Standardisation Guide 003:: Standards and Other Publications

Standar ds Dev elopment – SG- 003: Standards and other publications
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STANDARDISATION GUIDE 003:
STANDARDS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS
COPYRIGHT
© Standards Australia Limited – ABN: 85 087 326690
All rights are reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, without the written permission of Standards Australia unless otherwise permitted under the Copyright Act 1968.
Published by Standards Australia Limited
GPO Box 476, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia
Doc ument Ow ner : Page 1 of 23 V er s ion: 1.11 ~ Rev is ion 12/07/2019

General Manager Operations (GMO) Copyright © 2019 Standards Australia, all rights reserved
Co n te n ts
1 PURPOSE .........................................................................................................................3
2 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................3
3 STANDARDS.....................................................................................................................3
3.1 What is a Standard? .......................................................................................................3
3.2 Purpose of Standards .....................................................................................................4
3.3 Types of Standards.........................................................................................................4
3.4 Identification of Australian Standards ..............................................................................5
3.5 Functions of Standards ...................................................................................................5
3.6 Performance based and prescriptive Standards...............................................................6
3.7 Components of Standards ..............................................................................................6
3.8 Drafting of Standards......................................................................................................9
3.9 Product status ..............................................................................................................10
3.10 Patents .....................................................................................................................11
3.11 International adoption................................................................................................11
3.12 Standards in legislation .............................................................................................11
4 DOCUMENTS SUPPORTING STANDARDS ....................................................................12
4.1 Amendments ................................................................................................................12
4.2 Supplements ................................................................................................................12
4.3 Rulings.........................................................................................................................13
4.4 Reconfirmation Notice...................................................................................................13
5 LOWER CONSENSUS PUBLICATIONS ..........................................................................14
5.1 What is a lower consensus publication? ........................................................................14
5.2 Interim Standard...........................................................................................................17
5.3 Technical Specification .................................................................................................17
5.4 Technical Report ..........................................................................................................18
5.5 Handbook.....................................................................................................................18
5.6 Miscellaneous Publication.............................................................................................18
5.7 Standards Alert.............................................................................................................19
5.8 Certified Reference Material..........................................................................................19
5.9 Rules for the designation of lower consensus publications.............................................19
6 INTERNAT IONAL EQUIVALENTS ...................................................................................19
7 CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................20
APPENDIX A – Publisher Prefixes............................................................................................22
DOCUMENT HISTORY ............................................................................................................23

1 PURPOSE
This Guide describes the documents t hat are t he results of the standardisation process conducted by
S t andards A ustralia (SA). Its purpose is t o assist t he readers of S tandards and other publications in the
us e and unders t anding of t hes e doc ument s .
A us tralian S tandards are also developed by A ccredited S tandards Development Organisations (SDO) 1
and t he Standards produced by t hese organisations broadly conform t o t he characteristics of Standards
lis t ed in t his Guide.
2 INT RODUCTION
The proc ess by whic h A us tralian S t andards are developed by S t andards A us tralia is s et out in
ot her Standardisation Guides in this series, with the core elements of the process being explained in SG-
001: P reparing S t andards . A c c redit ed S DOs have analogous proc es s es .
The public transparency and consensus building processes used in developing Standards are necessary
bec ause an A ustralian Standard (A S) or joint A ustralian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS) has a unique
role and status. An AS or AS/NZS Standard is recognised by industry and users as being an authoritative
doc ument. It c an pot entially be relied upon t o prot ect human health and s afety, as an element in
c ont racts, as a point of reference under statute law, as a benchmark of c urrently acceptable practice
and for a range of ot her applications wit h s imilarly s ignificant ramifications. S t andards have wide
legis lat ive ac c ept anc e in t he S t at es , Territ ories and Commonwealt h.
This Guide also deals with alternatives t o A ustralian S tandards for us e where a t echnical document is
required and t radit ional c ons ens us s t andardis at ion may not deliver t he opt imal s olut ion.
S t andards A ustralia is not alone in recognising t his need for a range of deliverables. The Int ernational
Organization for S tandardization (IS O) and t he International E lectrotechnical Commission (IEC) have
developed a s imilar range of deliverables with levels of c onsensus different from t hose associated with
an Int ernat ional S t andard (s ee S ec t ion 6).
3 ST ANDARDS
3.1 W hat is a S tandard?

IS O/ IE C Guide 2 defines a S t andard as a:
“doc ument, es tablished b y c onsensus and approved b y a rec ognized b ody, t hat provides, for
c ommon and repeated use, rules, guidelines or c haracteristics f or ac tivities or t heir results, aimed
at t he ac hievement of t he opt imum degree of order in a given c ont ext .
S t andards s hould be based on the consolidated results of science, technology and experience, and
aimed at t he promot ion of opt imum c ommunit y b enef it s . ”
ISO/ IEC Gu ide 2, Standardization and related activities — General vocabulary
S t andards are published documents s etting out s pecifications and procedures designed t o ensure that
products, s ervices and s ystems are s afe, reliable and c onsistently perform t he way t hey were intended
t o. They establish a c ommon language t hat defines quality and s afety c riteria. S t andards are practical
and s et achievable goals. They are based on s ound industrial, scientific and c onsumer experience and
are regularly reviewed t o ens ure t hat t hey k eep pac e wit h advanc es in t ec hnology .
1 SDOs are accredited by the Standards Australia’s Standards Development and Accreditation Committee (SDAC), an
independent board reporting to the Council of Standards Australia. For more information on accreditation and the SDOs see
https://w ww.standards.org.au/standards-development/accreditation
Developing national c onsensus S tandards is a s tructured and formal process. The c ommittee members
and t heir Nominating Organisations are intimately involved with t he S tandard under development and
it s contents, explore t he potential consequences of those contents for t hemselves and provide reasoned
feedback on any aspects of t he c ontents t hat do not meet t heir needs and expectations. A s well, there
is oft en c onsiderable negotiation bet ween t he s takeholders, including c onsideration of any P ublic
Comments rec eived, when s triking a balance bet ween c ompeting fac tors in order t o establish the
requirement s t hat go int o an A us t ralian S t andard.
3.2 P urpose of S tandards

S t andards are developed for a number of purpos es , inc luding:
1. V ol untary or mandatory applications—Standards that specify requirements to achieve at least
t he minimum objec t ives of s afet y , qualit y or performanc e of a produc t or s ervic e.
2. Regulatory compliance—Standards that are used t o s pecify minimum least-cost s olutions to
t ec hnical requirements expressing characteristics, performance and design c riteria compatible
wit h t he func t ion of legis lat ion.
3. Contractual purpose—Standards t hat s erve as purc hasing s pec ifications or t echnical
c ondit ions of c ont rac t bet ween t wo part ies .
4. Gui dance—Standards t hat may be int ended for educ ational purposes and whic h include
rec ommendations, or administrative or projec t management proc edures. In general, these
S t andards will not be adopt ed in eit her legis lat ion or c ont rac t s pec ific at ions .
On t heir own, S tandards have no legal s tatus and no requirement for c ompliance by manufacturers,
c onsumers or the public, hence the term ‘voluntary Standard’. However, a Standard may be cited (‘called
up’) in legislation, or writ ten into a c ommercial c ontract, when it becomes part of t hat legislation or
c ont rac t (s ee Claus e 3. 12).
3.3 Types of S tandards
There are t hree categories of Standards that are generally recognised by the Standards community—
t hes e are Int ernat ional, Regional and Nat ional.
3.3.1 I nternational Standards
Int ernational S tandards are publicly available Standards that have been developed and approved by an
int ernational SDO. ISO and IEC are the t wo main international standardising bodies. Other international
bodies inc lude t he ITU (Int ernational Telec ommunications Union) and t he Codex A limentarius
Commission (s et up by t he Food and A griculture Organization of t he Unit ed Nations and t he World
Healt h Organization (WHO) to develop food S tandards, guidelines and related texts s uch as codes of
prac t ic e).
Int ernational S tandards are us ed directly or are adopted by regional or national S tandards bodies. ISO
and IE C encourage national adoption of International S tandards. There are also ‘de facto’ international
S t andards t hat, although t hey have not been developed by an int ernational S tandards organisation,
have widespread ac c eptance. Thes e may als o be adopt ed by int ernational, regional or national
S t andards bodies .
3.3.2 Re gional S tandards
Regional S tandards are publicly available S tandards t hat have been developed and/or adopted by a
regional S DO; t he most well-known of t hese are t hose t hat apply in the E uropean Union (EU). These
S t andards are developed by t he E uropean Committee for S t andardization (CEN) and t he E uropean
Committee for E lectrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and t hen adopted as national Standards by
t he member c ountries of t he E U. E U S t andards are s ometimes adopted as nat ional S tandards in
A us t ralia (and New Zealand).
NO TE: A r egi onal SDO is one whose member ship is open to the r elevant national body fr om each country wi thin
one geogr aphi c al , pol i ti c al or ec onomi c ar ea onl y.

