G/TBT/W/414  
 
1 June 2015  
(15-2894)  Page: 1/5  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  WTO MEMBER INITIATIVES TO ENCOURAGE THE ADOPTION  
OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS 
SEVENTH TRIENNIAL REVIEW 
Submission from Australia 
The following submission, dated 1 June 2015, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Australia. 
 
_______________ 
 
1  INTRODUCTION 
1.1.  On the occasion of the Seventh Triennial Re view of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers 
to Trade (TBT), and in the WTO's 20th year, Australia would like to outline policy initiatives it is 
taking to encourage the adoption of international standards by internal government regulators. 
This initiative aligns with key principles of the TBT Agreement.  
1.2.  On 14 October 2014, the Australian Government released its Industry Innovation and 
Competitiveness Agenda.1 A major component of this policy initiative is the principle that if a 
system, service or product has been approved un der a trusted international standard or risk 
assessment, then Australian regulators should not impose any additional requirements for approval in Australia, unless it can be demonstrated that there is a good reason to do so. 
1.3.  Australia believes its experience in developing this policy initiative will be of interest to other 
WTO Members. Australia would also be interested in policy initiatives undertaken by other WTO 
Members that seek to encourage the adoption of international standards by regulators. 
2  RELEVANT TBT AGREEMENT OBLIGATIONS 
2.1.  Australia's recent policy initiative to adopt in principle trusted international standards and risk 
assessments is consistent with Articl es 2.4 and 5.4 of the TBT Agreement. 
2.2.  Article 2.4 of the TBT Agreement provides: 
"2.4 Where technical regulations are required and relevant international standards 
exist or their completion is imminent, Members shall use them, or the relevant parts of them, as a basis for their technical regulations except when such international standards or relevant parts would be an ineffective or inappropriate means for the 
fulfilment of the legitimate objectives pursued..." 
2.3.  Article 5.4 of the TBT Agreement states: 
"5.4 In cases where a positive assurance is required that products conform with 
technical regulations or standards, and relevant guides or recommendations issued by 
                                               
1 
https://www.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/ files/publications/IICA_fact_sheet _%20international_standards_and_ri
sk_assessments.pdf . G/TBT/W/414 
 
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  international standardizing bodes exist or their completion is imminent, Members shall 
ensure that central government bodies use them, or the relevant parts of them, as a basis for their conformity assessment proced ures, except where, as duly explained 
upon request, such guides or recommendations or relevant parts are inappropriate for 
the Members concerned…" 
3  PREVIOUS TBT TRIENNIAL REVIEWS 3.1.  The policy initiative aligns with recommendations and outcomes from previous TBT Triennial 
Reviews, and the ongoing implementation and ad ministration of the TBT Agreement under the 
topics of Standards, and Operation of the Comm ittee. Previous reviews have highlighted the 
importance of exchanging information on experi ences implementing the TBT Agreement and it is 
with this in mind that Australia wishes to submit this proposal on its domestic deregulation and 
standardisation initiatives to the Seventh Triennial Review of the WTO Committee on TBT. 
3.1  Standards 3.2.  In the Sixth Triennial Review
2, in 2012, the Committee continued to exchange experiences on 
various aspects of standards in relation to the TBT Agreement. The Committee agreed to exchange 
information on efforts to promote the full applic ation of the Six Principles set out in the 2000 
Committee decision.3 The Australian policy initiative aligns with: 
 Principle 4: Effectiveness and Relevance, particularly the objective for international 
standards to be relevant and to effectively respond to regulatory and market needs; and 
 Principle 5: Coherence, particularly the objective to avoid the development of conflicting 
international standards. 
3.3.  The Committee emphasized the importance  of transparency in the development of 
standards4, and agreed to exchange information on how relevant bodies involved in the 
development of standards provide opportunity for public comment. The Australian policy initiative 
will provide for public consultation, with information to be made publically available, and accords 
with the TBT Committee's transparency objectives. 
3.4.  In the Fifth Triennial Review in 20095, the Committee encouraged Members involved in the 
development of standards to exchange experience s and circulate case studies on the impacts of 
standards on economic development and international trade. Additionally, the Committee recognized the advances made in increasing meaningful participation by developing country Members in standardizing activities in areas of  interest to them, and encouraged Members to 
exchange information on initiatives implemente d, successes achieved and obstacles encountered.
6 
3.2  Operation of the Committee 3.5.  In the Sixth Triennial Review in 2012
7, the Committee agreed on the importance of 
exchanging information on experiences gained fr om the implementation of the TBT Agreement. 
Members underlined the value of discussion held  under the agenda item of "exchange of 
experiences" at meetings of the Committee, which provided opportunities for TBT experts to 
consider, in a multilateral setting, how other Members have addressed challenges in their national 
efforts to strengthen implementation of the Agreement. The Committee benefits from discussion of these challenges from a variety of national officer perspectives including regulators from various agencies, standards officers and enquiry point officials.  
3.6.  Members agreed that there was benefit in de dicating time to thematic topics in response to 
specific decisions, and the need to focus and deepen their work
8. The Committee plays an 
                                               
