3.100.  Notices of technical regulations are generally published in the Australia Government Gazette, and on websites of agencies such as the Food Standards Australia New Zealand.[165] In addition, standards and conformity assessment procedures are notified widely by e‑mail alerts, in-house journals and other relevant Commonwealth, state, and territory government publications. Notices on some standards are also published in Standards Australia's monthly e-publication.[166] Furthermore, information on conformity assessment procedures is published on the NATA website and in NATA News.[167]

3.101.  Between January 2015 and November 2019, Australia made 12 notifications under the WTO TBT Agreement. The majority of the notifications were under Articles 2.9.2 (proposed technical regulations), 2.10.1 (technical regulation urgency), 5.6.2 (proposed conformity assessment procedure) and 5.7.1 (urgent measure). In most cases, the submission allowed for a comment period of 60 days or more. During the review period, one specific trade concern was raised in the TBT Committee involving Australia's plain packaging measure

3.89.  The Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) Act, 1992 allows goods sold in one state or territory to be sold in another without needing to meet further requirements. Several government agencies are responsible for monitoring and regulating the safety of different types of products. Product safety regulation for general consumer products is a shared responsibility between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)[157] and the states and territories agencies, such as Australian Capital Territory Fair Trading (Department of Justice and Community Safety, Office of Regulatory Services); Consumer Affairs Victoria (Department of Justice); New South Wales Fair Trading; Queensland Fair Trading; South Australia Consumer and Business Services; Tasmania Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading (Department of Justice); and Western Australia Consumer Protection (Department of Commerce)

3.90.  Australia's peak standards and conformance organizations are the National Measurement Institute, responsible for biological, chemical, legal, physical and trade measurement; Standards Australia, an independent, not-for-profit national standards development body; the National Association of Testing Authorities Australia (NATA), an independent, not-for-profit national accreditor of conformity assessment bodies involved in testing and calibration and other areas; and the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ), a bi-national government accreditor of certification bodies, inspection bodies and validation and verification bodies

3.91.  The current five‑year memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the Commonwealth Government (the lead agency for which is the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS)) and Standards Australia and the NATA were signed in November 2018 and August 2018, respectively. The MoUs frame the Government's policy relationship with the organizations. The MOU with Standards Australia requires the development of new or amended standards, and the setting of priorities to be transparent, ensuring the primary decision criterion is of net benefit to the community.[158] The MoU stipulates that Standards Australia has a policy of adopting international standards wherever possible, which is in line with the Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards of the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement (Annex 3). In addition, the MoU with the NATA indicates that the NATA will prepare, publish and, where appropriate, review its procedures, accreditation criteria and key performance indicators to ensure that these conform with Australia's obligations in the WTO TBT Agreement.[159]

3.92.  As at November 2019, Standards Australia had published approximately 5,400 Australian Standards. In addition, approximately one third of Standards Australia's catalogue is referenced in Commonwealth, state and territory regulations. Mandatory product safety requirements, often based on these standards (including some on labelling), affected 42 consumer items.[160] These requirements apply to the Commonwealth territory upon imposition, decided by the relevant Australian government minister. When considering whether to introduce a technical regulation, the Commonwealth Government conducts research and consults with industry and consumer representatives to develop a regulation impact statement (RIS). The RIS weighs up evidence of current market forces influencing the product and market; causes of potential dangers; options for reducing the risk for consumers; and the potential economic and social impact of regulatory and non‑regulatory measures.[161]

3.93.  The ACCC annually conducts safety audits on products where there are indications of non-compliance with specific regulations. The audits include a national series of surveys to determine the level of compliance in the market (including online suppliers). Audits are also conducted on unsafe goods that are not subject to any specific mandatory requirement. Between July 2019 and June 2020, 20 products were prioritized to undergo surveillance and testing.[162] The ACCC carries out the audits and, if a non-compliant product is identified, suppliers are required to remove these products from sale, and conduct a voluntary recall. In serious instances, the ACCC may take immediate enforcement action by issuing Infringement Notices or court action with penalties of up to AUD 1.1 million. Each supplier in the supply chain is responsible for compliance and ensuring products are safe and fit for purpose, regardless of where they may be in the supply chain, or whether they are domestic or overseas manufacturers, suppliers or distributors. According to the authorities, between 2015 and 2019, the ACCC, together with state and territory counterparts, removed millions of products from sale across 198 product types for breaches of, or suspected non-compliance with, mandatory standards and bans

3.94.  The Government adopted the principle that, if a system, service or product has been approved under a trusted international standard or risk assessment, Australian regulators should not impose any additional requirements unless it can be demonstrated that there is a good reason to do so. The principle has been acknowledged in the Regulatory Reform Agenda and the National Innovation and Science Agenda. The principle is also consistent with Australia's obligations under the WTO TBT Agreement. To abide by this, policy officers who use standards or risk assessments in support of policies or programmes should select an appropriate international version where possible. The Best Practice Guide to Using Standards and Risk Assessments in Policy and Regulation assists policy officers assess which standards or risk assessments to use to support their policy and programmes.[163] According to the authorities, aligning with international standards improves Australian access to overseas markets; reduces costs and delays for businesses; and increases the supply of reliable products into the Australian market

3.95.  In the absence of a suitable international standard, national standards are developed, with transparency and consensus being two key requirements. As at November 2019, approximately 40% of Australian Standards were identical to, or slightly modified adoptions of, international standards

3.96.  NATA and JAS-ANZ accreditation helps to ensure that laboratories, facilities and conformity assessment bodies (e.g. certifiers and inspectors) have the technical capacity to perform their duties, which includes their ability to meet relevant international standards, and suitable levels of impartiality and competence. This provides domestic and international confidence in the safety and reliability of Australian goods, services and systems. The NATA is also Australia's compliance monitoring authority for the OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice. In June 2019, there were 3,337 NATA-accredited laboratories and facilities. There were also over 130 JAS-ANZ-accredited conformity assessment bodies, 145 accredited schemes, and more than 140,000 active certificates carrying JAS-ANZ accreditation

3.97.  The NATA and the JAS-ANZ are guided by international standards, including: ISO/IEC 17011:2017 (Conformity assessment Requirements for accreditation bodies); ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems); ISO 14001 (Environmental Management); AS/NZS 4801 (Safety Management Systems) and ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management); ISO/IEC 17025 (Testing and Calibration); ISO/IEC 17020 (Inspection); ISO/IEC 17034 (Reference Materials Producers); ISO 17043 (Proficiency Testing Providers); and ISO 15189 (Medical Testing)

3.98.  The Government has MRAs with the Australian states and territories (Mutual Recognition Act, 1992), New Zealand (Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act, 1997), the European Union (1999, amended 2013), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (2000, currently being updated), and Singapore (2001). It also signed an MRA with the United Kingdom, which will enter into force once it departs the European Union.[164]

3.99.  Australia is a party to the MRAs within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation for Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment (1999); Conformity Assessment of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (1999); and Conformity Assessment of Foods and Food Products (1997). The NATA and the JAS-ANZ have developed a network of multilateral recognition arrangements (MLAs) and MRAs through international and regional fora. The NATA is an inaugural signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation MRA; and JAS-ANZ is a signatory to the International Accreditation Forum MLA. Both the NATA and the JAS-ANZ are signatories to the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) MRA. The APAC was formed on 1 January 2019 from the amalgamation of the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC). The NATA and the JAS-ANZ had previously been signatories to the APLAC and the PAC, respectively