3.3.3 Na ti onal S tandards

Nat ional S t andards are publicly available S t andards t hat have been developed, approved and/or
adopt ed by a nat ional S t andards body or ot her ac c redit ed organis at ion.
3.4 I de ntification of Australian Standards

A us tralian Standards have t wo ident ify ing t rademark s us ed by bot h S A and ac c redit ed S DOs :
The Logo-
is us ed on the front cover of the Standard, along with the corporate brand of the organisation developing
t he S t andard (e. g. S tandards A ustralia). The pres ence of t he A S logo s hows t he equivalency of all
A us t ralian S t andards irres pec t ive of t he organis at ion preparing t hem.
The W ordmark- Austra l i a n S ta nda rd ® - is us ed on t he t it le page or in t ex t about S t andards .
Joint A ustralia/New Zealand Standards have t he trademark: Australian/New Zealand Standard™ as
well as t he S tandards A ustralia and S tandards New Zealand c ompany logos on t he c over. (Accredited
S DOs do not produc e joint S t andards . )
3.5 Functions of S tandards

S t andards may fulfil many func t ions inc luding:
P roduct S tandards—These s pecify c haracteristics (including dimensions), des ign, c onstruction or
c omposition of a product t o ens ure ac ceptable performance, reliability, durability, finish, or other
c haracteristics necessary t o ensure t he product's suitability for t he purpose envisaged by purchasers or
us ers (‘fitness for purpose’). A P roduct S tandard c an be either c omplete or not, according t o whether it
s pec ifies all or only a part of t he nec es s ary requirement s for t he produc t .
S ome ex amples of P roduc t S t andards inc lude t hos e for:
• Cons umer products such as t oys, motorcycle helmets, electrical appliances and bottled water
(t hes e S t andards oft en only c over t he s afet y as pec t s of t he produc t s ).
• B uilding materials and c omponents such as cement, windows, doors, glass, pipes and plumbing
produc t s .
• E quipment s uc h as elec t ric al plugs and s oc k et s , nut s and bolt s .
De si gn S tandards—Design S tandards are a bas ic element of nearly all engineering and building
projects. They are a means by whic h t he es sence of long ex perience and res earch in design is
ex pressed in a c oncise and readily available form. Design S tandards are largely c oncerned with safety
and are normally written in mandatory language, making t hem s uitable for adoption by reference in
regulat ions .
E x amples are S tandards for s teel s tructures, t imber framed buildings, c oncrete s tructures, or boilers
and ot her pres s ure ves s els .
Code of P ra ctice—also c alled ‘S ervice S t andards’. Thes e S t andards s pec ify t he prac tices or
proc edures for the design, manufacture, installation, maintenance or utilisation of equipment, structures
or produc t s .
E x amples include laying floor c overings, us e of c hainsaws, laundry practice, and information s ecurit y .
S a fe ty S ta nda rds—provide guidanc e on s afet y in healt h, life and propert y mat t ers .

E x amples include safety in t he design, construction and/or operation of plant and equipment (e.g. milling
mac hinery, wood processing machinery), workplace health and s afety (WH&S), and personal safety and
healt h (e. g. s wimming pool fenc ing and hand operat ed elec t ric t ools ).
Te st Methods—set out t he steps to be followed t o determine the properties of a product or component.
Tes t Methods are used t o es tablish c onformity with a s pecification which may be found in a P roduct or
Des ign S t andard and are very import ant in P erformanc e B as ed S t andards .
E x amples include t esting of physical properties (e. g. resistance t o forces or linear dimensions when
c onsidering s afety) where acceptable test results are used in meeting requirements in other S tandards,
purc hasing s pecifications, or in government regulations (e.g. bicycle helmets, pool fenc ing, W E LS ).
Ma nagement S ystem Standards—also called ‘Process Standards’; t hese s pecify requirements to be
fulfilled by management s y s t ems or ot her proc es s es .
E x amples inc lude IS O 9001 (Quality Management S y stems) and IS O 14001 (E nvironmental
Management S ystems) as well as other systems in t he WH&S, food s afety and c limate c hange areas .
There are addit ional t y pes of S t andards inc luding Int eroperability S t andards (IT), Terminology
S t andards , and S t andards on dat a t o be provided.
3.6 P e rformance based and prescriptive S tandards

S t andards are oft en broadly c las s ified as ‘P erformanc e B as ed’ or ‘P res c ript ive’.
P e rformance Based S tandards—have t heir requirements ex pressed in t erms of performance, i.e.
out c omes t o be achieved. This approach leaves freedom for t he development of innovative technical
met hods t o meet t he requirement s of t he S t andard.
P erformance Based Standards include the criteria, testing or other approved form of verification required
t o as sess performance and t o ensure consistency across the solutions developed to meet requirements.
For ex ample, a requirement for a hypothetical wall plug suitable for hanging a mirror might state ‘The
wall fix ing s hall s upport a weight of 40kg when t ested in ac cordance with t he t est method in A ppendix
A . ’ This leaves t he manufacturer(s) t he option of how t hey design t he wall plug – nylon, brass, chemical
and s o on, as long as it s upport s t he weight .
P re scriptive S tandards—express requirements in precise, oft en quantitative, t erms. This leaves little
opport unit y t o depart from t he s pec ific at ions in t he S t andard.
Us ing t he hy pothetical wall plug example again, a P rescriptive S t andard might s tate ‘The 40kg wall
fix ing shall consist of a 2cm expansion case in accordance with Figure 1, t ogether with a ¼in. Whitworth
mild s t eel z inc plat ed nut and mat c hing 3c m t hreaded hook in ac c ordanc e wit h Figure 2’.
W hile Performance Based Standards allow a flexible approach, many users of the Standard have neither
t he t ime nor resources to develop their own s olution t o t he performance requirements. Therefore, many
P erformance B ased S tandards are accompanied by a P rescriptive S tandard (or part or s ection). This
S t andard is referred t o as a ‘deemed t o s atisfy’ solution and users that meet t he requirements of the
P res c ript ive S t andard als o meet t he requirement s of t he P erformanc e B as ed S t andard.
For ex ample, the A ustralian Standard for boilers and pressure vessels is a s tatement of required safety
out c omes t ogether with references to a US A SME S tandard, a European S tandard, and a prescriptive
A S / NZS S t andard as ‘deemed t o s at is fy ’ s olut ions .
3.7 Com ponents of S tandards
3.7.1 S tructure
A S t andard usually c onsists of t hree divisions – preliminary , body and s upplement ary element s .
1. Prel iminary el em ents—including Tit le, His t ory B lock, P reface and Cont ents (always
informat ive).
2. Body el em ents—inc luding:
a) Foreword (where present)—provides the background t o and c ontext of the S tandard. It may
inc lude t he principles behind t he Standard and t he reasons prompting its preparation. Often
t ermed ‘Int roduc t ion’ in Int ernat ional S t andards .
b) S cope—defines t he s ubject of t he document and t he ex tent and limitations of t he matter
c overed by t he S t andard or part ic ular part s of it .
c) Appl ication (where present)—covers t he application of t he S t andard it self and not the
s ubject. It is us ed where it is necessary t o define t he use of t he S t andard; for example,
int ended users, parts or sections t hat are t o be used in different circumstances, or limitations
in t he us e of t he S t andard.
d) Re fe re nce d Docum e nts (where pres ent )—s ee Claus e 3. 7. 8.
e) De fi nitions (where present)—explains t he meaning of t erms t hat apply specifically to that
S t andard (t hese may be different t o, or a res triction of, t he c ommonly accepted meaning of
t he t erm).
f) Re quirements—the main t ext of t he S tandard. The us e of numbered c lauses and lists (like
t he list us ed here) allows t he unambiguous reference t o a particular requirement, clause or
it em. For large or c omplex S tandards t he requirements may be divided into S ections, each
S ec t ion dealing wit h a s pec ific as pec t of t he s ubjec t .
3. S uppl em entary el em ents—inc luding A ppendic es and B ibliography (where pres ent ).
3.7.2 Num bering (Desi gnation)
E ac h S t andard (Int ernational, Regional, or Nat ional) is uniquely identified by a let t er/number
c ombination t ermed t he ‘designation’. The designation of an A ustralian S tandard broadly follows the
following rules :
• P re fix—letters ident ifying t he primary publisher, publication t y pe and addit ional publisher
informat ion (s ee A ppendix A for more det ails ).
• Ma in number—uniquely designates the S tandard. It is usually sequential but in some cases the
number may be specially assigned, particularly for S tandards t hat are s een as s ignificant or for
t hos e t hat are part of a related s eries. Most adoptions of Int ernational S tandards (IS ) c arry the
number of t he IS .
• P a rt numbers—sequential, identifies t he document as part of a series of related Standards with
a c ommon main number.
• I nterim—Interim S t andards will dis play “(Int )” in t he des ignation directly aft er t he Main/Part
number.
• Ye a r—y ear of public at ion of t he S t andard.
• S uffix—usually an amendment (Amd) or supplement (Sup) t o t he parent document, but can also
indicate t hat a publication has been reconfirmed (Rec) or t hat a ruling (Rul) has been issued in
relat ion t o a part icular S t andard. The s uffix als o inc ludes t he y ear of publication of the
amendment , s upplement , rec onfirmat ion not ic e or ruling.
The mos t c ommon P refix es lik ely t o be enc ount ered in A us t ralia are lis t ed in A ppendix A.
3.7.3 P a rts
W hile most S t andards dealing wit h a s pec ific t opic are published as a s ingle doc ument, t here are
c ircumstances where it is appropriate t o publish requirements over a s eries of documents. This may be
appropriat e for a number of reas ons , inc luding:
• Requirement s for different as pec t s of t he s ame s ubjec t ;
• Tes t methods t hat are part of a s eries of methods or are at tached t o a main S t andard; and/ or

