https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN4101

Here is a link to the petition I think is quite valuable for Australian designers.
The petition closes tonight but it's worth signing.

Good luck with that one. There's a lot of IP tied up with the standards publications and the association won't give that one up without a fight. I'm not necessarily against the idea but if the publications are free, where do the funds that cover printing and standards review committees come from?

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

I've signed it. Standards documents are ridiculously expensive. Some are just one page long (and a sparse page at that) and they want stupid money for them.

This is one commodity that I believe ought to be subsidised by government. If not free then priced to be attractive to purchase.

If it is subsidised by government, you still pay though.

There wouldn't be that many standards that are that small. Most are quite large and comprehensive.

Look at standards like the SAA Wiring Rules, SAA Lift Code, etc. The wiring rules is nicknamed the bible because it is a hard cover book about the same size as a real bible.

UPDATE: One thing I do not agree with in the petition is that standards are only available to professionals. SAI Global, which is the retail arm of Standards Australia sells all publications to everyone. I just checked the site to verify this.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Subsidised how?

QUOTE:

Standards Australia, the creator and owner of Australian standards is a not-for-profit, non-government entity. It is a well-managed organisation that carries out the highly complex task of creation and maintenance of standards through a complex range of stakeholders.

. . .

The net royalty share between SAI Global and Standards Australia – after costs incurred by SAI Global – is understood in most cases to be: 90% to SAI Global (the distributor) and 10% to Standards Australia (the creator and owner of the product).

Standards Australia’s finance report for FY 2017 states that its revenue from sale of Standards (Royalties) was $6.892 Million.

Based on these figures SAI Global’s FY17 profit share – after any costs they claimed – will have been around $60+M.

https://myosh.com/blog/2018/12/03/australian-standards-the-unfair-exchange/


It's a monopolistic rip-off run by an overseas-based multinational.


I think the bit about 'only available to professionals' relates to the cost of purchase. A full set of some standards will cost thousands of dollars ... and there's the need to keep purchasing the updates, and sometimes an update changes only a few words (been there, copped that).

SAA wiring rules is a special case. It's essentially a text book and is priced accordingly.

This is one commodity that I believe ought to be subsidised by government.

I was commenting on that. If government subsidises anything the cost is then borne by taxpayers. I think there should be less of that in this country. There is nothing wrong with a user-pays system, even if it does seem a bit like there is profiteering. None of us are privy to the expense sheet of Standards Australia so it is a bit difficult to accurately claim that this is happening to any great extent.

Yes, Standards Australia is a monopoly but standards organisations all over the world generally are.

As for the nomenclature in the petition, it is clearly misleading. People unfamiliar with the fact that any man and his dog can purchase publications will just simply believe what has been said and sign the petition under false pretences.

It should be noted that in most cases, acquiring amendments aren't always required. In my experience with AS 3000, most amendments since my first purchase in 1987 relate to the correction of spelling errors and grammar.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...