One of Standards Australia’s ongoing commitments is working to make our content in the Australian community accessible and affordable.

Our Distribution and Licensing Policy Framework details this commitment, and many of the elements and steps we’re taking to recognising this.

In line with this commitment was the investment and development of Standards Australia’s own digital Store.

April saw the Standards Store’s first anniversary.

The Store exists to deliver content to our many users in an easy, modern, convenient way. And it allows us to increase the ways customers engage with Standards Australia and our content and trusted solutions across the Australian community.

In recognising the Store’s birthday, I’d like to highlight a key innovation - Small Business Sets (SBS). Small Business Sets are low-cost, self-service, industry focussed packs aimed at small businesses and available by subscription. These curated content packs contain multiple standards, designed to be served in a modern digital environment, and at a low price to cater for a previously underserved part of the market.

We will be continuing to work on ways in which the Store can best support and serve our customers in the context of our overall Distribution and Licensing Policy Framework.

I’m looking forward to delivering continuous improvements throughout the next year and beyond for the Australian community.

As previously mentioned, 2022 marks Standards Australia’s centenary year.

In celebration, we recognised ‘Trailblazing’ Standards Heroes during the month. These people are leaders in their industries, who have made significant contributions to Standards. Learn more on our website and via our social channels.

We also hosted an informative webinar with Edward Farrell, Director, Mercury Security Systems. The Innovation in Cybersecurity webinar discussed the pitfalls in Cyber Security in a modern technologically focused economy. You can find out more about upcoming webinars on our website.

Thank for your continued support, I look forward to seeing and speaking with you soon.

— Adrian O'Connell, Chief Executive

Wednesday 27 April 2022, saw the first anniversary of Standards Australia’s Store “Store”.

Launching the Standards Store was seen as an important step in improving access to Standards Australia’s publications, allowing for content to be used more broadly across the economy. The Store allows users to buy directly from Standards Australia.

Find out more about The Store here.

Our Voice of Customer program enables stakeholders to provide feedback about their experience working with Standards Australia through targeted surveys.

In December 2021, we launched the second wave of surveys to gather feedback from our key stakeholder groups to understand what Standards Australia does well and where we need to improve.

Find out results of these surveys and next steps here.

Standards Australia welcomes the announcement that the Australian Government has launched a Digital Trade Strategy to improve access to overseas markets and support new trade opportunities and job creation.

A pivotal element of the Digital Trade Strategy is the vision to engage internationally, influencing the development of international rules and standards for digital trade and technologies.

Find out more here.

Accidents are the leading cause of death for Australian children under 16 years of age.

However, according to a University of Sydney study, children are most likely to be admitted to hospital from an injury suffered at home (24.5%), followed by sporting activities (19.0%), and then playground falls (8.0%).

adherence to the national standards that cover playgrounds are voluntary, so Standards Australia is calling on every local council, every school, and every other public space manager to ensure these standards are embedded in every tender and contract pertaining to playgrounds.

Read more about standards in playgrounds here.

Last week, Standards Australia hosted its NEXTgen Bootcamp, an opportunity for early career professionals and those new to standards.

Advertised through a post on LinkedIn, seats were filled fast for the upcoming 2-and-a-half-hour online course.

Participants went through essential knowledge in relation to the world of standards, with an understanding of how a standard is made, and the impacts standards have on Australian society.

Learn more here and stay tuned to the Standards Australia website for more information.

We’re pleased to announce that we’ll be opening applications to our NEXTgen program in early May.  

NEXTgen is a cost free 10-month professional development program that offers attendees the opportunity to learn how to become an active part of the standards development process.  

Learn more here and stay tuned to the Standards Australia website for more information.

Standards Australia's 'Set the Standard' podcast host Shannen Brown is joined by John Broadbent, Industry 4.0 educator, smart factory specialist and Founder, Director of Realise Potential.

In this episode, they discuss the concept of Smart Manufacturing and its importance for Australia's economy.

