There is an inherent tension between the high cost to consumers of purchasing copies of Australian Standards from SAI Global, a publicly listed company (that has a monopoly in their provision), and the largely voluntary nature of expert technical committee membership.  

It is essential that the federal government breaks the monopolistic position that SAI Global enjoys, and provides financial relief to Standards Australia (a not-for-profit organisation) committee members by subsidising travel and accommodation costs incurred by them when conducting committee work.

Bob Kellow