WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/2/Add.8/Rev.1
29 May 2001
(01-2668)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGREEMENT
ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
Communication from Australia
Revision
The following statement under Article 15.2 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
has been received from the delegation of Australia.
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1. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has overall responsibility for the
implementation of Australia’s obligations under the World Trade Organization Agreement, including
the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.  Under Australia’s federal constitutional system
legislative, executive and judicial powers relating to technical regulations and standards are shared
between the Commonwealth (the Australian ce ntral government) and State and Territory
Governments.   Accordingly, the implementation of the TBT Agreement is carried out by theAustralian, State and Territory Governments having regard to their respective constitutional powers.
The Australian Government consults with the State and Territory Governments to ensure that they are
aware of and abide by Australia’s obligations under the Agreement.
Technical Regulations
2. Federal and national regulators have responsibility for making technical regulations in areas
such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and therapeutic goods, food, occupational health and safety,
product safety, agricultural and veterinary chemicals, telecommunications and radio communications;
aviation, marine and road safety, measurement, and building codes.  A non-exhaustive list of Federal
government and national regulators is attached.
3. State and Territory regulators have responsibility for making technical regulations in areas,
such as food, power, water, public health, occupational health and safety, road transport and the
environment.
4. Technical regulations at the national level are by made the Australian Government and by
Ministerial Councils operating under the Council of Australian Governments.  These Ministerial
Councils comprise the relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory government Ministers.
5. The Council of Australian Governments operates in accordance with a binding guide entitled
Principles and Guidelines for National Standard Setting and Regulatory Action by MinisterialCouncils and Standard-Setting Bodies  (http://www.dpmc.gov.au/pdfs/coagpg.pdf ).  The Guide applies
to decisions of Ministerial Councils and other intergovernmental bodies which develop technical
regulations. This Guide states that: “Wherever possible, regulatory measures or standards should be
compatible with relevant international or internationally accepted standards or practices in order to
minimise impediments to trade….. National regulations or mandatory standards should be consistentwith Australia’s international obligations”.G/TBT/2/Ad d.8/Rev.1
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6. The Office of Regulation Review (ORR) is the Australian Government's regulatory reform
agency.  The ORR promotes the Commonwealth Government's objective of effective and efficient
legislation and regulations from a nation-wide perspective.  It vets and reviews regulations to ensure
that they are properly formulated and do not impose undue costs on business and the community.   A
Guide to Regulation  has been established by ORR http://www.pc.gov.au/orr/reguide2/index.html ) and
compliance with its procedures and processes is mandatory for all central government departments,
agencies, statutory authorities and boards making, reviewing and reforming regulations.
A. STANDARDS
7. The majority of voluntary standards in Australia are developed and  published by Standards
Australia International Limited  (Standards Australia).  These voluntary standards are often referenced
in Australian regulations. Where voluntary standards developed by Standards Australia and other third
parties are used for regulatory purposes, it must be demonstrated in a Regulatory Impact Statement
that standards are the most effective means of achieving the relevant policy objective.  Standards
Australia maintains a register of all voluntary standards called up in regulations.  More information isavailable on the Standards Australia website: http://www.standards.com.au/ .
8. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 1998 between the Australian Government
and Standards Australia acknowledges Standards Australia as the peak standards writing body in
Australia and recognises Standards Australia as Australia’s representative in the two major
international standardising bodies, the Internationa l Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).  St andards Australia is a signatory to Annex 3 of
the TBT Agreement.
B. CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
9. Conformity assessment is carried out by a number of Federal and national bodies.  The
Therapeutic Goods Administration is responsible for the assessment of all therapeutic goods supplied
in and exported from Australia.  The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service provides
inspection and certification services for the importatio n of food into Australia. With regard to motor
vehicles, manufacturers are responsible for ensuring compliance with Australian Design Rules(ADR’s).
10. Australia has concluded Mutual Recognition Agreements with a number of countries, aimed
at facilitating conformity assessment proced ures (G/TBT/10.7/N/23 and 23/Rev.1, G/TBT/10.7/N/24
and 25).
 11. The Australian Government recognises two national accreditation bodies.  The National
Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) which accredits the competence of calibration and testing
laboratories; and Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) which
accredits for the certification of management systems, products and personnel.
12. Both NATA and JAS-ANZ have developed an extensive network of Mutual Recognition
Agreements (MRAs) through international and regional fora - NATA primarily through the
International Laboratory Accreditation Coope ration (ILAC) and the Asia-Pacific Laboratory
Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC), and JAS-ANZ through the International Accreditation Forum
(IAF) and the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC).
13. Australia actively promotes the use of third party test reports and conformity assessment
certificates issued by NATA and JAS-ANZ accredited test houses and conformance assessmentG/TBT/2/Ad d.8/Rev.1
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bodies (CABs).  Regulators in Australia are increasingly accepting test reports issued by international
test houses accredited by NATA’s MRA partners.
14. More information on NATA is available from their website: http://www.nata.asn.au/  or from
its journal NATA News .  More information on JAS-ANZ can be found at http://www.jas-anz.com.au/
or in the JAS-ANZ newsletter Accreditation NewZ .
Publication of Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment Procedures
15. Proposed new or amended technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment
procedures are notified to the TBT Committee in accordance with the Agreement.  A minimum period
of 60 days is generally allowed for comment.
16. Notices of technical regulations are generally published in the Commonwealth of Australia
Gazette.  Additionally, standards and conformity assessment procedures are notified widely in
national newspapers, in-house journals and other relevant Australian, State and Territory government
publications.  This includes ANZFA's Food Standards News . Notices are also published in the
journals of Standards Australia and NATA, The Australian Standard  and NATA News .
