As the cost-of-living crisis intensifies, many Australians are unknowingly taking risks in the search for cheaper deals, especially when shopping online or buying from overseas retailers. New research from Standards Australia reveals a confronting reality: although more than 80% of Australians know that overseas and discount retailers may sell products that don’t meet local safety standards, two-thirds are still purchasing them, even when they have safety concerns.

In this episode of Set the Standard, we’re joined by Stephanie Tonkin, CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, to unpack why this is happening, what’s at stake, and how Australians can protect themselves and their loved ones, particularly during one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year.

Whether you're buying gifts, browsing online marketplaces, or simply trying to stretch your budget, this episode offers clear, actionable insights to help you make informed decisions.

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Welcome to another episode of the Set the Standard podcast! Today, we have the privilege of hosting three formidable leaders: Tracey Gramlick, Chair of the Board at Standards Australia, Dr. Marlene Kanga AO, Director of the Board at Standards Australia, and Emma Harrington, CEO of Standards Australia.

In this episode, we dive into the inspiring personal journeys of our guests, uncovering the challenges they’ve faced, the role models who have shaped their paths, and their invaluable advice for women navigating their careers. We’ll also explore their vision for a world where women can excel without the pressure of being trailblazers and discuss the outdated notion that for women work and life are not compatible.

The episode intends to shed a light on the pressing gender inclusivity challenges faced by various industries, the support needed to advance gender diversity and empower organisations and industry to create a more inclusive environment.

We highlight the critical role of women in Standards Development, the necessity of gender-responsive standards, the vital importance of women’s participation, and the proactive initiatives Standards Australia is implementing to ensure all voices are heard throughout the standards development process and beyond.

Our discussion aims to, not only engage, but inspire listeners with thought provoking insights and encourage active participation in standards development, fostering a community that is representative of all genders.

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In collaboration with the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), Standards Australia's recorded its first ever live and interactive Set the Standard podcast session during the ISO Annual Meeting hosted by Standards Australia.

Join our host Shannen Brown as she sits down with generational leaders from the standards world to understand how we seize the next generations creative and innovative energy to become a positive voice for change in the standards world. We delve into how we can build bridges between generations, share perspectives and experiences to understand how building and navigate a career and life has evolved over the generations. We speak about new ways to bring the young generation into the standards world and address the challenges in doing so.

 The Clash of Generations episode features a stellar line up of guests including:

• Philippe Metzger - Secretary-General & CEO, International Electrotechnical Commission
• Sergio Mujica - Secretary General, International Organization for Standardization
• Nelson Al Assal Filho - Director of Standardization, ABNT
• Sarah Brunton - National Technical Officer, Electrical Trades Union
• Neema Msemwa - Standards Officer, Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS)
• Matthew Ong - Senior Development Partner, Standards division of Enterprise Singapore

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In this episode Associate Professors’ Nathan Langford and Simon Devitt, co-authors of Standards Australia's Quantum whitepaper series, join our host Shannen Brown, to discuss quantum technology and draw upon some of its most exciting applications, demystifying quantum technology for listeners unfamiliar with this field.

Joined by CEO & Founder of Diraq, Andrew Dzurak and General Manager, Engagement and Communications at Standards Australia, Adam Stingemore, we explore the challenges of achieving quantum at scale and talk about how standards can support quantum scalability while avoiding standardising prematurely.

Our guests also discuss what it will take to achieve Australia's National Quantum Strategy's long-term vision for Australia’s quantum future. And address the importance of keeping up with fast-paced environment in which quantum is developing.

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In this episode, Shannen sat down with Adam Stingemore, General Manager of Engagement and Communications at Standards Australia, Eric Bugeja, Chairperson of BuildingSMART Australasia and Simon Vaux, CEO of DEOS Digital to delve into digital engineering and the current state of play in the engineering and construction sector.

This conversation explores current and future challenges for the sector, concepts of building information modelling, digital engineering, and the importance of data in mastering digital transformation. The episode also highlights future visions for the industry and ways to accelerate the digital transformation in the engineering and construction sector.

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On today's episode, Shannen is joined by Ali Akbari, Member of Standards Australia’s AI committee IT-043, Judy Slatyer, Lead for the CSIRO’s National AI Think Tank and adviser to Data61, Lyria Bennett Moses, Director of the UNSW Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation and Soraya Selinger, Strategic Initiatives Manager at Standards Australia for Critical and Emerging Technologies to explore Artificial Intelligence and the significant opportunities it presents for organisations of all sizes.  

We delve into the benefits of Artificial Intelligence, the ability of standards to achieve these benefits and some examples of standards being put into practice. 

