Finding Standards

How to find standards and how to access Australian Standards

About Standards

Note: see the 'Accessing Australian Standards' tab on the left for details about accessing Australian Standards via Techstreet

 

What are Standards?

Standards are developed to "set out specifications, procedures and guidelines that aim to ensure products, services and systems are safe, consistent and reliable. They cover a variety of subjects, including consumer products and services, the environment, construction, energy and water utilities, and more" (Standards Australia opens in a new window 2021)

The organisations which produce standards can be international (e.g. ISO - International Standards Organisation, IEC - International Energy Commission), regional (e.g. EN - European Union) or national (e.g. AS - Standards Australia).



Standards databases available via the Library:

Some standards are freely available online, whilst others are only available via a paid subscription or purchase.

The Library subscribes (pays for access) to the following Standards databases:

  • Australian Standards opens in a new window (developed by Standards Australia, available via Techstreet)
  • IEEE Standards opens in a new window are international standards developed by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) database, and cover a broad range of areas including IT, power and energy, telecommunications and digital health.

Note: International standards which have been officially adopted by Australia may be available via the Techstreet platform. A limited number of purchased ISO standards may also be available. To check if an ISO standard has been adopted by Australia, or has been purchased for the collection, search in Techstreet for the numeric code only (do not include any country/international identifiers e.g. ISO) to identify if the standard is in the collection and available as part of the CQUni subscription

Please note: A standard that is not part of existing Library subscriptions will only be purchased for academic staff and researchers, if cost and the applicable user licence allows. A decision on whether to purchase a standard is made at the discretion of the Library.

Other sources of Australian standards

Some organisations and government agencies have also developed standards related to their area of operations, including the following: