Further to our announcement last Friday, I am writing to you with important updates on Standards Australia’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

All Standards Australia staff to work remotely from 19 March 2020

In reviewing health advice and with the escalation of activity including reported cases of the virus in our building yesterday, we decided that we would put in place a protocol where all staff work remotely until further notice. In putting this in place, we have been careful to ensure that our staff have the tools, technology and systems they need to be able to do their job with as minimal disruption as can be achieved.

We are continually monitoring the situation and will keep you informed as we make further decisions. 

National committee meetings and other engagement activity conducted remotely from 19 March 2020 

Consistent with our work from home protocol we have also made the difficult decision to conduct all national committee meetings remotely from Thursday 19 March 2020 until 1 July 2020 or as otherwise reviewed. 

International travel and face to face meetings 

As communicated last Friday to our committee members, no staff or contributor travel will be approved for meetings before 1 July 2020. This position will remain in place until 1 July 2020 or as otherwise reviewed. International meetings will continue remotely, and we are working with ISO and IEC to try and schedule meetings to integrate with our time zone as much as possible.

Continuing our work in the national interest

We are committed to supporting our contributors as best as we can through this event. We are also committed to keeping up production and making sure we are working on priorities that align with national interest and support the Australian community.

We appreciate that remote meetings can at times be less desirable than in person meetings however with the technology tools we have in place we are hoping the impact will be minimised.  

Ongoing safety focus

We will continue to provide updates to you as necessary. Our approach is to manage the situation in a balanced, calm and measured way, and when required act swiftly and communicate clearly.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch through the contacts below if you would like to discuss any of the above or require further clarification.

•National Delegates: please contact your Project Manager or meeting host

•International Delegates: international.participation@standards.org.au

•Other: mail@standards.org.au

—Adrian O’Connell, Chief Executive