Prior to entering Parliament he held a number of corporate positions before working as the financial administrator for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington.

Prior to entering parliament, Copeland worked for fourteen years in the oil industry, becoming the chief financial officer of BP in New Zealand.

Copeland criticised Sue Bradford's private member's Child Discipline Bill (introduced in 2005), an amendment to New Zealand's Crimes Act 1961 which removed the legal defence of "reasonable force" for parents prosecuted for assault on their children, and had previously obtained a Queen's Counsel opinion confirming that legal position.

Sue Bradford said that the fact that Copeland did not disclose that his Queen's Counsel, Peter McKenzie, had previously represented Christian organisations like Right to Life New Zealand and the Society for Promotion of Community Standards undermined the opinion.

[3] On 16 May 2007, Copeland resigned from the United Future party after its leader, Peter Dunne, had consistently voted for Bradford's Child Discipline Bill, which removed the defence of "reasonable force" related to parental corporal punishment of children.

Copeland has since said that after the 2005 elections, which saw the United Future caucus reduce from eight to three, Dunne had wanted to return to his liberal roots and to see an end to the Christian influence in the party.

In a televised interview[citation needed] on 3 July 2007, Dunne said that Copeland's decision to quit came after a failed leadership bid in January 2007.

[4] As an independent MP, Copeland gave a proxy vote to the Opposition National Party to cast on his behalf while absent from the House, for any matters apart from confidence and supply.

[11] On 28 January 2008, Future New Zealand changed its name to The Kiwi Party and Copeland relinquished his joint leadership to Larry Baldock, announcing that he would henceforth concentrate on parliamentary matters.

[19] As a Member of Parliament Copeland said[citation needed] he wanted to give a central focus to the role and importance of the family in building a strong nation.

Copeland wanted[20] to develop policy giving greater encouragement to charities and not-for-profit organisations; and a taxation-system minimising distortions, ensuring that — through a mix of private savings and government support — New Zealanders had adequate retirement incomes.