Standards Australia is a standards organisation established in 1922 and is recognised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

as the primary non-government standards development body in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is a

company limited by guarantee In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...

. As of 1998, it had 73 members representing groups interested in the development and application of

technical standard A technical standard is an established norm or requirement for a repeatable technical task which is applied to a common and repeated use of rules, conditions, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, ...

s and related products and services. The MoU recognises Standards Australia as Australia's representative on the

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...

(ISO), the

International Electrotechnical Commission The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and r ...

(IEC) and the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC). Standards Australia develops internationally aligned Australian standards (AS) and participates in standards-related activities. Standards Australia and

Standards New Zealand Standards New Zealand is the national standards body for New Zealand. It is a business unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and works under the supervision of the NZ Standards Executive, an independent statutory ...

work together to develop joint standards (AS/NZS).

Licensing of the sale of standards

In 2003, Standards Australia sold its standards publication business and entered into a renewable contract giving the company

SAI Global SAI Global is a multinational business services company based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It offers risk management services, quality assurance audit and certification, auditor training, standards information services, and property service ...

exclusive licensing rights to the sales of its standards, and SAI Global was floated on the

Australian Stock Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...

. Initially, Standards Australia retained a 40% interest in SAI Global, but progressively sold this shareholding down to zero in order to focus exclusively on its core business of developing and maintaining its suite of approximately 7000 Australian standards and representing Australia's interests in

international standard international standard is a technical standard developed by one or more international standards organizations. International standards are available for consideration and use worldwide. The most prominent such organization is the International Or ...

isation. The contract was further renewed through 2018. In 2016, SAI Global was acquired by

Baring Private Equity Asia BPEA EQT (formerly known as Baring Private Equity Asia and BPEA) is an Asian private equity firm. Previously it was an affiliate of Barings Bank before becoming an independent firm. In 2022 it was acquired by EQT Partners to act as its Asian inve ...

and delisted from the ASX. Standards for the construction of buildings were reported to cost an average of in 2017, and the

National Construction Code The National Construction Code (NCC) is a set of minimum requirements for buildings in Australia. The requirements concern the aspects of health, safety, accessibility, amenity and sustainability of the types of buildings that the code applies to ...

directly or indirectly referenced several hundred such standards. After negotiations broke down in 2016 with

National and State Libraries Australia National and State Libraries Australia (NSLA), formerly National and State Libraries Australasia, is the peak body that represents the national, state and territory libraries of Australia. The libraries collaborate on and support working groups a ...

, the standards ceased to be accessible from the nine libraries that had been offering public access to the standards at an annual cost of per library. As a result, in 2018 several groups including the Building Products Innovation Council, the Master Builders Association, an Australian Senate Economics Reference Committee and the

Choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models. For example, a traveler might choose a route for a journey based on the preference of arriving at a giv ...

consumer advocacy organisation called for the publication rights to be brought under government control and for the standards to become freely accessible. Several groups advocated that a national standard should be provided free of charge to the relevant members of the industry. The publishing agreement currently held by SAI Global was due to expire in 2018, and the imminent release of the new AS/NZS 3000:2018 Electrical installations standard sparked a renewed campaign for a change of the licensing model.

Examples of notable standards

* AS/NZS 1170 Structural design actions * AS/NZS 5033 Installation and safety requirements for

photovoltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

(PV) arrays *

AS/NZS 3000 Electrical wiring is an electrical installation of cabling and associated devices such as switches, distribution boards, sockets, and light fittings in a structure. Wiring is subject to safety standards for design and installation. Allowable ...

Electrical installations (known as the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules) *

AS/NZS 3112 AS/NZS 3112 is the harmonised Australian and New Zealand standard for AC power plugs (male) and sockets (female). The standard is used in Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and several other Paci ...

Plug and socket outlets * AS/NZS ISO 31000 Risk management – Principles and guidelines * AS/NZS 3500 Plumbing and drainage Set *

AS/NZS 3788 The AS/NZS 3788 standard is a joint Australian and New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and ...

Pressure equipment – In-service inspection * AS/NZS 1768 Lightning protection

References

External links

* {{authority control Standards organisations in Australia ISO member bodies Organizations established in 1922 Standards of Australia and New Zealand Organisations based in Sydney

Licensing of the sale of standards

Examples of notable standards

See also

References

External links