• Changing t echnical developments which have t o be addressed aft er t he S t andard was first
publis hed.
A n ex ample of how t he lat t er applies is as follows :
A S 2118. 1: 1999 A ut omat ic fire s prink ler s y s t ems , P art 1: General requirement s .
A S 2118.2:1995 Automatic fire s prinkler systems, P art 2: W all wet t ing s prink lers (Drenc hers ).
A S 2118. 3: 1997 A ut omat ic fire s prink ler s y s t ems , P art 3: Deluge.
A S 2118. 4: 1995 A ut omat ic fire s prink ler s y s t ems , P art 4: Res ident ial.
A S 2118. 5: 2008 A ut omat ic fire s prink ler s y s t ems , P art 5: Home fire s prink ler s y s t ems .
Us ers wishing to comply with sprinkler requirements would need to use Part 1, the general requirements
relat ing t o all s prinkler s ystems, and t hen s elect t he s pec ific part (s ) t hat apply t o t heir s it uat ion.
3.7.4 Ma ndatory, normative and i nformative
Three t erms t hat are c onsistently used with S tandards are ‘mandatory’, ‘normative’ and ‘informat ive’.
Ma ndatory is a t erm us ed t o describe a provision of a S t andard t o which it is necessary t o c onform in
order t o be able t o claim c ompliance with t he S tandard. Mandatory requirements can include actions to
be t ak en, t est requirements t o be met, rec ords t o be k ept, materials t o be us ed, or dimensions and
t olerances. If an individual or an organisation is s eeking certification t hat a product or s ervice complies
wit h a S t andard, all mandatory provisions of t hat S tandard must be met. S imilarly, in commercial
c ont ractual requirements (e. g. a hous e c omplies wit h t he B uilding Code of A us tralia) s pecified
mandat ory provis ions mus t be met .
Not e t hat Guidance Standards (Clause 3.2) generally do not contain mandatory provisions and as such
are uns uit able for c ert ific at ion or c ont rac t s .
NO TE: T he ter m ‘mandator y’ c an b e r estricted to those el ements that ar e made c ompulsory b y l aw or r egulation,
and the ter m ‘ex c l usive r equirement’ us ed for r equir ements that mus t b e met b ut i n or der to c l aim
c ompl i ance wi th the Standard ( see definition in ISO /IEC G uide 2, Standardization and r elated ac tivities
— G ener al voc ab ul ar y) . However , ‘mandator y’ i s s ti l l i n c ommon us age.
Normative is a t erm us ed t o describe an element of a S t andard t o which it is necessary t o c onform in

order t o be able t o c laim c ompliance wit h t he S tandard. It is s imilar t o ‘mandatory’, but whereas
mandatory applies t o an individual requirement (e.g. a sentence, paragraph, c lause or table), normative
applies t o a whole element (e.g. part, section, or appendix) which c ontains a number of mandatory (and
pos s ibly informat ive) s t at ement s .
I nformative is a t erm used t o describe an element (c lause, note or appendix) of a S t andard t hat gives
addit ional information, recommendations and/or guidelines, i.e. is of a non-mandatory nature. Where a
S t andard c ontains both mandatory and informative elements, t he informative material is us ually aimed
at ex plaining t he mandatory requirements and helping t he us er t o understand and c omply with the
S t andard.
3.7.5 Normative elements
Normative is most c ommonly us ed in t he context of a Normative A ppendix. S uch appendices are an
int egral part of t he S tandard and c ompliance with s uch an A ppendix is required for compliance with the
whole S tandard. Normative A ppendices are clearly marked as ‘Normative’ and are referenced from a
mandatory clause (e.g. ‘the product s hall comply wit h t he t es t met hod s pec ified in A ppendix A ’).
3.7.6 I nformative elements
The mos t c ommon informative element in a S tandard is t he Note which has been integrated into the
t ex t . Thes e not es are us ually s et out in a different format from t he main t ex t , for ex ample:
NO TE: 1. A note i s i ndented and i n a s mal l er font.
NO TE: 2. T her e may b e s ever al notes l i s ted together , i n whi c h c as e eac h note i s s epar atel y numb er ed.
Not es are always informative, i.e. they do not contain mandatory requirements, and are only used for
giving additional information to assist the understanding or use of t he document. Footnotes are rarely
us ed in S t andards, and when t hey are, it is us ually t o provide an informative reference t o another
public at ion.
Informative appendices may also be included t o provide commentary or additional guidance on the use
of t he S t andard. Informative appendices c an only be referenced t o t he informative c ontent of the
S t andard s uc h as an advis ory not e.
3.7.7 Ta bles a nd fi gures
Nearly all Standards make use of t ables and figures. These can be mandatory or informative, the former
being c ited in a mandatory c lause, e.g. ‘The dimensions of t he s ub-assembly s hall be in accordance
wit h Table 1 and t he lay out of t he s lot s s hall be in ac c ordanc e wit h Figure 4. ’
However, Standards may also c ontain informative t ables and figures, the latter often being used to help
vis ualise relations and concepts. Users s hould check c arefully t o make s ure t hey are complying with
any nec es s ary mandat ory figures and t ables .
There are als o many instances of not es t o t ables and figures. These c an be either mandatory or
informative, although y ou do not get a mandatory note t o an informative t able or figure. A gain, users
need t o c hec k c arefully t hat t hey are c omply ing wit h mandat ory not es .
3.7.8 Re ferenced documents
Referenced documents are t hose documents, us ually ot her S tandards, but may also include special
reference t exts, t hat have been referenced in t he main body of t he S t andard and in A ppendic es .
A referenced document c an either be normative or informative. W hen a normative reference is made it
is c alled up in a mandatory clause (e.g. ‘the paint used s hall comply with t he requirements of AS 1234’)
and us ers must c omply with t he requirements of t he referenced S tandard. I nformative references (e.g.
‘furt her information on t he methods of measuring slew c an be found in AS 3456’) may be called up from
any element .
W hen referencing ot her S tandards, c ommittees are c areful t o ensure t hat t he references are valid and
relevant t o t he S t andard being prepared. S pecific c lauses are not c it ed s ince t hey may c hange in
s ubsequent editions of referenced documents. In s electing t he referenced S tandard, the c ommittee will
have t ak en account of only the edition in use at the time of publication of the Standard. The applicability
of s ubsequent editions or amendments of referenced S t andards is a matter for det ermination by the
us ers of t he S t andard, employ ing t heir profes s ional judgement .
References t o ot her S tandards can be dat ed or undat ed. Undat ed referenc es c an only be made:
a) If it is ac cepted t hat it will be possible t o use all future c hanges of t he referenced document for
t he purpos es of t he referring doc ument ; or
b) For informat ive referenc es .
In all ot her c as es dat ed referenc es are us ed.
The t erm ‘Related Doc uments’ is als o s ometimes us ed. Thes e documents are not c alled up in the
S t andard but have been listed t o help us ers gain a bet ter understanding of t he s ubject matter. Related
doc ument s are oft en plac ed in an informat ive A ppendix t it led ‘B ibliography ’.
3.8 Dra fting of Standards
3.8.1 Ge neral
The res ponsibility for t he t echnical content of a S t andard resides with t he Technical Committee (TC). It
is t he final vers ion of t he S tandard t hat is vot ed upon by t he TC. No c hanges are made t o the technical
c ont ent of a document aft er this stage without further agreement of t he TC and without consideration
being given t o t he impacts of mak ing t ec hnical c hanges at t his s t age, e. g. delaying t he agreed
public at ion dat e, having t o repeat t he public c omment or c ommit t ee ballot proc es s es , et c .

