[Received by email 20/4/06]

Submission to:
Productivity Commission on Standards and Accreditation Study

I am a professional Building Designer with a small practice. With 28 years of experience running my own design studio, it has been a constant ordeal to maintain a full and comprehensive library of up to date documents produced by Standards Australia.

It is my firm belief, that a professional Building Designer should have at his/her disposal access to the full and current editions of the Australian Standards at a nominal cost.

As a sole practitioner, it is not within my financial means to maintain access to all the current standards that are relevant to the architectural/building industry yet, it is a legal requirement that if we specify an Australian Standard, that we have an understanding of the document and have access to that document within our practice.

I trust that my submission will be given full consideration and that Standards Australia is not permitted to operate as a profit making concern. I stress that sufficient Federal funding be available to Standards Australia so that relevant practising professionals or industry bodies have this important information freely. It is necessary to understand that to be able to implement the good work of Standards Australia and for the public to benefit and be protected by national standards, professionals need to have that information without major cost restraints.

Yours faithfully

Jeff Lee MBDAT