Making Australia a safer place is one of the motivations behind a new initiative that will affect almost every aspect of our daily lives.

The quality, safety and performance of everything - from cars, to medical equipment, to our food and drinking water - is currently tested and regulated by the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ), the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), the National Measurement Institute (NMI) and Standards Australia.

Now these four agencies have agreed to establish a new body – the Technical Infrastructure Alliance (TIA) – to identify and execute joint projects, with the aim of bringing greater efficiency and performance in quality standards.

This initiative seeks to benefit the following critical areas of Australian life:

• Economic efficiency and growth
• Commercial and industrial effectiveness
• Local and international trade
• Community health and safety
• Consumer protection.

The TIA will enable better collaboration, efficiency and innovation between the four member organisations across the field of testing and conformance to quality, safety and performance – documentary standards.

“The TIA would enable the separate organisations to present a unified and consistent approach to stakeholders, by providing a collaborative workspace independent of each organisation and guided by impartial project management,” said Dr James Galloway, CEO of JAS-ANZ.

The four member organisations assist Australian industry to trade competitively in the global marketplace by providing their products and services with an internationally recognised assurance of quality, safety, performance, consistency and accuracy.

Additionally, these Australian organisations are influential in the testing and accreditation of documentary standards across the world – especially in developing countries.

The TIA will meet quarterly with the first meeting scheduled for 12 April 2010. Independent consultants, StanCert will organise and chair all meetings.

Quotes

Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ)

www.jas-anz.org

JAS-ANZ is the government-appointed accreditation body for certification and inspection bodies. The core role of JAS-ANZ accredited bodies is to assess whether a product, service, system or person satisfies the requirements specified in a documentary standard.  Dr James Galloway, CEO of JAS-ANZ, says:

“The TIA would enable the separate organisations to present a unified and consistent approach to stakeholders, by providing a collaborative workspace independent of each organisation and guided by impartial project management.”

National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA)

www.nata.com.au

NATA is Australia’s national authority for assessing the competence and quality of systems, testing and procedures of organisations including laboratories, inspection bodies, proficiency testing scheme providers and reference material producers.  Mr Alan Patterson, CEO of NATA says:

“By combining the efforts of our organisations, Australia will be better placed to sustain its technical standards infrastructure into the future. The TIA will help to ensure the delivery of reliable Australian products and services – to both the domestic and international markets.”

National Measurement Institute (NMI)

www.measurement.gov.au

NMI is a division of the Commonwealth Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.  NMI is responsible for coordinating Australia’s national measurement system, establishing and maintaining Australia’s measurement standards and ensuring international recognition of these peak measurement standards.  Dr Laurie Besley, CEO of the NMI, says:

“The work of the four organisations collectively contributes to the economic prosperity of Australia and the health, safety and wellbeing of all Australians. Formalising our links through the establishment of the Technical Infrastructure Alliance will ensure greater sharing of resources, expertise, knowledge and ideas result in improved outcomes.”

Standards Australia

www.standards.org.au

Standards Australia is recognised by the Government as Australia’s peak documentation standards body. It is responsible for driving the development of voluntary documentary standards that contribute to Australia’s economic productivity, international competitiveness and the community’s safety and wellbeing.  Mr Colin Blair, Acting CEO of Standards Australia, says:

“Standards Australia, NMI, NATA and JAS-ANZ are already closely linked. Through the Technical Infrastructure Alliance we hope to create new opportunities for collaboration and innovation that will enhance our efforts nationally, and leverage our collective knowledge to assist developing countries to establish or improve their own infrastructure.”

Media Enquiries

Susan Williams, Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand

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Denise Popovic, National Association of Testing Authorities

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Tony McCaugherty, National Measurement Institute

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Luisa Bustos, Standards Australia

(02) 9237 6184 | 0405 506 457 | This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mark Bezzina, StanCert Pty. Ltd.

(02) 8721 6434 | 0413 101 096 | This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it