W hen drafting S t andards, c ommittee members are c areful t o ens ure t hat t he c ontent is up-to-date,
relevant and reflects c ommunity expectations. For example, if t here are s everal acceptable technical
s olutions and one of t hose s olutions is not catered for in t he S tandard, it could have significant legal
and financial implications for t hose using t hat s olution. A lternatively, if t he t rade-off between factors
s uc h as c os t and s afety is biased one way or t he ot her, t he c ommunity will be plac ing it s faith in
s omet hing t hat eit her offers inadequat e s afet y or is overpric ed and ec onomic ally ineffic ient .
Trans parency and c ons ensus building as sociated wit h nat ional s t andardisation helps avoid such
problems. The requirement t o s how a Net B enefit when firs t proposing t he development of a new
S t andard (or revision of an existing Standard) also assists in ensuring c ommunity expectations are met.
NO TE: Dr afti ng of Standards i s under taken in ac cordance wi th SG -006: Rules for the Structure and Drafting or
Aus tr al i an Standar ds and SG - 001: Pr epar i ng Standar ds .
3.8.2 Re quirements a nd recommendations

A part from Guidance Standards (Clause 3. 2), Standards c ontain requirements. A requirement can be
defined as ‘an ex pression in a doc ument c onveying c riteria t o be fulfilled if c ompliance with the
doc ument is t o be c laimed and from which no deviation is permitted’. Requirements are mandatory and
are ex pressed in unambiguous t erms and use s pecial language (Clause 3. 8.3). Us ers need t o be clear
on what t he s pec ific requirement s are when c laiming c omplianc e wit h t he S t andard.
Many S tandards, including Guidance S tandards, include recommendations. A recommendation can be
defined as ‘an ex pression in a doc ument c onvey ing t hat among s everal pos s ibilities one is
rec ommended as particularly s uitable, without mentioning or excluding ot hers, or t hat a c ertain course
of ac t ion is preferred but not necessarily required, or t hat (in t he negative form) a c ertain possibility or
c ours e of ac t ion is deprec at ed but not prohibit ed.
NO TE: See ISO /IEC G ui de 2, Standar di z ati on and r el ated ac ti vi ti es — G ener al voc ab ul ar y.
3.8.3 The use of Shall, Must and Should

In ac c ordance with S G-006: Rules for t he S t ructure and Draft ing or A ustralian S tandards, t he word
‘s hall’ is used t o s tate that a requirement is strictly t o be followed in order t o conform t o a S tandard.
Cons equently, t here c an be no deviation from that requirement, other t han where t here is a specified
t oleranc e.
In legislation and specifications it is c ommon to use t he word ‘must’ t o express a requirement; however,
t he us e of ‘must’ is avoided in S tandards. Where S tandards are adopted in legislation, t he word ‘shall’
in t he S t andard is t o be c ons idered as equivalent t o ‘mus t ’ in t he legis lat ion.
The word ‘s hould’ (or ‘may’) introduces a s uggestion or recommendation t hat is not a requirement. It is
not nec essary t hat s uch rec ommendations or s uggestions be followed in order t o c omply wit h the
S t andard. Similarly, t he antonyms ‘should not’ or ‘may not’ are only s uggestions and are not required to
be c omplied wit h.
3.9 P roduct status
The following is a list of t he t erms used t o indicate t he s tatus of A ustralian S tandards (A S), or joint
A us t ralian/ New Zealand S t andards (A S / NZS ) and t heir s upport ing doc ument s .
Curre nt—indic at es t hat t he produc t is up-t o-dat e and available.
Ava ilable S uperseded—indicates t hat t he product has been made available for a period of time
alt hough it has been formally s uperseded by another document. Its availability is maintained where it
forms the basis for certification, is cited in legislation/regulations (notably the Building Code of Australia)
or in ot her products, and its use s hould be restricted to where so referenced. S tandards Australia takes
no res pons ibilit y for t he ongoing t ec hnic al validit y of s uc h a doc ument .
In t he c ase of being used as t he basis for certification, t he Available S uperseded publication must be
available unt il t he relevant c ert ific at ion of all organis at ions has laps ed.

Onc e t he need for maintaining availability of an A vailable Superseded product has passed, t he product
s t at us s hould be c hanged t o S upers eded.
NO TE: A vailab le S upers eded pub lic at ions c annot b e rec onf irmed.
Obsolescent—indicates t hat t he product is not rec ommended for new equipment or as a c urrent
prac tice, but is retained in order t o provide for s ervic ing of ex is t ing equipment or requirement s .
Re designated—indicates t hat a product has been given a new S tandard reference number, e.g. AS
1234: 2013 is redes ignat ed A S IS O 9876: 2014).
S uperseded—indicates t hat t he product has been withdrawn and replaced by another product. This
may be a newer edition of t he product with t he s ame designation, or a different product s uch as an
adopt ion of an Int ernational Standard or a brand-new product t hat c overs t he s ame t ec hnic al field.
W i thdrawn—indicates t hat t he product is no longer relevant (however, withdrawn publications can still
be purc has ed if required).
This s t at us is us ed if t he produc t is wit hdrawn and not replac ed.
A produc t may be wit hdrawn if it :
• Is not up-t o-dat e t ec hnic ally ;
• Does not reflec t c urrent prac t ic e;
• Is not s uitable for new and ex is t ing applic at ions (produc t s , s y s t ems or proc es s es ); and
• Is not c ompatible wit h c urrent views and ex pectations regarding quality, s afet y and the
environment .
3.10 P a tents
A S t andard does not c onfer a monopoly on one s ection of industry t o t he detriment of another that can
provide an equally satisfactory article. Nonetheless, on exceptional occasions, technical reasons may
jus tify inclusion in t he S t andard of it ems or s ervices c overed by patent rights. There is no objection in
princ iple t o t his , provided t hat c ert ain rules are adhered t o.
The rules governing patented items in Standards are those adopted by ISO and IEC. The most important
rule is t hat, before us e of mat erial k nown t o be t he s ubject of a pat ent is made a requirement of a
S t andard, it is to be ensured by means of a formal statement that the owner of t he patent has agreed
t o mak e lic enc es available t o all who apply on reas onable and non-dis c riminat ory t erms .
3.11 I nternational adoption
S t andards A ustralia has a policy of adoption, wherever possible, of International S tandards prepared
by IS O and IE C, as A ustralian S tandards (A S) or joint A ustralian/New Zealand S tandards (AS/NZS).
This policy has been implemented t o reflect Government policy on c ompliance with t he World Trade
Organis at ion A greement on Tec hnic al B arriers t o Trade (i. e. t he W TO TB T agreement ).
W here an International Standard deals with t he subject c overed by a new project, s uch a S tandard is
c onsidered and evaluated for adoption as a national S tandard by t he c ommittee c oncerned. Where the
c ommittee decides not t o adopt t he International S tandard, t he committee has t o provide reasons for
t he unsuitability of t he International S tandard for use in Australia and, where appropriate, New Zealand.
W here t he Int ernational S tandard is adopted but national variations are incorporated, t he committee is
required t o provide doc ument ed reas ons for t hes e variat ions .
3.12 S ta ndards i n legislation
A us tralian Standards (A S) or joint A ustralian/New Zealand S tandards (A S/NZS) are often c ited (‘called
up’) in State and Commonwealth legislation. When t his happens, these Standards become mandatory
and c an be s ubject t o t he s crutiny of t he c ourts. Therefore, every attempt is made to ensure S tandards

