Document product scope
Record the product, timber components and the basis on which your team considers the product regulated or an exemption may apply, with the supporting information kept alongside the decision.
Managed compliance system
Illegal Logging Due Diligence System
Turn a complex legal requirement into a clear, repeatable process. This hosted online workspace guides your team from product and supplier information through risk assessment, mitigation, approval and record keeping before regulated timber products are imported into Australia.
Browser-based accessFour guided workflowsFive-year record supportSpecialist help when required
Who it is for
Built for Australian businesses that import timber products.
The system is designed for importer entities that need a practical way to complete due diligence before import and demonstrate what was considered, decided and retained. This can include businesses importing furniture, homewares, paper, packaging and other products that may contain regulated timber components.
- Australian importers of regulated timber products
- Retailers and wholesalers importing furniture, homewares, paper or packaging
- Product, procurement, quality and responsible sourcing teams
- Compliance leaders who need consistent controls and retrievable records
What the system does
One place to complete and evidence the work.
The workspace replaces disconnected spreadsheets, emails and folders with a guided process. It helps your team collect the right information, follow the relevant workflow, record its reasoning and keep the supporting evidence together.
Reuse product and supplier records
Build libraries for product descriptions, species, origin, processing country, suppliers and recurring evidence so the team does not start from a blank page each time.
Follow the relevant workflow
Guide users through certified-product, non-certified-product, information-gap and mitigation, or eligible repeat-import work without relying on memory alone.
Connect evidence to the decision
Keep supplier responses, certification records, sales or delivery documents, research and other evidence with the assessment that relies on them.
Manage gaps and mitigation
Record missing or inconsistent information, assign follow-up actions and document reasonable, proportionate mitigation and reassessment where low risk cannot initially be concluded.
Approve, retain and retrieve
Capture the written risk conclusion and internal approval, preserve the assessment history and retrieve the record if it is needed for an internal review or government request.
What your team will need to do
The system organises the process. Your business owns the import decision.
Watchdog provides and maintains the standard workflow, but the importer must supply accurate information, make the assessment and complete the required work before import. In practice, your nominated users will need to:
- Provide accurate importer, product, timber, supplier and shipment information.
- Obtain as much of the prescribed information as is reasonably practicable before each import, including the relevant sales or delivery document.
- Check the source, reliability, validity and product relevance of the evidence being used.
- Consider all information that may indicate illegal-logging risk and record a supported written conclusion.
- Complete reasonable and proportionate mitigation, then reassess the risk, if low risk cannot initially be concluded.
- Obtain the required internal approval before import and keep product, supplier and assessment information current.
Guided workflows
Use the route that matches the product and the available evidence.
The system supports the two risk-assessment pathways in the Australian framework, together with dedicated workflows for information gaps, risk mitigation and eligible repeat imports.
Certified product assessment
For products certified under an eligible FSC or PEFC scheme. Users verify the official certification record, confirm that the product and details fall within its scope, check the certification claim on the sales or delivery document, consider other relevant risk information and record the conclusion. A certified supplier alone is not enough.
Non-certified product assessment
For products that cannot use the certified pathway. Users work through the prescribed information and relevant risk factors, including species, area of harvest, known supply-chain entities, governance, corruption, conflict, conservation status and other information that may indicate risk.
Information gaps and risk mitigation
Where information is missing, inconsistent or does not support a low-risk conclusion, users record the gap, allocate follow-up actions and document the mitigation taken. The workflow then prompts a reassessment before the import decision is completed.
Eligible repeat-import check
For the same product through the same supply chain within 12 months, users link the earlier assessment, gather the required current-import information, reconfirm certification where applicable and check whether any significant change has increased risk before relying on the exception.
How it works
From sign-up to a completed due-diligence record.
The standard system is intentionally simple to introduce: Watchdog hosts and maintains the workspace, and your nominated users access it through their browser.
- 01
Contact Watchdog to sign up
Tell us which Australian importer entity will use the system, who will complete assessments and who will approve them. We confirm the subscription and the information needed for setup.
