THE CONSUMER INTEREST AND AUSTRALIA 'S ADOPTION OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

Standards Australia 's technical committees are expected to adopt International Standards as Australian Standards. When a Standards project is commenced, committee procedure is to conduct a literature search to identify relevant International Standards. The first task of the committee is to review the results of the search. If an appropriate International Standard is identified, the committee is then required to consider its adoption.

Therefore, whenever an International Standard is considered for adoption, consumer representatives must make a judgement about whether it adequately protects Australian consumers. In some cases, the International Standard in question will reflect worldwide best practice of the relevant industry, and will be suitable for adoption in Australia . However, if the consumer representative's judgement is that the International Standard does not provide adequate consumer protection, a persuasive argument should be mounted to vary the International Standard for adoption in Australia .

This briefing paper provides some information and advice that may be helpful in advocating for the consumer interest in these situations.

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA'S POLICY ON THE ADOPTION OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

Standards Australia 's policy is "to base Australian ... and Joint Australian/New Zealand Standards on International Standards to the maximum extent feasible and to use the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (commonly referred to as the TBT Code) as a benchmark." (1) According to the provisions of the TBT Code, Australian Standards should be direct adoptions of International Standards, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary. This policy applies to both mandatory and voluntary standards.

The International Standards covered by the policy are:

•  ISO Standards, published by the International Organization for Standardization;

•  IEC Standards, published by the International Electrotechnical Commission;

•  Standards published by equivalent international bodies, such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU); and

•  "A national or regional Standard which, in the absence of an International Standard, is so widely used internationally that it is generally recognized as being the de-facto International Standard."(2)

Standards Australia admits three important qualifications to its policy of blanket adoption of International Standards.

•  Not every relevant International Standard will be suitable for adoption. To qualify as a suitable International Standard, it should be used in practice in other countries, although how many and which countries are not specified. Some International Standards, which have not been widely scrutinized in their development and are either impractical or lacking in detail, will often not be widely implemented. These do not have to be adopted in preference to a local Standard.

•  Under the TBT Code, standards shall not be more trade restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate objective. Legitimate objectives are:

•  National security requirements;

•  Prevention of deceptive practices;

•  Protection of human health or safety, animal or plant life or health, or the environment; and

•  Fundamental climatic or other geographical factors.

An Australian Standard may vary the technical requirements of a relevant International Standard to the extent that it is necessary to meet any of these objectives. However, the reasons for varying an International Standard are not to be interpreted too broadly. For example, "(o)nly when a comprehensive assessment of the International Standard reveals a demonstrable and unacceptable level of risk to human health and safety if the Standard is followed would this [reason] apply and, even then, the extent of the permissible variation is limited to that required to bring the level of risk down to an acceptable level."(3)

•  A decision on whether to adopt an International Standard rests with the appropriate Standards committee, although the relevant Standards Policy Board at Standards Australia may direct the committee if it is apparent that the general policy on adoption of International Standards is not being followed. Therefore, it is always open to any committee member to argue that a relevant International Standard should be varied.

BENEFITS OF THE ADOPTION OF AUSTRALIAN STANDARDS

Standards Australia's policy on adopting International Standards is based on Australia's obligation, pursuant to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, signed by Australia in 1992, not to raise non-tariff (ie technical) barriers to trade. As applied to Standards, this principle means that it should not be too difficult for legitimate businesses to conform to different national Standards in order to participate in international trade.

However, there are other good reasons to develop and uphold International Standards, including:

•  Harmonisation and spread of improved Standards for health, safety and welfare of consumers globally, and environmental protection;

•  Greater compatibility and interoperability of products and services, and legal requirements for trade;

•  Improved product quality and reliability at reasonable prices;

•  Reduced costs, due to simplification and reduction in the number of models, and increased distribution efficiency;

•  Facilitation of cross-border law enforcement; and

•  Discouragement of forum-shopping by unethical businesses.

The most useful International Standards will accelerate the introduction of products and services that offer a high standard of consumer protection while not depriving developing countries of legitimate and necessary export markets. Therefore, it is clearly of paramount importance to consider International Standards in the development of national Standards. A decision by a national Standards committee to vary an International Standard should not be taken lightly.

Australia is a member of ISO and IEC, the two main International Standards bodies. Standards developed by ISO and IEC committees are prepared by international experts from the industrial, business and technical sectors. Representatives from government agencies, academic institutions, testing laboratories and consumer organisations, particularly Consumers International, are also represented on these International Standards committees. Their decision-making processes are similar to Standards Australia's decision-making processes. Therefore, it may be supposed that International Standards, particularly those prepared by ISO and IEC committees, represent a consensus of international expert opinion and take into account the need for consumer protection.