are writ ten in a c lear and concise manner, avoiding ambiguity and making it t otally clear what has to be
done t o c omply with t he S tandard (and hence t he regulation or c ontract t hat c alls up t he S t andard).
In s ome c ases S tandards are drafted s pecifically for legislative adoption. To ac commodate t he various
purposes of a Standard, the contents are often arranged so that the requirements intended to be adopted
in legislation are c learly s eparate from t hose which are not relevant for t his purpose. A means of
s egregation is t o place t he requirements t hat are not t o be adopted in legislation in a s eparate section
or part .
4 DOCUMENTS SUPPORTING ST ANDARDS
4.1 Am e ndments
A ft er a S t andard has been published, new information may be presented t o t he c ommittee or errors
found in t he published document. When t his occurs it is usual t o issue an amendment t o t he S tandard.
Normally, amendments s hould not alter more than 10% of the original document and should not have
more t han t wo amendments issued for the one edition of document. If t his is exceeded, a full revision
of t he document is recommended and a new edition is t ypically developed. Amendments are usually
only issued in t he first t wo y ears aft er t he S tandard's publication; any c hanges aft er t his s hould be
inc orporat ed int o a new edit ion.
A mendments have t he des ignation ‘S t andard Number:Year A mendment Number: Y ear’ (e. g. AS
1234: 2013 A md 1: 2014), and are numbered c ons ec ut ively and dat ed.
There are t wo t y pes of amendment s : c orrec t ion and revis ed t ex t .
Correction amendments, as t heir name implies, c orrect misprints or t ypographical mistakes in text or
equat ions, incorrect figures in t ables, wrong c lause numbers or clauses lost in t he editing/publication
proc ess. Correction amendments should not add new material or affect the application of the publication.
Tec hnical changes t o a publication will generally require a revised text amendment to be issued; or a
full revis ion (i. e. new edit ion) if t he c hanges are s ubs t ant ial.
Re vised text amendments make minor c hanges t o an ex isting publication, which have not previously
been approved by t he responsible c ommittee. This would generally include changes t o t ext to clarify the
meaning, addition of new requirements and making c hanges t o procedures defined in t he S t andard.
Revis ed t ex t amendment s will affec t t he applic at ion of t he S t andard.
Revis ed t ext amendments are developed in ac c ordance wit h t he S tandards development process
des c ribed in S G-001: P reparing S t andards .
NO TE: 1. Us er s of Standar ds s hould ensure that they c heck for any pub lished amendments. Mos t amendments
to Aus tr al i an Standar ds c an b e downl oaded at no c os t fr om our di s tr i b utor s .
NO TE: 2. Pub l i cation of amendments i nvol ves the agr eed c hanges b ei ng c ut- i n to the pub l ication and
r efer enced on the c over , Pr eface and control s heet of the publication, and being published as a stand-
al one doc ument.
4.2 S upplements
Thes e are additional, s eparate documents t hat s upport and assist in t he implementation of a S t andard.
There are t wo bas ic t y pes of s upplement s : normat ive and informat ive.
• A normative s upplement forms an integral part of a S tandard (e.g. pre-calculated application
t ables, t echnical drawings, charts, coverage of new or unusual circumstances) and does require
P ublic Comment and B allot ; or
• A n i nformative supplement provides background information t o the S tandard (e.g. commentary
providing background reference material to specific clauses in a Standard) and does not require
P ublic Comment but does require B allot .

The S upplement is normally either is sued wit h t he S t andard or wit hin 12 mont hs of it s publication.
However, if t he need for t he S upplement only bec omes evident lat er in t he life of t he S t andard, a
S upplement may s till be issued. S upplements have t he designation ‘AS XXXX: Y ear S up S upplement
Number:Supplement Y ear’, (e.g. A S 1234:2017 S up 1:2017), are numbered c onsecutively and dated.
A ll S upplements are developed by the s ame TC responsible for t he development of the parent Standard
and are developed in ac c ordance wit h t he S t andards development process des cribed in S G-001:
P reparing S t andards .
A c ommon t y pe of informative s upplement is a Commentary, which provides background reference
mat erial t o specific clauses in the S tandard. Commentaries may also indicate the origins of particular
requirements and ex plain t he application of c ert ain c lauses as well as providing s ome general
as s istance with t he use of t he S tandard. They oft en have t heir paragraph numbers aligning with the
c lause numbers in t he S tandard (i.e. Commentary on Claus e 2. 1 is provided by P aragraph C2. 1).
Commentaries may make reference t o t he S tandard; however t he normative c lauses in t he Standard
are not t o mak e referenc e t o a Comment ary .
4.3 Rul i ngs
A lt hough individual c ommittee members may reas onably ex press t heir own point of view on the
bac kground and intent of a S t andard in which t hey have been involved, t hey do not have t he authority
t o present an official S tandards Australia interpretation of provisions in the Standard. Where, as a result
of requests from users or s takeholders, t here is uncertainty about t he interpretation or application of a
S t andard or part t hereof, Standards Australia may request the committee as a whole to provide a Ruling
on a t ec hnical matter relating t o a S t andard. This c an include a c larification of t he meaning of a clause
or t he applic abilit y of a S t andard t o a s pec ific s it uat ion.
W hen a committee provides an interpretation on a matter relating t o a particular Standard, the response
mus t be agreed t o by t he c ommittee before it is published as a Ruling. A Ruling is a publicly available
doc ument providing c larification on a technical matter relating t o a Standard (including adopted ISO/IEC
S t andards), t he official meaning of a S t andard's requirements, or t he applicability of a S t andard to a
s pecific practical s ituation. Rulings do not c ontain additional normative requirements s ince these are
published as an amendment t o t he S t andard. A mendments t o Rulings are not permitted, ins tead a
replac ement Ruling is is s ued.
Rulings must undergo a Committee Ballot and are formally endorsed in writing by the relevant committee
eit her by mail or at a c ommittee meeting. In c ertain c ircumstances formal agreement on Rulings is also
s ought from t he appropriate regulatory authority. Rulings c an oft en be c ountry s pecific, i.e. separate
rulings may have t o be is sued for A us tralia and New Zealand when t he s ubject is a joint A S/NZS
S t andard.
4.4 Re confirmation Notice
The Rec onfirmation of a S tandards A ustralia publication may occur as a result of t he periodic review of
t he public at ion, or as is required.
A ‘Rec onfirmation Notice’ is published as a s t and-alone doc ument and c onfirms t hat a S t andards
A us tralia product has been formally reviewed by t he relevant TC, (and ot her s t akeholders where
appropriate) and ‘Reconfirmed’ as being valid, i.e. t echnically c orrect and reflective of c urrent practice.
A ‘Rec onfirmation Notice’ is only issued where t he Reconfirmation is s upported by a majority of the
Commit t ee Members of t he relevant TC wit h no s ubs t ant iat ed valid t ec hnic al objec t ions .
The ‘Rec onfirmation Not ice’ will s t ate t hat t he publication has been reconfirmed. It will c arry the
des ignation of t he original publication plus t he word “Rec ” and t he rec onfirmation y ear, e. g. “AS
1234: 2002 Rec 2012”.
NO TE: T he des i gnati on and c ontents of the or i gi nal pub l i c ati on r emai ns unc hanged.

5 LOWER CONSENSUS PUBLICAT IONS
5.1 W hat is a l ower consensus publication?

Developing national c onsensus Standards as s et out in S G-001: P reparing S tandards is a s tructured
and pot entially time c onsuming process. However, there are instances where a normative or informative
t ec hnical document is required and t raditional c onsensus s tandardisation may not deliver the optimal
s olution. A document supported by a lower level of c onsensus and t ransparency may meet t he needs
of s t akeholders, provided that there are no misunderstandings and the document is clearly differentiated
from an A us t ralian S t andard (A S ).
S t andards A us tralia is s ues publications wit h lower levels of c ons ensus t han S t andards. These
publications vary in t heir level of authority from t he purely informative t o being precursors of S tandards
in new fields where consensus s tandardisation has not previously been undertaken. For example, the
doc ument may only be ex planatory in nature t o assist readers in us ing an A ustralian S tandard; and in
s uc h c ases, t he S t andard will always be t he principal point of reference and t he s upporting lower-
c onsensus document will not introduce any additional measures. In t he c ase of s ome documents, the
c ont ent is s imply public disclosure of information. A lternatively, a new hazard t o health and s afety has
been identified and steps to deal with it need t o be put in place as soon as possible; or a new technology
may have emerged and t here are significant benefits in industrial efficiency in having guidelines in place
at an early s t age.
The various products described below are t ailored t o t he different needs of us ers who, for whatever
reas on, require doc uments t hat have been t hrough a proc ess t hat does not necessarily meet the
requirement s as s oc iat ed wit h a nat ional S t andard.
Table 1 (below) briefly s ummarises t he t ransparency and c onsensus levels for t he various S tandards
A us t ralia produc t s t o as s is t in det ermining whic h is mos t appropriat e.

