Free access to Australian Standards on the agenda

The seven organisations present at the meeting were:

• Standards Australia
• The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC)
• Master Builders Australia
• Master Plumbers Australia and New Zealand
• Master Electricians Australia
• Housing Industry Association (HIA)
• The National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA)

In a joint statement, the organisations acknowledged that access to standards is a critical issue impacting safety, productivity, workforce capability, and the delivery of housing and infrastructure that underpin the National Construction Code (NCC).

What was discussed

Topics discussed at the meeting included:

• The essential role of Australian Standards in delivering safer, higher-quality, and more consistent construction outcomes
• The longstanding and significant contribution of industry to Australian Standards
• The persistent barriers caused by fragmented, outdated, and inconsistent access to standards, particularly for those designing, building, and certifying in the field
• The negative impacts on workforce productivity, compliance, and the timely delivery of housing, infrastructure, and net zero transition
• The shared ambition of industry and government to lift housing supply, improve construction quality and safety, guide the transition to net zero and drive national productivity gains.

Moving forward

In response, the organisations have agreed to:

• Work together and collectively as industry leaders to advocate for a national standards access model for the construction sector to eliminate the costs and barriers to accessing standards mandated by laws, and together create enhanced compliance tools
• Champion a model that empowers innovation and education, improves compliance, empowers practitioners, reduces work and rework, and supports both today’s workforce and the next generation of skilled workers
• Present a unified proposal to government that removes unnecessary barriers to Australian Standards, strengthens the construction sector and unlocks productivity gains.

By removing the paywall, this change could play an important role in progressing government deregulation and boosting industry productivity.

Free standards on the horizon?

In their joint statement, the organisations said removing the paywall around standards could play an important role in progressing government deregulation and boosting industry productivity.

ASBEC CEO Alison Scotland says the move could be an effective way to improve sustainability in the construction industry.

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