2 G/TBT/32: 29 November 2012 paragraph 6. 
3 G/TBT/1/Rev.12: Annex 2 to part 1, page 49. 
4 G/TBT/32: 29 November 2012 paragraph 9. 
5 G/TBT/26: 12 November 2009 paragraph 25 (a). 
6 G/TBT/26: 13 November 2009  paragraph 27 (a). 
7 G/TBT/32: 29 November 2012 paragraph 25. 
8 G/TBT/32: 29 November 2012 paragraph 26. G/TBT/W/414 
 
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  important role in building expertise among Member s on how to ensure that technical regulations, 
standards and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.9 
4  AUSTRALIA'S POLICY INITIATIVE 4.1.  On 14 October 2014, the Australian Government released its Industry Innovation and 
Competitiveness Agenda.
10 A major component of this policy initiative is the principle that if a 
system, service or product has been approved un der a trusted international standard or risk 
assessment, then Australian regulators should not impose any additional requirements for 
approval in Australia, unless it can be demonstrated that there is a good reason to do so. 
4.1  Policy initiative objectives 4.2.  The initiative was developed as part of a broader government deregulatory reform strategy 
coordinated by the federal government agency of the Department of the Prime Minister and 
Cabinet to: 
 reduce unnecessary regulatory bu rden or "red tape" by removing inefficient and ineffective 
regulation or "red tape"; 
 create a more business friendly regulatory environment; and 
 reduce duplication of regulatory approvals. 
4.3.  The overarching objective is to improv e competition and business competitiveness by 
reducing the regulatory burden, and removing  barriers to trade, for business, community 
organisations and consumers. 
4.4.  Deregulatory reforms are expected to be implemented from 2015-16 and be on-going, with 
regulatory burden savings anticipated. The annua l cost to business, community organisations and 
individuals of complying with Commonwealth regulations is estimated by Commonwealth portfolios 
to be around AUD$65 billion per annum, equivalent to around 4% of GDP (2013). This cost arises through regulations that portfolios estimate they administer, with most regulations arising from 
powers delegated by the Parliament to agencies and regulators to achieve outcomes.
11 
4.2  Policy initiative - adoption of international standards 4.5.  The Government has tasked Australian Government portfolios to assess the extent to which 
opportunities exist for the acceptance or adoption of trusted international standards and risk 
assessments (or greater alignment with them) as part of the Government's Deregulation Agenda. 
4.6.  Agencies are required to develop crit eria to guide the case-by-case assessment of 
international standards and risk assessments, and will  be required to work with stakeholder groups 
in developing clear and transparent criteria. The criteria may take into account (but not be limited 
to) the following considerations: 
 the legitimacy and applicability to the Australian context of trusted international standards 
and risk assessments; 
 whether any necessary Australian specific conditions or circumstances warrant distinct 
regulatory standards or risk assessment processes; 
 how reform might reduce regulatory burden, and how reforms could deliver on "red tape" 
targets; 
                                               
