BUDGET NIGHT WIN!
Photo by Marcus Piper
Wednesday 13th May 2026
Last night’s Federal Budget saw a win for the advocacy of many of our allied professional bodies, who, along with RAA, have been lobbying government for some time, to make Australian Standards freely accessible to built environment professionals.
Importantly, it’s also a win for clients and consumers, for safety and quality in the built environment. Bringing mandatory Australian Standards out from behind a paywall makes them accessible to all design professionals regardless of the size or turnover of their practice, which is especially important in our regions.
RAA congratulates all the hard-working industry advocates who have raised their voice in support of this initiative, including the Association of Consulting Architects Australia (ACA), Architeam, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) and Master Builders Australia (MBA), among others.
We also congratulate the Government for listening and acting. It’s reassuring to know that sound arguments from multiple voices who collectively represent a common purpose can shape policy outcomes and shift the dial. CEO of Standards Australia, Rod Balding, called it “a landmark step forward in safety, productivity and housing delivery nationwide,” and we agree!
RAA’s position:
In 2025, writing to a range of key Federal Ministers, the RAA Executive highlighted the risks of keeping the Australian Standards behind a pay wall which prevents many smaller practitioners from accessing current information, particularly where multiple different documents are required to be referenced. RAA argued:
“With the current government initiatives to raise building quality, protect consumers and increase output in the housing sector, this restricted access to mandatory Australian Standards seems unfathomable. The impact across the construction industry is a massively increased risk profile, largely impacting end users.”
In its 2026 submission to Treasury around Streamlining and Modernising the National Construction Code (NCC), the RAA also advocated to make the Australian Standards free – provide access to specific packs of necessary standards as part of the Code, reminding treasury that thousands of architects – along with building designers, landscape architects, industrial designers and engineers – all use the Standards daily as part of their design process and protocols.
“The greater need is for ALL mandatory regulation documents to be freely accessible promoting safety and consistency in design approach that will translate into safer construction with fewer defects.”
