de Beer
BUILDING DESIGN
P.O. Box 528, Dubbo  NSW  2830
Tel (02) 6884 5316
Fax(02) 6882 5316
E-Mail  debeer@hwy.com.au
Date: 20th April 2006
							
Submission to The Productivity Commission-
Standards Australia.

Sir/ Madam,

I have been in practice as a Building Designer in Central Western New South Wales since 1981.
Over this period of time I have observed the progressive improvement in production of Australian Standards and the gradual adoption by Councils and the Building Code of Australia.

Use of Standards today in the Building Design industry is virtually compulsory. The need to reference the current issue for any particular area is vital if we as Building Designers whish to maintain up to date standards of practice, avoid unnecessary hold ups and delays on building projects and avoid extra costs being borne by our Clients.

Access to current Standards for our industry is awkward and expensive to say the least.  
The current circumstances sees Designers either buying an expensive block of Standards on an annual basis, most of which are not required.
The alternative is to buy individual Standards as required. These are expensive (relative to what they are required for), and the purchaser has no assurance that the document purchased has any shelf life as the Standard may be up-dated at any time. The resultant is, that a Designer ends up with a copy of Standard which could be out of date at any time and not know it.

Certainly membership of the Standards Association and an annual subscription service may seem an ideal solution, but the annual cost is prohibitive. 
Due to the nature of work that Designers undertake it may be necessary to access many Standards in one year, but many of these may only be once.

Designers are already expected to subscribe to the Building Code of Australia. This document is highly relevant to every day design work and little argument would be put forward that maintaining such a document in each office would be logical and sensible. 

I propose that the Standards Association provide free internet access to all Standards. This will allow Designers and those in the Building Industry to review against the document they may have in their office, or complete a check that they have included the latest requirements in their documentation. If a hard copy is required, by all means charge for the supply of such material. 

Regards,
Charles de Beer.
Accredited Building Designer
MBDA NSW
de Beer Building Design.