Guests on today’s episode include Dr Ali Akbari - Independent AI advisor and AICD representative, Judy Slatyer, Lead for the CSIRO’s National AI Think Tank and adviser to Data61, Professor Lyria Bennett Moses, Director of the UNSW Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation and Soraya Selinger, Strategic Initiatives Manager at Standards Australia for Critical and Emerging Technologies. . 

Tune in to hear all about Artificial Intelligence and how collaboration, standards and best practices can ensure the uptake of AI systems is safe and reliable.

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On today's episode I am excited to be joined by Dr Catriona Wallace and Kareen Riley-Takos to deep dive into the Metaverse, a virtual world that enables users to explore new places, interact with others, and experience new things in an immersive digital environment. With the rise of virtual and augmented reality technologies, the idea of a fully immersive virtual world has become more tangible, and excitement around the Metaverse has grown.

Dr Catriona Wallace and Kareen Riley- Takos discuss the readiness of society to embrace the Metaverse into our homes and day-to-day lives, critical aspects that need to be addressed, and the potential risks of an unregulated and unstandardised Metaverse. As it is early days for Standards for the Metaverse, Catriona and Kareen explore where Australia could lead in supporting the safe and reliable deployment of the Metaverse, and the partnerships or collaborations necessary to drive its growth and safe deployment.

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In this episode of Set the Standard, Shannen Brown is joined by Suzanne Toumbourou, CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling, Steve Morriss founder and Head of Circular Economy at Close of the Loop and Stephanie Groves, Strategic Initiatives Officer and Circular Economy lead at Standards Australia. Together, they celebrate the launch of the joint Standards Australia and ACOR report, “Standards to Facilitate the Use of Recycled Material in Road Construction”.

We delve into the benefits, barriers, and opportunities surrounding the increased use of recycled content in roads. We discuss the importance of education on recycled materials, the need for nationally harmonising inconsistencies across state-level specifications, and the crucial role of collaboration in driving this process.

Tune in to this insightful conversation that explores how standards can pave the way for a more sustainable future in Australia.

Learn more about our Circular Economy Initiative: www.standards.org.au/engagement-events/strategic-initiatives/circular-economy

Want to collaborate? Email us at [email protected]

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On this episode we are joined by the co-authors of Standards Australia recently released 'Digital Twin and Standards' whitepaper, Adam Beck and Gavin Cotterill. We are also joined by George Sfinas, our ICT Engagement Manager at Standards Australia.

We discuss the current state of play for Digital Twin in Australia and why a unified national approach is essential in paving the way for a consistent and connected future for Digital Twin technology in Australia. We delve into how standards can support the current and future built environment in Australia by ensuring our domestics voices are heard on the international standards stage.

Both Adam and Gavin discuss how Australia can become a global leader in digital twin space if the right conditions are created, how we can establish these conditions and the risks of not doing so.

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Our host Shannen Brown sat down with Mike Wood, the Principal for Telstra’s Electromagnetic Energy (EME) Strategy, Governance and Risk Management program, Kareen Riley-Takos, General Manager of Operations at Standards Australia, and Summer Lamont our Strategic Initiatives Officer to discuss the need for change in how we develop standards to allow new and emerging industries to work within the standards environment, as well as helping us work better in cross-sectoral areas of activity.  

We learn about how standards are developed, why we need to look to expand our current standards development models to embrace new and emerging industries and the risk of not doing so.

Time Stamps:

• Kareen explains what standards are (01:40-02:04), and Mike discusses why standards matter to industries such as the wireless and telecommunication industry (02:11- 02:41)
• Karen delves into the current standards development process and why this robust process is well regard (02:51- 03:43)
• Kareen talks about the pace of change, evolving expectations from industry and the demand for speed to market (03:51-05:06)
• Kareen discusses the risk of not adapting to meet the industries evolving expectations (05:11-05:49)
• Mike speaks about the role of IEC TC106 standards, a committee which he chairs in the wireless and telecommunication industry (06:06-08:51)
• Mike has been involved in the wireless and mobile telecommunications industry for 30 years and delves into the biggest change he has seen in the industry (09:09- 10:05)
• Mike gives us his views on why the current standards development model is fit for purpose for the wireless and mobile telecommunications (10:48-16:52)
• Standards Australia recently released a report on the Data and Digital Standards Landscape to map standards across seven key technology areas. Summer discusses what the report sought to do and some of its key findings (17:12- 18:00)
• One of the key findings from the report was the Australia has low rate of adoption across these 7 key technologies. Summer discusses the failure to adopt international standards and its risk to the Australian community (18:15-19:05)
• Mike discusses the key risks to industry if we fail to adapt for these new and emerging technologies.(19:36-20:34)

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