Voluntary standards

Voluntary standards are developed by Standards Australia or other standards maki

ng body through a process of technical committee assessment, discussion and draf
ting.
Suppliers may choose to meet some, all or none of the requirements of voluntary
standards.
Depending on how current they are, voluntary standards are likely to represent i
ndustry best practice with the safe design, supply and use of those products cap
tured by the definitions in the standard.
Voluntary standards exist only for a relatively small number of consumer product
s.
Voluntary standards do not routinely become mandatory.
Mandatory standards
Mandatory standards are developed by the ACCC through a process of internal asse
ssment, discussion and drafting in conjunction with public and industry consulta
tion.
Suppliers are legally bound to comply with all the requirements of mandatory sta
ndards.
Mandatory standards establish a minimum set of safety requirements which all pro
ducts captured by the definitions in the standard must meet to be legally suppli
ed in Australia.
Mandatory standards exist for an even smaller number of consumer products when c
ompared to voluntary standards.
While it may be the case in some instances, mandatory standards are not always b
ased on Australian voluntary standards.