New body to represent Australia in international standards fora

Stuart Corner
Monday, 07 November 2011 20:51

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

The Federal Government has announced plans to form a new high-level strategic advisory group to contribute to international discussions on ICT standards issues.

The committee, the Strategic Advisory Committee on ICT and Digital Economy, will include representation from the Australian Government, state governments, industry, small business, research and academia communities and consumers and will be administered by Standards Australia.

It will advise on the strategic direction of ICT standards development at the national level and provide a focal point for industry, government and other stakeholders to discuss and prioritise standards and related issues.

It will initially focus on cloud computing, e-health, smart infrastructure including sensor networks and smart grids, and accessibility and will coordinate Australian positions for submission to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Joint Technical Committee 1 (JTC1).

The Australian Government will contribute $100,000 (GST inclusive) towards the establishment and operation of the Committee for the first year.

John Sheridan, first assistant secretary of the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) in the Department of Finance and Deregulation, will chair the Committee and will represent Australia as the head of delegation at the next international JTC1 Plenary in November 2011.