C. ENQUIRY POINT
17. The Australian Enquiry Point is situated within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
which has overall responsibility for the implementation of the TBT Agreement.  It is the central point
for all notifications under the Agreement, and the initial point of contact for enquiries from other
Members.
18. The address for enquiries is:
TBT Enquiry Point
WTO Industrials and Market Access Section
Trade Negotiations Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Canberra  ACT  0211
Telephone: 61 2 6261 3650
Telefax: 61 2 6261 2927
Email: TBT.Enquiry@DFAT.gov.auG/TBT/2/Ad d.8/Rev.1
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ATTACHMENT
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND NATIONAL REGULATORS
I FEDERAL BODIES INCLUDE:
• Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is a Division of the Commonwealth Department
of Health and Aged Care and is responsible for administering the provisions of theTherapeutic Goods Act.  The TGA carries out a range of assessment and monitoring activities
to ensure therapeutic goods available in Australia are of an acceptable standard.  More
information can be found on the TGA website: http://www.tga.health.gov.au/
• The Australia New Zealand F ood Authority (ANZFA)  is a partnership between the
Australian Commonwealth, State and Terr itory governments and, through a Treaty
arrangement, undertakes some functions in collaboration with the New Zealand government.ANZFA is an independent, expert body within the Australian  Commonwealth Department of
Health and Aged Care.  ANZFA is responsib le for developing, varying and reviewing
standards in the Food Standards Code for implementation in Australia and New Zealand.
ANZFA also undertakes a range of activities that apply in Australia only, including other
standard setting functions, coordinating national food surveillance and recall systems,conducting research, assessing policies about imported food and developing codes of practice.
More information is available on the ANZFA website: http://www.anzfa.gov.au/
• The Australian Communications Authority (ACA)  is responsible for regulating
telecommunications and radio communications, including promoting industry self-regulation
and managing the radio frequency spectrum.  The ACA was established under the AustralianCommunications Authority Act 1997, and exercises powers under the Telecommunications
Act 1997, the Radio Communications Act 1992, and other related legislation.  The ACA falls
under the Commonwealth Department of Communications, Information Technology and the
Arts portfolio.  More information on the ACA can be found on their website:
http://www.aca.gov.au/
• Department of Transport and Regional Services
- Vehicle Safety Standards Branch.  The Federal Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989
requires vehicles to meet the national standards covering safety and emission requirements.
The national standards are the Australian Design Rules (ADRs).  When a vehicle has beencertified as meeting the ADRs it can be fitted with a compliance plate.  The
Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTRS) does not test
vehicles itself for certification purposes.  The manufacturer is responsible for ensuring
compliance with the ADRs.  Registration and use of vehicles, roadworthiness of vehicles in
service, and approval of modifications to vehicles in service, are administered by thevarious State and Territory registering authorities.  For more information visit the DOTRS
website: http://www.dotrs.gov.au/land/vehicle/imports/cert.htm
- Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)  is an independent statutory authority established
on 6 July 1995 under the Civil Aviation Act 1988 as amended.  The powers and functions
of CASA are defined in Section 9 of the am ended legislation.  CASA's primary focus is
delivering aviation safety through: setting aviation standards and rules; licensing pilots andaviation engineers; certifying aircraft and operators; carrying out safety surveillance;
enforcing safety standards and rules; providing regulatory oversight of the national airways
system, air traffic services and rescue and fire fighting services; and actively assisting theG/TBT/2/Ad d.8/Rev.1
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aviation industry to maintain high safety levels through education, training advice and
consultation.  More information is available on the CASA website: http://www.casa.gov.au/
• The National Registration Authority (NRA)  within the Commonwealth Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, operates the Australian system which evaluates, registers
and regulates agricultural and veterinary chemicals.  All agricultural or veterinary chemicalproducts on the Australian market are required to be assessed NRA so as to ensure safe and
effective standards.  More information is available from the NRA website:
http://www.nra.gov.au/nra/index.html
II NATIONAL BODIES INCLUDE:
• The National Standards Commission (NSC)  is a Commonwealth statutory authority
established in 1950 and operating under the National Measurement Act 1960.  The
Commission is responsible for advising the Government on the scientific, technical andlegislative requirements of Australia's national measurement system, and has specific
responsibilities for coordinating the national measurement system, ensuring that trade
measurement instruments comply with international and national legal metrology standards,
and for the completion of metrication.  More information is available from the NSC website:
http://www.nsc.gov.au/
• The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB)  is a joint initiative of all levels of Australian
government, in co-operation with the building industry.  The Board was established by means
of an inter-government agreement signed by the Commonwealth, State and Territory
Ministers responsible for building regulatory matters on 1 March 1994.  More information on
ABCB can be found on their website: http://www.abcb.gov.au/
• The National Marine Safety Committee (NMSC)  was established in late 1996 by the Inter-
Governmental Agreement for a National Marine Safety Regulatory Regime.  The NMSC is
responsible for implementing the National Marine Safety Strategy.  This strategy aims to
achieve national consistency and improved levels of safety for commercial vessels that do not
come under the Commonwealth Navigation Act 1912 and for recreational vessels.  Moreinformation is available on the NMSC website: http://www.nmsc.gov.au/
• The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC)  is a tripartite
statutory body, with government, employer and employee representatives.  More informationis available on the NOHSC website: http://www.nohsc.gov.au/
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