Month: December 2025

The ARC Advance Timber Hub, together with The University of Queensland School of Civil Engineering, demonstrated a strong presence at Queensland Parliament House on Tuesday 9 December 2025, engaging directly with key government stakeholders to highlight The University of Queensland’s (UQ) Productivity in Practice Solutions Showcase.

ARC Advance Timber Hub representatives who attended the event included Associate Professor Joe Gattas (Theme Leader- Innovative Solutions and Node Leader Manufacturing Innovation & Value-Chain Innovation) and Kelly Rischmiller (Research Hub Manager).

The night involved meeting with Queensland Government Ministers, Shadow Ministers and Members of Parliament to showcase driving productivity, which is key to Queensland’s future, key to improving our way of life and key to lifting our standards of living.

As the ARC Advance Timber Hub is administered by UQ, it was proudly included in this showcase, which included:

• deep policy expertise to shape productivity enhancing reforms,
• research to create new technologies and innovation solutions,
• teaching and learning options that give people the skills they need to be productive in the workplace.

For a summary of UQ’s productivity capabilities, and case study examples of the projects helping to drive productivity on the ground across Queensland, please see, ‘Productivity for Queensland’s Future‘.

Reflecting on the importance of the event, Associate Professor Joe Gattas said, “Engaging directly with ministers and Members of Parliament is critical to ensuring the value of timber and timber research is well understood. Events like this allow us to clearly demonstrate how our research is supporting industry innovation and helping to position timber as a key material in Australia’s sustainable construction future.”

Featured photo – UQ School of Civil Engineering and ARC Advance Timber Hub stand (from left): UQ School of Civil Engineering PhD Candidates (Diluni Gardiya Manawaduge & Anastasia Jesica) with Professor Rebecca Gravina, alongside Associate Professor Joe Gattas and Kelly Rischmiller.

The ARC Advance Timber Hub is pleased to share the positive acknowledgement of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) in the Bunnings Community & Sustainability Report 2025, which reinforces the growing national commitment to responsible timber sourcing and sustainable forest management.

In the report, Bunnings outlines its commitment to ensuring all timber from natural forests is sourced responsibly and certified through trusted, independent third-party schemes such as the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and PEFC. These certification systems play a vital role in strengthening sustainability standards and ensuring the traceability of timber supply chains across Australia.

While ARC Advance Timber Hub’s partner, Responsible Wood, is not mentioned directly in the report, it is important to acknowledge that Responsible Wood is the national governing body for PEFC in Australia. Through this role, Responsible Wood provides oversight, promotes sustainable forest management standards, and works closely with industry stakeholders to support national and international certification requirements

As highlighted in the report, responsible sourcing is not only a corporate priority but is also increasingly valued by the wider community. Bunnings continues to work closely with suppliers to improve sourcing practices and uses tools such as comprehensive timber surveys to ensure full transparency around the origin of timber and fibre used in their products.

To read the Bunnings Community and Sustainability Report 2025, click here.