However, the routine experience of Australian consumer representatives on Standards committees is that International Standards developed in the Northern hemisphere do not take into account relevant research from and conditions in Australia and New Zealand. Also, International Standards sometimes offer lower levels of consumer protection as a trade off against other commercial priorities, such as access to a wider range of markets. There are no guarantees that the consumer representatives on the International Standards committees have always successfully won their case.

 

ESTABLISHING A LEGIMATE REASON TO VARY AN INTERNATIONAL STANDARD

•  In order to fulfil a legitimate trade objective.

 

The objectives most relevant to consumer Standards are:

•  Protection of human health or safety, animal or plant life or health, or the environment; and/or

•  Fundamental climatic or other geographical factors.

Relevant differences in Australian conditions may include different social, economic and industrial structures. For example, the supply of electrical voltage in Australia is 240 volts +/6%, rather than 230 volts +/10%, as used in Europe. This has a direct bearing on the development of Australian Standards for electrical appliances and accessories.

Different physical conditions, such as Australia's relatively hot climate, may also be relevant. For example, the increased level of ultraviolet radiation in Australia has directly influenced Standards committees developing sun protection products.

There may also be differences between groups of affected consumers in different parts of the world. For example, the average size of children in Asia is different to European and Australian children. This has a direct bearing on Playground Standards.

It may also be the opinion of the Australian Standards committee that, whether or not there are different conditions prevalent in Australia, products that offer a higher level of consumer protection than are available under the regime of the relevant International Standard should be and are available in Australia.

Some examples of Australian Standards that have not been aligned with equivalent International Standards follow:

Particular requirements for refrigerating appliances, ice cream appliances and ice makers -

The Australian Standard varied the equivalent IEC Standard to require Australian fridges to be classified as "Tropical" class, due to Australia's different climatic conditions. Accordingly, the Australian Standard requires fridges to be tested at 43 degrees Celsius rather than 25 degrees Celsius. The Australian Standard also contains a modified test for stability, which, in the opinion of the Australian Standards committee, is safer.

Particular requirements for stationary cooking ranges, hobs, ovens and similar appliances -

The Australian Standard introduced more stringent safety conditions than the equivalent IEC Standard. The Australian variations to the IEC Standard include a more severe normal operation test (lids off rather than lids on), a requirement for stops on oven shelves, and marking for hot front surfaces.

Particular requirements for fans -

The Australian Standard varied the equivalent IEC Standard by including a requirement to test fans at 37 degrees Celsius rather than 25 degrees Celsius, as the higher temperature is more suitable to Australian conditions.

Safety of toys -

The Australian Standard is stronger than the equivalent International Standard. For example, it includes a requirement that plastic bags as packaging for toys must carry a warning label, which is not included in the International Standard.

•  Because the International Standard is not widely used

A well-known example of an International Standard that is not widely followed is the Standard for plugs and sockets outlets:

Plugs and socket outlets (Part 2 of Safety of household and similar electrical appliances) -

The Australian Standard is not aligned with IEC Standards because different types of electrical plug and socket have been developed in Australia. Australian plugs and sockets are not necessarily safer than some overseas equivalents. However, the IEC "universal" plug and socket system is used in very few countries, because developed countries, including European countries and the USA, have a well-entrenched system of their own. Recently, a new edition of the IEC Standard has been published as an Australian Standard, and new versions of the Part 2 Standards of Safety of household and similar electrical appliances are being progressively developed to align with the new IEC Standard. The existing and new Standards will both be valid for up to 5 years until all of the new Part 2 Standards are published

It may also be that there are competing International Standards that provide different levels of consumer protection. Standards Australia should be asked to provide all competing Standards for comparison on the principle that Standards committees should have all relevant information to make an informed decision.

It is not unlikely that, if the International Standard in question should be varied, it will be due to a combination of circumstances. For example, an International Standard may not offer adequate consumer protection to Australian consumers, due to specific Australian climatic factors. It may be that, if the International Standard does not offer adequate consumer protection, it is also not widely used overseas for the same reason.

