UPDATE - 20 May 2026
More good news on access to the Australian Standards. The 2026 Federal Budget handed down on 12 May includes a commitment of $42.7 million over four years to make the mandatory Australian Standards free to access. This includes standards that are mentioned in Commonwealth, State and Territory laws, and covers everything from building codes to OHS to product safety. The exact details of the commitment are yet to be publicised, but reports suggest the money will be provided directly to Standards Australia to provide publicly accessible versions of these standards, probably via their exist web service. The move is a direct implementation of the Productivity Commission's recommendation below, and is particularly welcomed by libraries, who have been advocating for free electronic access to the standards for over a decade.
Some good news for anyone who missed it in the end of year rush — the Productivity Commission has recommended that the government support free access to the Australian Standards (or at least some of them)
The Australian Standards are the rules that govern everything from building and electrical work to food handling and safety systems. They are developed, managed and distributed by the non-profit Standards Australia, with the assistance of hundreds of industry and expert volunteers. While many standards are voluntary, a significant number — 1,263 or around 16 per cent of the more than 7,000 standards — are referenced in legislation and therefore mandatory.
Currently, all standards — whether voluntary or mandatory — are made available on a pay-per-use basis. Individual standards must be purchased via the Standards Australia website or a small number of commercial vendors. While some industry groups have negotiated collective licences for their members, and limited free access is provided for non-commercial users, for most small businesses, students and startups, access requires purchasing individual standards or costly subscriptions.
This creates a fundamental problem: the law itself is effectively placed behind a paywall.
This has long been criticised as inappropriate and inefficient, especially as dozens or even hundreds of standards may be required for a single project. It means people cannot easily check the rules they are legally required to follow, increasing the risk of non-compliance and undermining safety. These costs fall most heavily on small businesses and new market entrants, putting them at a competitive disadvantage to larger firms that can more easily absorb licensing fees.
The high costs and restrictive terms applied to the Standards have also caused major problems for libraries, with the result that the electronic access to the Standards has not been available in public, National or State libraries since 2016. Libraries have been advocating for free access to the Standards ever since.
In March 2025 Treasurer Jim Chalmers asked the PC to examine competition issues in the standards system. The Commission took the opportunity to look closely at standards licensing and confirmed that the current system negatively impacts Australian economy and safety, and recommended that the Government start paying Standards Australia to provide free access to standards incorporated in legislation.
The report estimates that this would require government funding of around $7 million per year, though it acknowledges the true figure would need to be negotiated. International experience suggests that free access would dramatically increase use of standards, amplifying their public value and providing a net economic benefit.
Although the recommendation only applies to some standards, it is a significant and welcome step towards ensuring all Australians have access to the important safety information they need.
Now comes the hard part: turning a well-argued recommendation into government action. Let’s hope it gets traction.