- 02
We configure your workspace
Watchdog sets up the standard hosted workspace for your importer entity, nominated users and approval roles. Standard configuration and onboarding are included, with no separate implementation fee.
- 03
Your team accesses it online
Nominated users sign in through a web browser. There is no software for your IT team to install and no separate system for your business to host or maintain.
- 04
Build the import record
Add or select the product and supplier, record the current shipment information, attach supporting evidence and follow the workflow that matches the product and available information.
- 05
Assess, mitigate and approve
Users document the risk assessment and conclusion. Where low risk cannot be concluded, they record mitigation and reassess before the authorised person approves the import decision.
- 06
Retain, retrieve and reuse
The completed record and evidence remain connected for retrieval and five-year record-keeping support. An eligible repeat import can link to the earlier assessment, and Watchdog specialist help can be requested when a difficult issue arises.
Pricing
A clear monthly cost
The standard system is A$299 per month, including GST. Standard setup, configuration and onboarding are included, so there is no separate implementation fee for the standard service.
System subscription
A$299GST included · per month
- One configured workspace for one Australian importer entity
- Browser access for nominated users and approval roles
- Guided product-scope, certified, non-certified, mitigation and repeat-import work
- Product, supplier and evidence libraries
- Information-gap, risk-mitigation and reassessment records
- Written risk conclusions and internal approval records
- Assessment history, downloadable review records and five-year retention support
- Initial setup, onboarding and routine system support
- Updates to the standard Watchdog workflow when the source framework changes
Optional specialist consultation
A$330GST included · per hour
Book a Watchdog specialist consultation for a difficult assessment, evidence gap, certification issue, mitigation plan or risk conclusion. We agree the question and review material, estimate the time and obtain your approval before starting. We do not exceed the approved estimate without asking you first.
Common questions
What teams usually ask.
What happens after we contact you?
We confirm the Australian importer entity, nominated users and approval roles, arrange the A$299 GST-inclusive monthly subscription, configure the standard workspace and provide onboarding. Your team can then begin adding products, suppliers and current import records.
What information will we need to provide?
For setup, we need the importer entity details, responsible contact, nominated users and approval roles. For each import record, your team will need the applicable product, timber, origin, processing or manufacturing, supplier, shipment and sales or delivery information, together with the supporting evidence and research used in the assessment.
Where does the system sit and how does our team access it?
Watchdog provides a hosted, browser-based workspace for your organisation. Nominated users access it online, so there is no software for your IT team to install or maintain.
Can we use it for furniture, homewares, paper and packaging?
The system can be used to manage due diligence for regulated products across these categories. Not every product containing timber is necessarily regulated, and exemptions may apply in some circumstances, so the product-scope decision and the supporting basis should be recorded before the risk-assessment workflow is completed.
Does certification remove the need for due diligence?
No. The certified-product pathway is simpler, but certification is not a blanket exemption or guarantee. The system prompts users to verify the official certification record, product scope and sales-document claim, and to consider the other information relevant to risk.
Can we rely on an earlier assessment for a repeat import?
Potentially, where the conditions for the repeat-import exception are met. The system records the link to the earlier assessment and prompts users to confirm the same product and supply chain, timing, certification status where relevant, and whether any significant change has increased risk.
What happens when information is missing or inconsistent?
The system records the gap, prevents it being treated as low risk by default, assigns mitigation actions and supports reassessment after further information or evidence is obtained.
Does the system decide whether an import is compliant?
No. It gives your team a consistent process, prompts and record structure. Your business remains responsible for the accuracy of the information, the reasonableness of the assessment and mitigation, the final import decision and compliance with the law.
Does Watchdog review every assessment?
No. Your team operates the standard workflow. A Watchdog specialist consultation is available when requested at A$330 per hour, including GST, with the estimated time confirmed before work starts.
Is there a separate setup fee?
No separate implementation fee applies to standard configuration and onboarding for one Australian importer entity. If you request substantial data migration, custom integration or client-specific development, we will quote that work separately before it starts.
Get started
Ready to put a clear process around your timber imports?
Contact Watchdog with the name of your Australian importer entity and the people who will complete and approve assessments. We will explain the next steps, arrange the subscription and configure your workspace.