The scheme allows licensees to certify timber in one or both of the product categories listed below.

- Milled Appearance Products - tongue and groove flooring and block parquet - certified to Australian Cypress Flooring Industry Standard.

- Unseasoned Structural Products - visually stress graded timber - certified to AS 2858.

Any request, or opportunity, to certify the compliance of other product categories or product types will be considered, provided that valid and suitable product standards or specifications are available or can be developed.

The presence of the ATIC Quality Mark on certified products is a claim of compliance with the visual grading rules and product requirements of the relevant Standard or specification, as well as any operational or testing requirements set by the Standard or specification. It is not a claim that the product satisfies any target performance levels in strength, stiffness or durability, which have been determined for Australian Cypress.

Achieving membership of the ATIC Australian Cypress Quality Scheme is relatively simple. Once an application is received and the application fee paid, the applicant receives up to four audits, carried out by the scheme's contract auditors (QA Pty Ltd). The applicant is able to qualify for membership if they achieve a Class 1 (85% or better) product compliance level at any two consecutive audits.

Members of the scheme are required to maintain effective quality control throughout the production process to ensure that the final grading or inspection process for each element or aspect of grade compliance operates to a set procedure that is able to achieve a Class 1 level of product compliance.

Quality certified products must be labelled with pack or piece labels, or brands, that have been approved by ATIC.  Labels must include the ATIC Quality Mark and the words "Quality Certified Cypress", the licensee's name, the product name or grade, and reference to the Australian or Industry Standard.

Satisfactory procedures for wrapping, storage and handling of finished product are a requirement of the scheme, so that Class 1 product compliance can be certified at the time of transport or consignment to the customer.

The ATIC Australian Cypress Quality Scheme focuses mainly on finished product compliance to assess the effectiveness of the member's manufacturing and grading processes.  If an organization only uses an "end of line" approach to quality control it may have to deal with significant amounts of reject or re-work material.  Therefore the scheme aims to assist members to produce quality products at the highest possible levels of efficiency and productivity by improving all manufacturing processes. 

Members are required to check samples of finished product grade compliance each month. When these samples indicate problems with the processes that control aspects of product compliance such as moisture content, size, or surface finish; or with the accuracy of visual grading, management must investigate the causes of any problems and correct them. 

To protect the collective investment of members in the reputation of the ATIC Quality Mark, a responsible and responsive procedure for dealing with any customer feedback about product quality is a requirement of the scheme.

These company-based controls combine with the ATIC external audit program to provide the on-going quality assurance represented by the ATIC Quality Mark. They also assist licensees to quickly identify and correct problems that affect grade yield, product quality, throughput and other mill performance measures. Instead of an inspection or policing type of approach, the ATIC external audit program provides a useful source of information and guidance for continuous improvement of process control, mill output and timber quality.