StandardsWatch Incorporated was established by a number of individuals with decades of involvement in the development of Australian and International Standards.

Their experiences have informed their carefully considered opinion that in Australia, and in other major jurisdictions (USA, EU, ISO), processes for Standards development and publication are such that they can be (and sometimes are) subverted by special interests to the detriment of consumer safety which Standards purport to protect, by permitting the installation of lethal glass in buildings in Australia, Europe and North America.

Australian Government Ministers and Regulatory Authorities Failure to Act

The establishment of this website is the result of prolonged and persistent, but ultimately unsuccessful, attempts to rectify dangerously flawed safety glass Standards through the available processes of the “system”, as it currently operates, by participating in the relevant Standards Committee, and through approaches in Australia to the ABCB (Australian Building Codes Board) and the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission). The ABCB declined to attempt to effect the necessary changes to dangerous Standards, either by using their position on the relevant Committee, or by introducing the necessary amendments to the National Construction Code. The ACCC also declined to act.

The Building Ministers’ Forum (BMF) was informed of the lethal AS/NZS 2208 Standard in October 2017, and it directed that the processes of Standards Australia should be engaged to rectify a situation which was a direct result of Standards Australia’s deficient processes and conduct. Worksafe was similarly informed at the same time, and does not appear to have taken any steps to mitigate the dangers in workplaces around Australia.

BMF, Worksafe, the ABCB and the ACCC are open to significant criticism for their failure to act in response to the evidence presented to them.

Standards Australia – A Law Unto Itself

Standards Australia enjoys entrenched control over its dominion as a perpetual self-governing bureaucracy not answerable to anybody, a situation that demands profound change.

It was resolved that this untenable situation can only be rectified by generating sufficient public opprobrium to mobilise politicians (and in particular the Ministers, Commonwealth and State) to effect change in the oversight and operations of Standards Australia to ensure their transparency, accessibility to interested consumer advocates, and ultimately and most critically, the fitness for use of published Standards.

If products that comply with Standards are not fit for use, the regulatory system, insofar as it is based on Standards, does not protect consumers from loss and from injury or death as it purports to do.

If some Standards are proven to be technically incorrect, especially as a result of malfeasance by special interests, what confidence is there as to the integrity of every other Standard? All Standards will no longer be assumed to be technically correct, nor relied upon by regulators, specifiers, consumers or indeed the courts to guarantee that certified goods are fit for purpose or comply with current best practice.

Currently, and historically, the Committees of Standards Australia operate with no transparency. There is no access by “outsiders” (people without the right connections) to any Committee involved in drafting Standards, or even knowing the identity of the Committee members. Documents, draft Standards, meeting agendas and minutes are unavailable to outsiders, so that these Committees operate without the transparency which is necessary to enable proper scrutiny of their operations, and which is critical to ensuring that special interests are unable to subvert the Standards process and thus the content of Standards to their own ends. Additionally, Standards Australia bureaucrats determine at their absolute discretion which “organisations” will be permitted to nominate “technical experts” to participate and vote on Technical Committees responsible for drafting Standards.

StandardsWatch Incorporated – Purposes

The Purposes of StandardsWatch Incorporated can be seen HERE.

This website has sections devoted to specific Australian, US and ISO safety glass Standards, and provide evidence to prove they are manifestly unfit for use, and allow lethally dangerous glass to be installed in millions of homes, schools and workplaces.

In due course, it is intended that information on Standards relating to other goods and services that are not fit for purpose will be published.

In Section 6, suggestions on how the processes of Standards Australia should be changed to ensure their transparency and accessibility so that consumer interests are protected.

Consumer Call to Action

Consumers and Organisations interested in the success of StandardsWatch Incorporated initiatives are encouraged to lobby their local parliamentary representative, initiate discussion on Talk back radio and other media, and forward a link to relevant pages on this website to all their family and friends. Calls to action in regard to specific issues will be detailed in the relevant sections, so that anybody concerned with a specific issue can easily engage with the relevant authority.