A joint funding agreement between Standards Australia and the Commonwealth Government will make the key bushfire standard available for all who need it.
Standards Australia has joined the wider community in efforts to rebuild after the devastating bushfires, by making Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas, AS 3959:2018 available at no direct cost to users, until 30 June 2021.
“This is a difficult time for many individuals and communities. When the scale of the disaster became apparent, I wanted to make sure Standards Australia was directly contributing to the broader Australian response," said CEO of Standards Australia, Adrian O'Connell (pictured).
The announcement comes after the organisation put in place a new distribution and licensing framework to provide more options for delivering access to Australian Standards.
Standards Australia and the Commonwealth, through the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources will be jointly funding the initiative, using the sponsored access pathway outlined in the distribution and licensing framework.
“When we announced our new distribution and licensing framework in November, being able to form a partnership like this so quickly is a significant achievement for all involved. I would like to thank Minister Karen Andrews and her Department for working with us over the last few weeks to make this happen,” said O’Connell.
“It’s the nature of Standards Australia to support our nation and having control over our content has given us the opportunity to do this."
AS 3959:2018, Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas provides guidance to professionals in the building and construction industry and is primarily concerned with improving the ability of buildings in designated bushfire-prone areas to better withstand future emergencies.
Regarding the bushfires more broadly, Mr. O’Connell said it was too early to say what, if any, work needs to be done with technical standards.
“Everything that we’ve heard so far is telling us that houses built to the standard performed well. We’re currently looking for data about how AS 3959:2018 homes held up and working with relevant committees to support their ongoing work to help in this rebuilding phase.”
A further announcement on access points to AS 3959:2018 will be made in the coming weeks.