 created.
09/09/2025 - Explanation of endorsement text updated.
09/09/2025 - Updated general requirements to clarify consignments may be exported under a CTO Direction.
07/06/2023 - Update to treatment requirements.
10/11/2021 - Updated general requirements due to legislation changes.
12/07/2021 - Updated to state logs can be exported under this case.
Initial Uploaded: 10/12/2019
Reviewed Uploaded: 18/07/2026