Ta bl e 1—S ta nda rdi sa ti on proce ss for va ri ous S ta nda rds Austra l i a product type s
P ROCES S REQUI REMENTS (se e Note 1)

P roduct Type Tra nspa re ncy Conse nsus S DAC Approval Com m e nts
Australian Standard (AS) High – Public Comment High – Ballot is required Yes See Note 3
(PC) is required
Australian Interim Standard Medium – Peer Review High – Ballot is required Yes 2 + 2 year life maximum
(AS (Int)) only (PC not required)
Australian Technical Medium – Peer Review Low – Limited peer review Info only Used if full Standard cannot be
Specification (SA TS) only (PC is optional) prepared within time constraints
Australian Technical Report Low – No PC required Low – Informal endorsement 4 Info only May include publication of research
(SA TR) is required data. See Note 4
Handbook (SA HB) AS only: Medium – Peer Low – Limited peer review Info only If the topic is related to a TC the TC is
Review only (PC not to be part of the peer review group
required)
Miscellaneous Publication Low – No PC required Low – Limited peer review Info only If the topic is related to a TC the TC is
(SA MP) to be part of the peer review group
Ruling (Rul) Low – No PC required High – Ballot and Formal Yes To clarify intent or application of a
endorsement 4 are both Standard or sections of a Standard in
required specific instances
Reconfirmation Notice Medium – Peer Review Medium – Formal Info only See Notes 3 and 4
(Rec)5 only (PC not required) endorsement 4 is required

P ROCES S REQUI REMENTS (se e Note 1)

P roduct Type Tra nspa re ncy Conse nsus S DAC Approval Com m e nts
Supplement - Normative (Sup) High – PC is required High – Ballot is required Yes See Note 3
Supplement - Informative (Sup) Low – No PC required High – Ballot is required Yes Issued with the parent Standard or
(Includes commentaries) within 12 months of its publication date
Correction Amendment Low – No PC required Medium – Formal Info only See Note 2
endorsement 4 is required
Revised Text Amendment High – PC is required High – Ballot is required Yes See Note 2
Australian Standard Certified N/A N/A N/A Should always be accompanied by an

Reference Material (ASCRM) SA TR to provide details of their
source, preparation and chemical
composition
NOTES:
1. T he pr oc es s es i ndi c ated i n the tab l e s how mi ni mum l evel s onl y. Hi gher c ons ens us and tr ans par enc y l evel s may b e r equi r ed wher e war r anted.
2. Amendments may b e appl i ed to a Standar d, Inter im Standard, Supplement, T ec hnical Spec i fication, T ec hnical Repor t, Mi s cellaneous Pub lication and
Handb ook. Amendments s hould nor mally onl y b e i s s ued wi thi n 2 year s of the i ni tial pub lication of the pr oduc t and s houl d not have mor e than 2
amendments i s s ued for the one doc ument. Amendments to Rul i ngs ar e not per mi tted, i ns tead a r epl ac ement Rul i ng i s i s s ued.
3. Rec onfi rmation of a Standar d or Supplement does not r equire Pub lic Comment, does r equire for mal endors ement ( s ee b elow) and i s s ent to the Standards
Devel opment and Ac c r edi tati on Commi ttee ( SDAC) for i nfor mati on onl y.
4. F or mal endor sement means that the c ommi ttee does not under take a for mal C ommi ttee Bal l ot pr oc es s, b ut the endor s ement wi th unani mous general
agr eement i s documented, us ually i n the for m of a ‘l etter of no ob j ection’ or mi nuted agr eement at a c ommi ttee meeting. Informal endor sement means
gener al ver b al di s c us s i on and di r ec ti on wi thout doc umentati on.
S t andards A ustralia is not alone in recognising t his need for a range of deliverables. ISO and IEC have developed a similar range of deliverables
wit h levels of c onsensus different from t hose associated with an Int ernational S tandard. The c oncept at t he national and international levels is
s imilar, but there are differences in detail resulting from t he inherent differences between developing national and international consensus based
S t andards . S ee S ec t ion 6 for a c omparis on of nat ional and int ernat ional deliverables .

5.2 I nterim S tandard

A n Int erim S tandard, which can be either an A ustralian Standard (AS) or a joint Australian/New Zealand
S t andard (AS/NZS), is a provisional Standard with a t wo-year life. It is prepared in a s ubject field where
not all requirements have been finally determined or where national c onsensus is anticipated but has
y et t o be realised. An Interim S tandard provides both a guide to the direction that future standardisation
in t he specified field may t ake and a mechanism to collect public feedback on the subject. Its designation
follows t he rules for ‘full’ S t andards ex c ept t hat ‘(Int )’ is inc luded aft er t he number.
Int erim S tandards may originate from a number of different s ources. They may be us ed in a new area
of t ec hnology where t here may not be full agreement on final t echnical solutions or t hey may also be
us ed at the ISO ‘Draft International Standard’ (DIS) or IEC ‘Committee Draft for Vote’ (CDV) stage when
proc eeding down t he pat h of adopt ion of Int ernat ional S t andards us ing a parallel proc es s .
Developed using a formally constituted TC, an Interim Standard follows t he s ame process as that used
t o develop a ‘full’ S tandard (s ee S G-001: P reparing S tandards) except t hat t here is normally no Public
Comment phase s ince t he Int erim S t andard it self is publically available and t herefore a vehic le for
elic iting public feedback. S t akeholders and members of t he public affec ted by t he S t andard are
enc ouraged t o s ubmit c omment during the period of c urrency. The development of an Int erim Standard
c an t ak e about half t he development t ime t hat would be involved wit h a ‘full’ S t andard.
During the life of an Interim S tandard t he responsible committee reviews any comments received on the
doc ument and must decide whether t o withdraw it, t o c onfirm it as a ‘full’ Standard, revise the text or
ex t end its life for a s econd period of up t o t wo-years. Where t he c ommittee t akes no ac tion t he Interim
S t andard will be aut omat ic ally wit hdrawn at t he end of t he init ial t wo-y ear period.
5.3 Te chnical S pecification

A Tec hnical S pecification (which is often referred t o as an A ustralian Technical Specification, or ATS,
t o differentiate it from an Int ernational Technical S pecification) is a normative document t hat has been
s ubject t o a limited form of t ransparency and does not have t he s upport of t he full c onsensus process
normally as s oc iat ed wit h an A us t ralian S t andard.
The des ignation for a Tec hnical S pecification is S A TS nnnn:year where nnnn is a number t hat follows
t he rules for S tandards (s ee Clause 3.7). A Technical Specification may be prepared in a field where
t he s ubject matter, or a related aspect s uch as t he regulatory environment, is undergoing rapid change
and where s peed of delivery, rather t han full consensus, is of paramount importance. In s uch cases, it
would normally be expected that an Australian Standard would eventually be developed t o supersede
t he Tec hnic al S pec ific at ion.
A not her pos sible application is where t he required level of s t akeholder c onsensus t o s upport an
A us tralian S tandard may not be possible. W hile Handbooks (s ee Clause 5.5) normally meet t his need,
s ometimes t he national interest may be better served by providing t he public with access t o information
whic h has achieved a c ertain degree of s takeholder agreement, in a doc ument t hat has a lesser status
t han a S tandard. A Technical S pecification can fulfil t his function; and while it may include normative
language, it does not purport t o be a S tandard and t he Tit le P age c ontains information t o t his effec t .
The c ontent of a Tec hnical S pecification is developed by a s eparate Working Group (WG) c omprised of
s elected experts and/or interested parties, under t he direction of a c onstituted TC whic h has s ufficient
understanding of t he s ubject mat ter t o overs ee t he proc ess. A new project t o develop a Technical
S pecification requires t he s ame project approval process as does a S t andard (s ee S G-001: P reparing
S t andards). A Technical S pecification is s ubject t o, at least, limited peer review with t he option of going
t o full P ublic Comment if it is deemed t o be warrant ed. Comment s are c ons idered by t he W G.
A t t he end of t he process, t he s upervising TC is asked t o s ign off on t he final document t o c onfirm that
t he appropriate process has been followed and t hat t he required consultations and peer review have
oc c urred. This may be done informally by a ‘let ter of no objection’ and unanimity is not es sential;
however, if one or more members of the TC disagree with publishing the final document, a report has
t o be prepared for t he P roduction Management Group (P MG)* jus t ify ing t he dec is ion t o publis h.

