Five years ago, sourcing Australian hardwood for custom furniture was relatively straightforward. You could order spotted gum, blackbutt, jarrah, or tallowwood from your timber supplier with reasonable confidence in availability and price stability.

In 2026, that’s changed. Supply chain disruptions, shifting forestry regulations, and increased export demand from Asian markets have created a more complex and sometimes frustrating sourcing environment. Not everything is scarce, but the reliable species have shifted and pricing has become more volatile.

Here’s what I’m seeing as a furniture maker who sources 10-15 cubic metres of Australian hardwood annually.

What’s Still Readily Available

Spotted gum. Remains the most reliable Australian hardwood for furniture work. Plantation sources in Queensland and northern New South Wales provide consistent supply, and the commercial forestry operations are well-established. Lead times are typically 2-3 weeks for dressed stock in standard thicknesses.

Quality has stayed consistent too. Spotted gum machines well, finishes beautifully, and clients recognise the name — which matters when you’re selling custom furniture. Pricing has increased (everything has), but spotted gum is about 15-20% cheaper than it was in 2022 when supply was tightest.

Blackbutt. Similar story to spotted gum — plantation sources keep supply flowing. It’s slightly softer and lighter in colour than spotted gum, which makes it suitable for different aesthetic treatments. Availability is good, pricing is reasonable, and it’s a solid default choice for projects where the client wants “Australian hardwood” without specifying further.

Victorian ash (alpine ash). Underrated in my view. It’s not a true ash — it’s a eucalypt — but it’s a beautiful timber with excellent working properties. Lighter in colour and density than spotted gum or blackbutt, which makes it appealing for Scandi-influenced designs where people don’t want heavy, dark timber.

Supply from Victorian forests has been steady, and pricing is competitive. If you’re used to working with northern hemisphere ash or oak, Victorian ash is a good transition timber.

What’s Become Difficult

Tasmanian oak (not actually oak, but a mix of eucalypts). Supply has tightened noticeably over the past two years. Forestry operations in Tasmania have scaled back production, and what’s available is increasingly export-oriented. Lead times have stretched from 2-3 weeks to 6-8 weeks, and you need to order larger volumes to make it worth the supplier’s effort.

I’ve mostly switched to Victorian ash for projects where I would have previously used Tasmanian oak. Clients rarely notice or care once they see the finished piece.

Jarrah. Western Australian jarrah is gorgeous — deep red colour, exceptional durability, and cultural significance. It’s also increasingly hard to source in furniture-grade quality at reasonable prices. Much of the available jarrah is going to flooring and decking where appearance grades are less critical.

When I do source jarrah, it’s for specific client requests where the timber choice is part of the design brief. I no longer keep jarrah in stock speculatively.

Blackwood. Tasmania’s iconic timber has become a specialty item rather than a standard offering. Availability is limited, pricing is high, and what’s available tends to be either plantation-grown (which is fine but different in character from old-growth) or salvaged/recycled timber requiring additional processing.

For clients specifically wanting blackwood, I source it on a per-project basis with the understanding that it’ll add 3-4 weeks to the timeline and 25-30% to material costs compared to more readily available alternatives.

The Import Reality

Here’s something that frustrates me: it’s often easier to source North American hardwoods than some Australian species.

American black walnut, white oak, and hard maple are stocked by most Australian timber suppliers with good inventory depth and consistent pricing. These timbers are coming from well-managed commercial forests with efficient logistics chains and predictable supply.

I don’t love using imported timber when I’d prefer to work with Australian species, but sometimes the availability and cost make it the practical choice. A client commissioning a dining table wants it in 6-8 weeks, not 12-16 weeks while I wait for a specialty Australian timber order to arrive.

Recycled and Reclaimed Timber

The growth area in Australian hardwood sourcing has been recycled timber — old wharf pilings, demolished warehouse beams, deconstructed flooring, and salvaged structural timbers.

Companies like Anagote Timbers in Melbourne and Ironbark in Sydney specialise in recycled Australian hardwood, and the quality is often exceptional. Old-growth timber that would be impossible to source new is available in recycled form — red gum, ironbark, mountain ash in dimensions and grain quality that don’t exist in current forestry yields.

The trade-offs are processing time (recycled timber requires deprocessing — removing nails, machining away damaged surfaces, dealing with embedded metal and checking), variable dimensions (you work with what’s available rather than ordering to spec), and character (splits, nail holes, and weathering are part of the aesthetic, which some clients love and others don’t).

I’ve shifted about 30% of my timber sourcing to recycled material over the past two years. It adds time to projects but produces furniture with genuine character and storytelling value. Clients respond well to “this table is made from 1920s warehouse beams” — it’s meaningful in ways that “this timber came from a plantation” isn’t.

Pricing Volatility

Australian hardwood pricing has become less predictable. Species that were $4,500-5,000 per cubic metre three years ago are now $6,000-7,500, and the price can shift 10-15% between quotes. This creates challenges for fixed-price furniture commissions where timber is purchased months after quoting.

I’ve adapted by building price adjustment clauses into quotes for projects with longer lead times. Clients understand that material costs fluctuate when you explain it clearly.

What I Tell Clients Now

When discussing timber selection, I guide clients toward species with good availability unless they have specific aesthetic or cultural reasons for requesting something harder to source.

For most furniture applications, spotted gum, blackbutt, or Victorian ash will be excellent choices that are available, affordable (relatively), and deliver beautiful results. For clients wanting something more distinctive, recycled timber offers character that new timber can’t match.

For the 10-20% of clients who specifically want jarrah, blackwood, or other less available species for meaningful reasons, I source it with clear expectations about lead times and costs.

The Australian hardwood landscape has changed, and furniture makers need to adapt our sourcing strategies and client communications accordingly. The days of assuming everything is always available at stable prices are behind us, and working within the new reality requires flexibility and good supplier relationships.