For decades, small businesses, tradies and safety professionals across Australia have faced an odd regulatory hurdle: complying with laws that sit behind a private paywall. Government legislation and workplace Codes of Practice have always been free, but the technical Australian Standards referenced inside them required expensive individual purchases or corporate subscriptions. That barrier has long been criticised for complicating on-site compliance and adding thousands of dollars a year in overhead for small operations.
That’s set to change. The Australian Government has committed $42.7 million over the next 4 financial years in ongoing grants to Standards Australia, specifically to remove the paywall on any mandatory standard referenced in Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation. Technical guidelines covering occupational health and safety, National Construction Code requirements, plumbing, electrical work and product safety will be rolled out through a free, read-only public digital platform.
The reform is expected to save individual tradies and small businesses up to $1,600 a year. When everyone on a job site, from the head contractor to the first-year apprentice, has equal access to identical technical requirements, the risk of structural defects and misunderstandings drops. It also brings Australia into line with New Zealand and the UK, turning safety documentation from a paid extra into a public utility.
Getting the standards onto site
As these standards become free to read, the next step is working them into your daily operations. Trak lets you build the newly accessible Australian Standards into your Safe Work Method Statement templates, so your field team can see the exact technical requirements from their phone or tablet on site, rather than tracking down a document back at the office.