W here appropriate, it may be advisable for a Tec hnical S pecification t o undergo a Committee Ballot to
ens ure t hat t he c ontent is endors ed by t he main c ommit t ee and relevant c ommit t ee members .
NO TE: *T he PMG i s an oper ati onal c ommittee wi thin Standards Aus tr alia who i s r es ponsible for the over sight
of the devel opment of Aus tr al i an Standar ds and r el ated doc uments .
5.4 Te chnical Report

From t ime t o time there will be cases where it is necessary to publish different sets of data. A Technical
Report, (also referred t o as an A ustralian Technical Report, or A TR), has always accompanied each
A us tralian Standard Certified Reference Material (ASCRM) and contains information on the preparation
of t he reference material, including its c hemical and physical properties. The Technical Report series
has been ex panded t o include data lists on any s ubject. S uch dat a may be t he results of research,
c alculations, or empirical obs ervations. Tec hnical Reports do not c ont ain requirements and do not
generally c ont ain ex planat ory det ails or informat ion s upplement ary t o a S t andard.
The des ignation of a Technical Report is ‘SA TR nnnn:year’ where nnnn is a number referring to the
A S CRM t hat is t he s ubject of t he report, or a s equential number t hat follows t he rules for S tandards
(s ee Claus e 3. 4).
The c ont ent of a Tec hnical Report is developed by a TC. A c tual draft ing may be performed by an
individual or by a s mall W G, without t he need for peer review or P ublic Comment. A t t he end of the
proc ess, t he TC is as ked t o s ign off on t he final document, but t his is done informally and unanimity is
not es s ential. In t he unlikely event of a negat ive vot e, a s imple majority vot e in t he c ommittee is
s ufficient. The t ime frame for developing a Tec hnical Report varies s ince it is generally a by-product of
t he development of anot her deliverable.
5.5 Ha ndbook
The des ignation of a Handbook is ‘SA HB nnnn:year’ where nnnn is a s equential number. A Handbook
is an informative document t hat may be used t o s upport a S tandard or a group of S t andards already in
plac e. It may either aid implementation or provide additional information t o users of t he S tandard(s). In
s ome c ircumstances a Handbook may be produced where t here is no S tandard, and no TC, but the
c ont ent is c onsidered t o be in t he public interest. One possibility is t o publish a Handbook t o gauge
reac tion and s eek c omments in a new field; and depending on t he feedback, determine whether
c onsensus s tandardisation activities are warranted. It s hould be noted t hat Handbooks represent the
views of t he aut hor(s ) and t here c ould be ot her, equally valid, point s of view on t he s ubjec t .
The t ec hnical c ontent of a Handbook is normally developed by a single author or by a s elected group
of ex perts, rather t han by a c onstituted TC. In c ases where c onsensus c annot be reached following the
development of a draft Standard, the TC may elect to publish the document as a Handbook so that users
gain t he benefits of t he c ommittee’s deliberations. In t his c ase t here are no requirements and the
information is advis ory only. A Handbook c an als o be developed in c onjunction wit h an industry
as s oc iat ion whic h would t ak e res pons ibilit y for t he bulk of t he draft ing work .
W hichever approach is t aken, a Handbook is s ubject t o a peer review process. P eer reviewers are
normally t aken from appropriate c ommittee(s) but c ould also include ex ternal t echnical ex perts. A new
project t o develop a Handbook is managed in accordance with S G-001: P reparing S tandards. In some
c as es a s imple c ommerc ial arrangement is us ed.
5.6 Mi scellaneous P ublication

The des ignation of a Miscellaneous P ublication is ‘S A MP nnnn:year’ where nnnn is a s equential
number. A Miscellaneous Publication is an informative document listing information of a different kind
t o t hat found in other Standards Australia’s products. Some examples may include additional information
c ollected in the process of developing a S tandard or a list of products t hat have been approved for use
under a c ert ification s c heme. In c ert ain c irc umstances Mis cellaneous P ublications c an report
requirement s us ed in c ert ific at ion s c hemes .
A Miscellaneous P ublication is normally developed at the direction of a constituted TC. A new project
t o develop a Miscellaneous Publication requires the same approval process t o a Standard (see SG-001:

P reparing Standards). Once the decision has been t aken to develop the product, no further approval is
required for t he contents of t he first or s ubsequent editions. Similarly, no P ublic Comment is required.
5.7 S ta ndards Al ert
A S t andards Alert is an informative document issued by S tandards A ustralia t o provide clarification to
address a s pecific mat ter t hat requires urgent not ification t o t he industry involved wit h t he s ubject
mat ter, or t o t he public in general. The S tandards Alert sets out the s pecific matter and t he advice of
t he c ommit t ee t o addres s t he mat t er.
A S t andards A lert is normally based on uncontested fac tual information and is us ed where s peed of
delivery is of paramount importance. The Standards A lert will normally be withdrawn once the matter
has been addres s ed in t he relevant S t andard(s ).
The mat t er and t he proposed information t o be released are forwarded electronically t o t he relevant
c ommittee for review. The information is t hen updated as necessary based on c ommittee comment.
Only t he views of t hose who respond within t he given t ime frame are considered, and t he S tandards
A lert c an be released s o long as , amongst t hose responses, no major s takeholder interest c ollectively
maint ains an objec t ion.
5.8 Ce rtified Reference Material

W hile not a publication, an Australian S tandard Certified Reference Material (ASCRM) is important in a
number of industries, particularly coal and minerals. ASCRMs are s amples with a k nown composition
t hat c an be us ed as a ‘s t andard’ for c hemic al analy s is .
A S CRMs are always accompanied by a Tec hnical Report providing details of t heir s ource, preparation
and c hemic al c ompos it ion.
5.9 Rul es for the desi gnation of l ower consensus publications

To help distinguish between S tandards A ustralia and joint S tandards A ustralia/Standards New Zealand
lower c onsensus publications, i. e. Handbooks (HB ), Mis cellaneous P ublications (MP ), Technical
Reports (TR), Tec hnical S pecifications (TS ) and Rulings (Rul), the following designation rules apply :
• “S A ” will be displayed in front of t he HB , MP, TR, TS and Rul in the designation for publications
where it is an A us t ralian only doc ument ; and
• “S A /SNZ” will be dis played in front of t he HB , MP , TR, TS and Rul in t he designation for
public at ions where it is a joint A us t ralian/ New Zealand doc ument .
6 INT ERNAT IONAL EQUIVALENTS

In developing t he range of A ustralian deliverables from t he s tandardisation process, recognition was
given t o t he equivalent international deliverables; however, for practical reasons, an ex act alignment
has not always been possible. S ome international products, by their very nature, do not easily translate
int o t he nat ional environment —for ins t anc e agreement s bet ween int ernat ional c ons ort ia.
Table 2 (below) is provided for t he benefit of users who may be c oncerned about t he c orrespondence
bet ween A ustralian and int ernational doc uments, and als o for c ommittees c onsidering t he national
adopt ion of int ernational deliverables. However, A ustralia has t he s overeign right t o det ermine the
c ont ent of A us tralian S tandards and ot her deliverables; and t here may be good reas on t o follow a
different path to t hat suggested in Table 2, for example an International Technical Specification could
be adopt ed as an A us t ralian S t andard if t here is s t rong nat ional s upport for it s c ont ent s .
It s hould be noted t hat t he W TO A greement on Technical B arriers t o Trade (i.e. W TO TB T agreement)
only makes recommendations in relation t o t he national adoption of Int ernational Standards. Other ISO
and IE C deliverables are not accorded any s pecial status under t he WTO TB T agreement or related
t rade agreement s t o whic h A us t ralia is part y .

