The ACCC is considering removing Australian Standards that guarantee a high level of safety for consumers and adopting international standards that are less robust. This move also opens the flood gates for foreign manufacturers to import poor quality and non-conforming goods, putting Australian consumers at risk and leaving local businesses wearing the cost of replacing faulty products.

The Building Products Innovation Council (BPIC) is appalled that the ACCC are aggressively pushing for the degradation of safety standards within Australia. Recently BPIC members including the Australian Window Association (AWA), Housing Industry Association (HIA) and the Insulated Panel Council Australasia (IPCA) each made submissions to the ACCC voicing industry concerns.

“It is beyond our comprehension that the statutory authority (ACCC) whose role it is to enforce provisions that protect consumers from unsafe goods, would think that lowering safety standards is an effective way of carrying out their statutory responsibility,” said the new chair of BPIC Elizabeth McIntyre.

“Dispensing with specific standards developed for Australian conditions and replacing them with lower standards can only have a detrimental effect on the health and safety of Australian consumers, not to mention our struggling local manufacturers,” McIntyre said. “We will be seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister to try and stop this erosion of hard-won consumer protection mechanisms.”

Standards often apply across a very broad spectrum in substantially different markets and products and BPIC is concerned that the ACCC does not have the depth or breadth of skills required to determine the application of international standards to Australian conditions.

According to Ms McIntyre, it is unclear who will determine whether an international standard is appropriate for Australia and how that determination is to be made. There is no requirement or guarantee that the ACCC representatives are adequately competent in making their determinations especially in relation to technical standards.

“Recent tragic events involving faulty electrical cables, ear phones and building fires in apartment blocks in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are cases in point. Once again we are now at the mercy of bureaucrats in Canberra who don’t understand the implications of low stringency standards,” said McIntyre.

“Let’s be very clear, Australian Standards are not unnecessary “red tape” as the government implies. Most Australian Standards have been developed precisely because there was no adequate international standard to adopt or the international standard was not suitable for Australian circumstances.

“If an international standard was previously passed over in favour of creating an Australian standard then BPIC has grave concerns that the ACCC, Standards Australia or any other regulatory body would adopt it in the future,” Ms McIntyre said.

“As an example, an equivalency test for the Australian Standard governing windows was done by the Australian Window Association (AWA) against six similar international standards. Whilst some provisions were the same, Australia’s unique wind and rain patterns saw significant differences in the methods of testing for those criteria to ensure fitness for purpose in our climate.

“We know from history that unless standards are developed with specific input from highly qualified and experienced individuals and organisations such as those represented on technical committees, the Australian public and industry loses out.

“As the ACCC now appears to have the power both to adopt international standards and remove Australian standards, we should all be worried that if it determines to adopt an international standard, we will get lower safety standards, putting consumer health and safety at risk.

“On the other hand if the ACCC adopts both an international and an Australian standard, it creates an unfair advantage for international businesses over Australian competitors which is very bad for Australia’s economy.

“This wrong-headed thinking is a grave mistake by government and we absolutely reject the notion that regulatory costs alone are an appropriate reason to refuse to adopt an Australian-specific standard over an international standard if it means that safety standards are lowered as a result,” said Ms McIntyre.