 

IMIPROVING INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

There are a number of ways in which International Standards can be influenced, as follows:

•  The most direct path for Australian Standards committees to influence the development of International Standards is through Australia's membership of international standardisation bodies. Australian committees may participate in the development of Standards by their corresponding International committees either as participant (P status) or observer (O status). Participating members are obliged to vote on all documents and attend international meetings whenever possible. Observers have access to international documents and may vote on issues of interest. Australian committees may also decide to appoint a member to a specific working group of an ISO or IEC committee, which means that Australian input can be given from the earliest stages of drafting an International Standard. Delegates to international meetings are required to represent the view of their Standards committee rather than a personal viewpoint or the viewpoint of their nominating organisation, including the Australian Government. Some Australian Standards committees are more actively and directly involved in preparing International Standards by their equivalent international committees than others. For example, Standards Australia's Health Informatics committee, including its consumer representative, participates directly in developing projects by the ISO Health Informatics Technical Working Group. In this way, the Australian committee has considerable input into international policies on health informatics.

•  However, the development of local Standards of high quality also influences the development of International Standards. Many of the Australian Standards mentioned above that have varied International Standards have subsequently been used as templates for the revision of those International Standards, and have resulted in stronger provisions being included in them. In other cases, where there are no equivalent International Standards, Australian Standards have prompted the development of equivalent International Standards. Some examples follow:

Carbon accounting for greenhouse sinks Part 1: Afforestation and reforestation -

This interim Australian Standard is the first Standard to be published by an international or a national Standards body in its field. It has been identified as the base document for an ISO Standard on carbon accounting and emission removals.

Electric blankets -

For many years, the Australian Standard had superior safety provisions to the equivalent IEC Standard, and accordingly Australian-made electric blankets were considered to be safer. When the IEC Standard was revised and amended with Australian input, the IEC Standard was adopted as an Australian Standard with a 5 year overlap period. The original Australian Standard has now lapsed.

Sun protective clothing -

This Standard is the first of its kind in the world to evaluate and rate protective clothing and textiles by assigning a value to indicate how much sun protection is offered to the wearer. It also specifies appropriate labelling requirements for such clothing. It is expected that this will lead to the development of an equivalent International Standard.

Solaria for cosmetic purposes -

This Standard, which sets boundaries on the harmful effects due to ultraviolet radiation of sun-tanning units, is expected to result in the development of an equivalent International Standard.

Sunglasses -

The Australian Standard is currently in draft form. Once adopted in Australia, it is expected that it may also be adopted internationally as there is no International Standard on sunglasses. The Standard may be adopted as part of the ISO Eye Protection Safety Glasses Standard for convenience, as it will be quicker to incorporate it this way, rather than develop an entirely new Standard, which may take up to 10 years to approve.

•  International Standards can also be influenced through Consumers International (CI), although the CFA's membership of CI is currently lapsed. Australia's full members of CI are the Australian Consumers' Association and Consumers' Health Forum. CI is the only consumer organisation with the right to participate directly in International Standards. CI does not have full member status on International Standards committees, as that status is granted only to national Standards bodies, but liaison status has been granted to CI by both ISO and IEC. At CI's world congress in 1997, it was agreed that:

•  CI and its members should play an active role in International Standards;

•  CI should seek to ensure that all Standards bodies operate in a transparent manner and develop Standards by consensus; and

•  Liaise closely with the ISO's consumer body (ISO/COPOLCO) and with other appropriate international and regional bodies to achieve consumer representation on Standards committees dealing with agreed priority issues for consumers.(4)

CI is represented on the following International Standards committees:

• Performance of household domestic electrical appliances (IEC Technical Committee 59)
• Safety of domestic electrical appliances (IEC Technical Committee 61)
• Safety of hand held tools (IEC Technical Committee 61F)
• Child restraints (ISO Technical Committee 22)
• Mechanical contraceptives (ISO Technical Committee 157)
• Quality management systems (ISO Technical Committee 176)
• Environmental management (ISO Technical Committee 207)
• ISO COPOLCO (Consumer Policy Council of ISO)

References:

•  Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand, Standardization Guide No. 7, Adoption of International Standards

•  Standards Australia, Standardization Guide No. 15.1, Australian Involvement in International Standardization

•  Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, August 1997, The Global Enforcement Challenge, Enforcement of consumer protection laws in a global marketplace, Discussion Paper

•  Consumers International, Fact Sheet - International Standards

Acknowledgements:

Thanks particularly to William Curry, Robyn Easton and Polly Plowman for providing useful background information and specific examples.

(1) Standardization Guide No. 7

(2) As above

(3) As above

(4) Australian Competition and Consumer Commission