The end of the financial year provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the year that’s passed and look to our future.

Our vision at Standards Australia is to be a global leader in trusted solutions that empower the community - today and tomorrow.

We are working on many initiatives to ensure our standards solutions are more easily accessible, usable, useful, and affordable.

Over this past year we have continued to turn our vision into action, and I’d like to thank our many stakeholders, and our staff for their ongoing contribution and support.

In our core business of Standards Development, we have facilitated 406 standards publications in the last financial year. Importantly we continue to see improvements in project delivery times.

We have advanced the development of our online tools to transform our service delivery, increase engagement with our stakeholders, lift our productivity and deliver value to all who engage with us.

We have also digitised our project proposal submission and released a bulk upload capability in the public comment management system.

We are also focused on our goal of making Australian Standards™ more accessible and affordable. In the last 12 months, we entered into three new partnerships to offer cost efficient, relevant standards.

The work to develop and deliver outcomes continues and over the coming months will include:

• Upgrades to online standards development tools
• A new SA Store subscription capability
• An enhanced Small Business Sets customer experience
• The introduction of SA’s Reader Room for personal, domestic, or household use

We continued to deliver on our goal to support the future of standards development by investing in the next generation of standards leaders and experts with our NEXTgen program. A cost free, professional development program that educates on the role of standards in industry.

In addition to this work, we are committed to more open, transparent modes of conversation with our customers.

In 2021 we introduced our Voice of Customer program to the market. A research method used to collect important customer feedback to understand perceptions of our performance.

Our Strategic Initiatives team is focused on some of the most pressing areas of rapid transformation that will benefit from the research, development, and application of new dedicated standards. This work should put us in good stead to adapt to the needs of digital advancements, environmental changes, and economical resilience.

Standards Australia celebrates its centenary year in October. While it is good and proper to reflect on what we have achieved over the last 100 years working together with stakeholders, we also recognise that there is more to be done.

As Australia evolves into a more modern nation and confronts new needs and challenges Standards Australia will continue to work with industry, government, and everyday Australians to help secure a strong future for our country.

I thank you again for your continued support and contributions this past financial year, and every year, and I look forward to what the future will bring.

— Adrian O'Connell, Chief Executive

Last week, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced the release of ISO 31600, Water efficiency labelling programmes – Requirements with guidance for implementation.

This Australian-led, new global standard will help improve water use and efficiency across the world.

The standard was initiated by Standards Australia, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. It provides best practice and guidance for the use of a water efficiency labelling program for plumbing products and water using appliances.

Find out more here.

Standards Australia has published AS 2088:2022, Prams and strollers, superseding the 2013 version.  The revised standard provides clarity for convertible trike manufacturers and aims to increase consumer confidence.  

The standard specifies materials, construction, test methods, and labelling and performance requirements.

Read more here.

Standards Australia is trialling the development of information guides on how current standards in the energy space apply to the development of key hydrogen systems, for example the construction and operation of hydrogen refuelling stations.

This month we released the Hydrogen Refuelling Stations information sheet for engineers, regulators, project proponents and key stakeholders.

Download your free copy here.

A quality management system (QMS) is the foundation for an organisation’s documented guidelines and procedures. It is a multi-functional tool for quality, auditing, risk management, and it helps improve leadership, customer experience, employee engagement and overall organisational efficiency.  

Find out more 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.

This month, we’re celebrating our Standards Awards heroes. These people have recently been presented with a Standards Award for their dedication and commitment to standardisation.

Read more about our standards heroes here, and our centenary here.

Congratulations to last year's NEXTgen participants, who graduated the program in June!

Duwayno Robertson is a Principal Energy Storage Consultant at DNV. He is an engineering professional with a background in stationary energy storage, automotive battery development, software and hardware system architecture and design. He has previously participated in Standards Australia’s Young Leaders Program and currently contributes to Australian Standards ™  and is a member of the Standards Development and Accreditation Committee.

‍When and why did you become involved with standards development?

‍I first arrived in Australia from the United States in 2015, working with AGL Energy as its Energy Storage Applications Engineering Manager.  

My role was to assist in developing South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant, a project that will see a network of potentially 50,000 solar and Tesla battery systems formed to create the world’s biggest virtual power plant.

I first got involved in Australian standards development in 2016, mainly as there was a lack of involvement in my company and I wanted to address this.

‍How do standards impact and interact with your industry?

‍I work with energy storage and although its uptake has grown tremendously since I first got involved, it is still in its early stages.  Standards provide the global industry a means to develop safe technologies and best practices. Technology has always outpaced standards, but every advancement in technology should not be an exercise in reinventing the wheel. Standards should facilitate, not hinder innovation.

‍Why is access to standards important?

‍Having access to standards provides newcomers a means to better understand what is needed to build reliable and safe technologies and practices.

Standards support confidence in implementing and using sustainable energy solutions, and all people should have access to this knowledge and expertise.

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

‍There are so many opportunities for standardisation within energy storage that it is hard to provide a summary.  One thing that I would like to see in its future is the development of chemical agnostic energy storage standards. Standards that not only apply to today’s technology, but also to tomorrow’s technology as well.

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 June (PDF)

• AU to continue representation on IEC SMB
• Smart distribution in logistics: New Field of Technical Activity
• Designing the standards that cities need

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

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.