Setting the gold standard: New report highlights our accreditation program’s impact

We commissioned the report which looked at how our accreditation program aligns with relevant legislation and regulations for preventing exploitation in the industry. It also looked at global and local programs and audits involved in improving standards in the sector. Excitingly, the report found that we are setting the gold standard, clearly standing out from other comparative global accreditation schemes.

Professor Justine Nolan, who is the Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute, helped to author the report. She says that three areas demonstrate that our program is a global leader and differentiator in the market.

“The involvement of the Timber, Furnishing and Textiles Union as a key audit assessor makes it distinct from all of its other global counterparts,” Professor Nolan said.

“Their ability to effectively and consistently undertake worker outreach is a major advantage as they are able to build rapport with workers and empower them to engage in more open dialogue.

“This is further reinforced by a focus on transparency and remediation as well as a model that creates leverage in local supply chains to amplify its influence.”

Many other audits have an ‘on-paper’ approach which is focussed on identifying risks whereas our accreditation program focuses on mapping local supply chains and accreditation being conditional on all issues being remediated.

Our National Manager, Rachel Reilly, says this is further evidence that our accreditation program is effective and that there should be greater uptake across the local industry.

“It is heartening to see further evidence that our program is not only effective, but also a global leader in preventing exploitation amongst TCF workers. It builds on recent praise from the UN’s Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery,” Reilly said.

“Our organisation has been working hard for a quarter of a century to ensure that workers in the industry, who are often at risk of exploitation, can work in a safe environment and be paid fairly.

“This independent endorsement of our accreditation program is also an endorsement of the people in our team who go above and beyond to prevent exploitation and protect workers which is something worth celebrating.”

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