Australia's Standard and Conformance Infrastructure 

Australia boasts a world class standards and conformance infrastructure which underpins and supports virutally every aspect of our everyday life. A number of bodies comprise Australia's standards and conformance infrastructure. These are:

• The National Measurement Institute (NMI) 
• Standards Australia Limited
• The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) 
• The Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) 

These organisations each have unique roles in Australia's standards and conformance infrastructure. Their complementary activities contribute to the national interest and public benefit. The recent publication of Australia's Standards and Conformance Infrastructure - An Essential Foundation [PDF 1.4MB] [RTF 3.1MB] explains the individual and combined contributions of these organisations, and places the Australian infrastructure in the regional and international framework.

The Australian Government has had Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Standards Australia and NATA since 1988, and the MoUs frame the Government's policy relationship with the organisations.

The MoUs have been revised in accordance with the recommendations in the Productivity Commission's 2006 Research Report, Standard Setting and Laboratory Accreditation, as endorsed by an Interdepartmental Committee of Australian Government officials.  New MoUs with NATA [PDF 502KB] and Standards Australia [PDF 969KB] were signed on 1 April 2008 and 30 May 2008, respectively.