'Cash for standards' causes alarm

Australia’s electrical industry has raised the alarm over a ‘cash for access’ proposal for electrical standards, warning of safety risks and increased black market access if small businesses are priced out of the system.

An industry forum convened by Master Electricians Australia condemned the proposed new pricing scheme for access to standards, saying business owners were being viewed as cash cows by Standards Australia, which already boasts $361 million in net assets and $60 million in annual revenue.

Master Electricians Australia General Manager of Policy and Advocacy Jason O’Dwyer said Standards Australia planned to increase its fees to the electrical contracting industry by $30 million per year.

“There is no place for this cash-for-access approach to pricing a document that is so vital to the quality of electrical work and the safety of all Australians,” O’Dwyer said.

“That’s why Master Electricians convened an industry roundtable to highlight our concerns that the additional costs will either be passed on to consumers or, even worse, will just be too much for some businesses.

“This could result in increased use of out-of-date or illegal copies of the Electrical Standards, meaning businesses may not always be working in line with the latest technical and safety best practices.

“These are serious concerns, and the standards are vitally important documents for our industry. They shouldn’t be available only to those with the biggest bank accounts.”

O’Dwyer said the pricing model would drive up the cost of accessing standards for all other industries such as plumbing and building and would also affect universities, TAFEs, RTOs and other teaching institutions.

The industry forum called on Standards Australia to implement a “reasonable and manageable subscription” that could be collected from electrical contractors as part of their annual licence fee, as currently happens in New Zealand.

“Standards Australia is a not-for-profit organisation, which supposedly exists to develop standards. However, considering industry invests a significant amount of money, expertise and intellectual property into that process, it’s time that Standards Australia stopped treating us as a cash cow,” O’Dwyer said.

The industry roundtable was attended by all major representative groups in the electrical industry, including Master Electricians Australia; the Electrical Trades Union of Australia; the National Fire Industry Association, Australia; Master Plumbers Australia and New Zealand; and the Association of Consulting Architects.

“All these groups are long-term partners and supporters of Standards Australia, and we don’t want to attack an organisation that plays such an important role in our industry,” O’Dwyer said.

“But friends tell friends when they are walking on a dangerous path, and that’s what we are doing here as an industry. We can only hope Standards Australia will listen to the warning.”

The proposed changes will impact all industry associations including NECA and the ETU. Currently all Master Electricians have access to 21 Australian Standards at no cost. This will remain in place for the 2022–23 financial year. The MEA said it hoped that at the conclusion of this period, Standards would have implemented a reasonable and manageable subscription, providing access to standards as part of the electrical contractors annual licence fee.

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