Mr Broadbent also discusses the main challenges faced by manufacturers who wish to implement industry 4.0 technologies. We delve into the opportunities realised by Australian manufacturers who successfully transition towards a smart manufacturing model. And finally, we speak about the importance of standards for manufacturers who wish to implement industry 4.0 technologies.

Listen here.

Over the last 100 years, individuals from technical, business, academic, government and community backgrounds have contributed their expertise to developing standards. Helping make Australia a safer and more efficient country.

In April, we celebrated Trailblazing Standards Heroes. These people are leaders in their industries, who have made significant contributions to Standards Australia, national and international standards, and in turn Australian and international communities.

Find out more here.

We hosted an Innovation in Cybersecurity webinar with Edward Farrell, Director, Mercury Security Systems.

In the session we discussed the pitfalls in Cyber Security in a modern technologically focused economy, how standards come in to play, and how to implement security protocols to protect information. Our event calendar will expand throughout the year.

Please check our website regularly to keep up-to-date with the latest information and register to attend.

The public comment process provides an opportunity for stakeholders and members of the public to make valuable contributions. With the launch of our new public comment platform, draft standards currently open for comment are now available via Connect.

Osama is a chartered professional engineer and Caterpillar’s technical advisor for product safety and compliance matters in the Australia-Pacific region. His formative experiences have included product design and development, product compliance management, and testing and validation of earth-moving equipment. Osama presently chairs the Construction and Mining Equipment Industry Group (CMEIG) Engineering Working Group and ME-063 (Standards Australia Technical Committee for Earthmoving Equipment).

‍When and why did you become involved with standards development?

‍I first got involved in standards through my role as a compliance engineer – developing and conducting tests for earthmoving machines based on Australian and ISO standards. This required me to interpret standards and helped me identify some areas for improvement. A subsequent opportunity presented itself to get involved in drafting some of those standards, and the rest is history.

I was also lucky to be involved in Standards Australia’s Young Leaders Program in 2015 (now known as NEXTgen). This was a brilliant program that helped me develop some of the soft skills needed to be an effective participant.

‍How do standards impact your industry?

‍I believe the construction and mining industries collectively represent ~20% of Australian GDP so these industries are very important to us. And safe operation of earthmoving machinery is essential for the success of these industries.

Having a comprehensive set of contemporary standards helps by providing a clear understanding of what is expected, instilling confidence to stakeholders, and acting as a documented benchmark of what may be considered as industry best practice.

Standards give the construction and mining industry ‘a common language’, enabling stakeholders to communicate and assess earthmoving machinery safety expectations.

On a more personal level, I really enjoy being part of a diverse group of industry stakeholders coming together and collectively solving industry problems through standardisation.

‍What is the future of standardisation in your area of work?

‍In terms of the standards portfolio covered by ME-063 (Earth-moving Equipment), I think that portfolio will likely evolve to reflect a rapidly increasing level of technology implementation and the transition to electrification / alternative energy powertrains.To facilitate this future, there’s already supporting standards work in various stages (completed, in-development, at a concept stage) but something that will likely continue to evolve.

Things like taking an operator out of the machine and automating machine functions, incorporating new technologies or functionalities, or changing from a diesel engine to a rechargeable battery and electric motors – all these transitions will benefit from a strong standards development strategy and there is no shortage of work to do in these areas.

At a committee level, I think we will continue to see a need for a high level of collaboration from industry, likely leveraging some of the new digital tools and platforms we’ve become comfortable with over COVID. What we may also see is a new mix of stakeholders and skillsets engaged to ensure we continue to have contemporary standards to support the aforementioned evolution.

Standards Australia represents Australia on the two major international standards development bodies, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Our activities are reported on our International Updates page.

Click here to view our highlights from April (PDF).

• Australian National Committee considers new IEC Strategic Plan
• Invitation to an international workshop on Live streaming marketing services
• Upcoming Event: AI with Trust

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Access the latest standards development news in your industry sector via our Sectors page.