Ta ble 2—S ugge ste d corre sponde nce of I S O/ I EC a nd S ta nda rds Austra l i a de l i ve ra bl e s
I S O/ I EC S ta nda rds Austra l i a Com m e nts
Int ernational S tandard A us tralian Standard Thes e are essentially equivalent

IS O/ DIS or IE C/CDV Int erim Standard Only if fully adopted in parallel with t he
Int ernational S tandard, otherwise a
P ublic Comment draft of a full S tandard.
Tec hnical S pecification Tec hnical S pecification Thes e are essentially equivalent
P ublicly A vailable Tec hnical S pecification S ee Not e 1 below
S pecification (P AS)
Tec hnical Report Tec hnical Report
Handbook
Guide Handbook S ee Not e 2 below
No direc tly corresponding S upplement
int ernational deliverable
Ruling
Rec onfirmation Notice
Mis cellaneous
P ublication
S t andards A lert
A S CRM
Int ernational W orkshop No c urrent equivalent S ee Not e 3 below
A greement (IWA) / Technical
Trend A ssessment (TTA )
NOTES:
1. A PAS i s a doc ument pub l ished b y ISO or IEC to r es pond to an ur gent mar k et need, r epr es enting ei ther
c ons ens us i n an or gani s ati on ex ter nal to ISO or IEC, or c ons ens us of the ex per ts wi thi n a W G .
2. A G ui de i s a doc ument published b y ISO or IEC gi vi ng advi ce or r ecommendations r elating to i nter national
s tandar di s ati on.
3. An IW A or T T A i s a pr e- standar dis ation doc ument es tablished as a b road c onsensus outcome of a for um of
s tak eholder s convened to consider the s ubject being pr oposed. An IW A or T TA wi ll normally be developed in
a new s ub j ect ar ea at an ear l y s tage of i nnovation when ther e i s no appl icable Standar ds c ommittee, but a
need for gui danc e r egar di ng emer gi ng di r ec ti ons , tr ends and pr ac ti c es .
7 CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
In many c as es it is important for organisations t o demonstrate t hat t heir products, s ervices or
organisational ac t ivities c omply wit h t he requirements of a s pecific S t andard. Demonstration of
c ompliance c an be for s elf-improvement, marketing reasons or as a legislative requirement. W hile not
s t rictly an out put of t he s tandardisation process, assessing c onformance t o a S t andard (‘c ertification’)
is an import ant proc es s allied t o s t andardis at ion.
There are t wo forms of c ertification, ‘product c ertification’ or ‘s ystem c ertification’. A s implied, product
c ert ification refers t o c onfirming t hat a s pecific product (e.g. a bicycle helmet, a brand of c ement, or a
t y pe of wat er pipe) c omplies with t he relevant S t andard and is fit for purpose. S y stem c ertification
c onfirms t hat specific management activities within an organisation (e.g. quality management, WH&S,
environmental management) comply with t he relevant Standard. S ystem certification is also often used
as an important t ool t o improve management and operat ional effic ienc y wit hin an organis at ion.
A s sessment of compliance is c arried out by independent t hird parties—conformity assessment bodies
(CA B s). CABs (sometimes c alled ‘certification bodies’) must be accredited to c arry out certification and
t hey go t hrough rigorous auditing t o ensure t hey have t he c ompetence, credibility, independence and
int egrit y t o effec t ively c arry out t heir c ert ific at ion ac t ivit ies .
The ac c reditor for c ertification bodies is t he Commonwealth Government appointed body JAS-ANZ
(Joint Accreditation S ystem – A ustralia New Zealand). More details on accreditation and c ertification
c an be found on t he JA S -A NZ webs it e ht t p: / / www. jas -anz . c om. au/ .
S t andards us ed for c onformity as s essment are c ouched in mandatory t erms t o ens ure t here is no
ambiguity in requirements, and it is only these mandatory requirements that are assessed. If a Standard
t hat will be used for certification is being developed, it is usual t o have a representative of CABs on the
TC draft ing t he S t andard.
For more information and t o s ee t he Conformity A ssessment policy, refer t o S G-006: Rules for the
s t ruc t ure and draft ing of A us t ralian S t andards .

APPENDIX A – Publisher Prefixes

This lis t inc ludes P ublis her P refix es lik ely t o be enc ount ered in A us t ralia:
P re fix P ublisher or Description
AS Australian Standard
AS IEC Australian adoption of an IEC Standard (and similarly AS/NZS IEC)
AS ISO Australian adoption of an ISO Standard (and similarly AS/NZS ISO)
AS ISO/IEC Australian adoption of a joint ISO/IEC Standard (and similarly AS/NZS ISO/IEC)
AS/NZS Joint Australian/New Zealand Standard
EN European Union Standard
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
ISO International Organization for Standardization
ISO/IEC Joint ISO and IEC Standard
AFSL Australian Forestry Standard Limited
CA Communications Alliance
CISPR International Special Committee on Radio Interference
PGA Pharmacy Guild of Australia
RISSB Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board
FRDC Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
NO TE: This list is not intended t o be exhaustive but t o indicate s ome of t he Primary Publishers at
t he t ime t his Guide was developed.

DOCUMENT HISTORY
To follow det ails t he his t ory of t his doc ument :
Date Au th o r Ame n d me n t De tails

02/ 08/09 v1. 0 - First release of Guide which is a consolidation of content
from mult iple Guides .
03/ 02/10 P olicies & P rocedures v1. 1 - Clarify drafting responsibility and S DC approval steps &
Offic er re-is s ued.
19/ 07/10 P olicies & P rocedures v1. 2 - A dded a link in s ection 7 t o t he Conformity Assessment
Offic er polic y in S G-006 & re-is s ued.
09/ 06/11 P olicies & P rocedures v1. 3 - Fix broken hyperlinks, minor amendments & re-is s ued.
Offic er
21/ 02/12 P roc ess & P rocedures v1. 4 - Updat e all hy perlinks aft er new c orporate website
Offic er releas ed & re-is s ued.
05/ 04/12 P roc ess & P rocedures v1. 5 - Minor amendment t o 3. 5 re: t he us e of S hall, Must &
Offic er S hould t o reflec t c urrent prac t ic e & re-is s ued.
16/ 01/13 P roc ess & P rocedures v1. 6 - Rec onfirmed/updated Document His t ory & re-is s ued.
Coordinat or
21/ 01/13 P roc ess & P rocedures v1. 7 - Inc luded ‘Reconfirmation Notice’ as a publication type,
Coordinat or minor amendment s & re-is s ued.
05/ 11/14 P roc ess & P rocedures v1. 8 - Rec onfirm/amend all product types, update designation
Coordinat or references & minor amendments to clarify A ccredited SDOs &
A B S DO requirement s .
29/ 01/16 P roc ess & P rocedures v1. 9 - Updat e S DC references t o S DA C & update ABSDO
Coordinat or referenc es .
22/ 03/19 P roc ess & P rocedures v1. 10 - Clause 3. 9 amended t o c larify S A 's definition of
Coordinat or A vailable S uperseded, S uperseded and W it hdrawn product
s t at us es . Minor edit orial c hanges t hroughout .
12/ 07/19 P roc ess & P rocedures v1. 11 - Replaced references t o “S A I Global” wit h “our
Coordinat or dis tributors” & updated “deemed t o c omply” wit h “deemed to
s at is fy ” in Claus e 3. 6.
Clic k here t o go bac k t o t he Table of Cont ent s .


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Standar ds Dev elopment – SG- 003: Standards and other publications

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STANDARDISATION GUIDE 003:

STANDARDS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS

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3.1 W hat is a S tandard?

3.2 P urpose of S tandards

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3.3.3 Na ti onal S tandards

3.4 I de ntification of Australian Standards

3.5 Functions of S tandards

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3.6 P e rformance based and prescriptive S tandards

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Normative is a t erm us ed t o describe an element of a S t andard t o which it is necessary t o c onform in

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3.8.2 Re quirements a nd recommendations

3.8.3 The use of Shall, Must and Should

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3.12 S ta ndards i n legislation

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4 DOCUMENTS SUPPORTING ST ANDARDS

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5 LOWER CONSENSUS PUBLICAT IONS

5.1 W hat is a l ower consensus publication?

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P ROCES S REQUI REMENTS (se e Note 1)

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P ROCES S REQUI REMENTS (se e Note 1)

Australian Standard Certified N/A N/A N/A Should always be accompanied by an

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5.2 I nterim S tandard

5.3 Te chnical S pecification

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5.4 Te chnical Report

5.6 Mi scellaneous P ublication

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5.8 Ce rtified Reference Material

5.9 Rul es for the desi gnation of l ower consensus publications

6 INT ERNAT IONAL EQUIVALENTS

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I S O/ I EC S ta nda rds Austra l i a Com m e nts

Int ernational S tandard A us tralian Standard Thes e are essentially equivalent

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APPENDIX A – Publisher Prefixes

P re fix P ublisher or Description

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Date Au th o r Ame n d me n t De tails

Clic k here t o go bac k t o t he Table of Cont ent s .

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