The Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Council meetings are highlights in our governance calendar and this year we held them in Canberra on 16 November.
These meetings are our opportunity to present the year in review from all aspects, to listen to our Councillors and members, and to highlight one important aspect of standards in our keynote address.
This year we were fortunate to have John Walter, ISO President, as our keynote speaker. John has a deep understanding and commitment to International Standards and understands the role and importance of national standards bodies such as Standards Australia.
We also took the opportunity to host CEO roundtables and stakeholder events to coincide with John’s trip to Australia. In these meetings he shared how international standards support public policy and global trade, and the unique and respected relationship between ISO and Standards Australia.
At the Council Meeting we presented an update on our operations and project delivery. In particular, we noted that through the support and resource commitment from the Board our focus has been on delivering better outcomes for everyone involved in standards development; from the committee contributor, to the nominating organisation through to those interested in submitting their comments on a draft standard.
By delivering better outcomes we can ensure that our commitment to add net benefit to Australia is a real commitment that focuses squarely on our core purpose and mission.
Our membership base was increased by one with the approval for the Plumbing Products Industry (PPI) Group to be confirmed as a member, bringing us to a total of 75 members. Stuart Henry presented the work of PPI Group including the latest achievements in standards development, ranging from an updated drinking water standard to changes to AS/NZS 3500.2 to incorporate vacuum drainage.
We welcomed Tony Dixon, Director and CEO of the Australian Steel Institute, as the newest member of our Board, along with the reappointments of Richard Brooks and Megan Motto. Sadly Peter Burn’s time on the Board has come to a close, and we thank him for his dedication over many years, in particular to the Finance, Risk & Audit Committee in his capacity as Chair.
Although our next formal Council meeting isn’t until May, we will continue to engage with our members and contributors as we begin to transition to 2019 and all that’s to come.