The Timber Preservers Association of Australia (TPAA) will launch a new sector-wide Code of Conduct at its 2026 Industry Forum at Brisbane’s Swiss-Belhotel on 24 and 25 June, capping a multi-year standards reset that started from the 2023 IRG54 conference floor in Cairns, with the Code set as the reputational benchmark for treatment plants across Australia.
That is according to TPAA national secretary Jack Norton, the 50-year industry veteran and 2023 IRG Honorary Life-Long Member, who told Wood Central the Code of Conduct walks members through the standards that will define the sector’s reputation as preserved wood comes under sharper scrutiny from government departments, major retailers and certifiers.
“The Code of Conduct is what our members can point to when retailers, certifiers and state authorities ask them what’s behind the preserved wood at the gate,” Norton said. “It’s the TPAA rules for plant operation, and it sits alongside the National Standard and CodeMark work as the next step for the sector.”
Wood Central understands the Code comes as the sector faces sharper pressure on traceability, plant compliance and waste management, with retailer-facing labels, certifier requirements and state procurement specifications all converging on the same questions about how preserved wood is produced and how that production is verified at plant level.
The Code of Conduct extends a standards push that has run through TPAA Brisbane workshops since 2023 and the board’s unanimous late-2024 decision to progress augmented treatment standards, as Wood Central reported, with TPAA chair Peter Webb at the time speaking to enhancing confidence in preserved wood and the value of the TPAA brand for the membership and the supply chain that buys from it.
“Most plants do the right thing, but you can’t run an industry on most,” Norton said. “The Code is what tells the market that the TPAA-listed plants that have endorsed the code are committed to standards on quality, on waste, and on how the product leaves the gate.”
The forum runs from 12:30 pm Wednesday 24 June to 3:00 pm Thursday 25 June, with a capacity of 80 delegates. Registration enquiries can be directed to TPAA national secretary Jack Norton.
