Committee Members - Their Roles and Responsibilities

ConsensusBuilder Report on Roles and Responsibilities of Committee Members:

Introduction:
This document provides, from an Australian perspective, information and guidance for new members of Australian and Joint Australian/New Zealand committees. It is to be read in conjunction with the Standardization Guides SG 1 and SG 11 that provide policy information on preparing standards and the structure of committees.

Standards are voluntary compliance documents which only become mandatory if called up in legislation or in contracts. They are developed and reviewed by technical committees comprised of representatives of interested and affected parties nominated by organizations usually national that represent the views, of a large group with a common interest (e.g. manufacturers, users, regulators). Representation is carefully balanced, and consensus decision-making principles are employed. Drafts of proposed Standards are made available for public scrutiny and comment. The process is transparent and Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand, being independent national standards bodies, have no inherent bias.

While Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand provide the facilities for Australian, New Zealand and Joint Australian/New Zealand Standards to be prepared and published, the technical content of a standard is the responsibility of the committee that prepares the Standard.

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