9 G/TBT/32: 29 November 2012 paragraph 23. 
10 
https://www.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/ files/publications/IICA_fact_sheet _%20international_standards_and_ri
sk_assessments.pdf . 
11 The Australian Government Regulation Report 2014, Chapter 4: Taking stock of Commonwealth 
regulation. http://www.cuttingredtape.gov.au/australia n-government-annual-deregulation-report-2014 . G/TBT/W/414 
 
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   the capacity of trusted international standards and risk assessments to consider specific 
Australian circumstances; 
 costs and benefits of adopting international regulatory standards;  
 stakeholder feedback; and  
 any other relevant considerations. 
4.7.  The policy framework has been designed to provide flexibility to agencies in determining 
criteria, to recognise that circumstances will differ between portfolios, and even between different 
policy areas within portfolios. The applicability of  international standards and risk assessments will 
vary, and Australian specific standards may need to be retained in certain circumstances, consistent with TBT principles as provided in  Articles 2.4 and 5.4 of the TBT Agreement.  
4.3  Transparency 
4.8.  Government agencies will be required to publish progress in moving to accept or adopt 
trusted international standards and risk assessments. In addition, the criteria that each agency develops to assess the potential adoption of international standards and risk assessments will be 
publically available. These requirements acco rd with transparency principles of the TBT 
Agreement. 
4.4  Public consultation 
4.9.  Government agencies are expected to review regulatory opportunities with regulators in their 
portfolio and to also discuss opportunities with industry, business and other stakeholders. Agencies will work with their stakeholder groups to develop the criteria for accepting or adopting trusted standards and assessments. The Government is inviting the public to make submissions to identify 
examples of divergence from international standards through use of the website 
http://www.cuttingredtape.gov.au .
12 
4.5  Trusted international standard 
4.10.  The criteria for what makes a trusted international standard and risk assessment, or from 
what international regulatory authority it must derive, is not set in stone. Due to the diversity of regulatory policy issues faced across the Australian Government, it was felt that it was not 
appropriate to define criteria centra lly; rather criteria should be fi t-for-purpose for each portfolio or 
regulatory framework. Criteria may include, but is not limited to, standards and risk assessment criteria developed in a multilateral framework such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the World Health 
Organization (WHO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). A trusted 
international standard may also be defined in an international agreement to which Australia is a party.  
4.11.  Whether an approved process or certification is judged to be trusted will vary, and will be 
assessed by agencies in consultation with stakeholders. Evaluation factors that may guide this assessment include, but are not limited to, whether the international regulating authority has: 
 A credible and consistent track record in regulating; 
 A publicly transparent assessment process, providing full access to reports and the data 
regulatory decisions are based on;  
 A record of actively managing the quality of approvals and risk assessment (such as peer 
review, independent assessment, auditing of processes and outcomes). 
                                               
12 https://www.cuttingredta pe.gov.au/resources/internationa l-standards-and- risk-assessments . G/TBT/W/414 
 
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  4.12.  Agencies will need to consider governance  arrangements to ensure ongoing monitoring and 
enforcement against criteria, given the potential for trusted standards and risk assessments to be modified and amended over a future period. 
5  PROPOSAL 
5.1.  Following the success of Thematic Sessions held on Standards, 5-6 March 2013 and 18 March 
2014
13, during the Sixth Triennial Review, Australia proposes that a further thematic session on 
Standards be held for the Seventh Triennial Review during 2016-17. We propose the session be 
focused on Member initiatives to encourage the adoption of international standards or policies that 
seek to utilise international standards. Australia  believes the WTO Membership would benefit from 
a discussion on initiatives undertaken by governments that seek to utilise and contribute to international standards.  
5.2.  Australia would be interested in initiatives or proposals that other Members have considered, 
developed or implemented, and what concerns, issues or problems Members faced when developing and implementing similar initiatives. Australia is in the initial stages of communicating 
and exploring possibilities with its regulatory agen cies and would be interested in the experiences 
of other Members. 
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13 G/TBT/GEN/144,and G/TBT/GEN/144/Add.1.