On 12 May 2026, Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the 2026–27 Federal Budget. Buried inside the productivity reform package was a long-overdue commitment that genuinely matters for builders and tradies.

The headline numbers:

•       $42.7 million committed over 4 years

•       Ongoing grants to Standards Australia

•       Free public read-only access to mandatory Australian Standards

•       Covers standards referenced in Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation

•       Includes construction, OHS, electrical, plumbing, and product safety standards

•       Estimated saving for small builders and tradies: up to $1,600 per year

In other words, the standards we’re legally required to follow are about to become available without a paywall. Finally.

Buying standards one at a time

If you needed a single standard — say AS 1684.2 for timber framing in non-cyclonic areas — you’d have to either purchase it outright or subscribe to a service like Intertek Inform or the HIA digital standards portal. Individual standards regularly cost around $120, with some running well over $200 depending on length and complexity.

Subscriptions weren’t cheap either

If you wanted broader access, the subscription options weren’t exactly affordable for a one-man-band builder. They were priced for big firms and consultancies, not the bloke running a duplex build out of his ute.

The free option was almost useless

Standards Australia did offer a free ‘Reader Room’ service — but it gave you just three tokens a year, each granting 24-hour access to a single standard. For anyone using standards in their day-to-day work, this was nowhere near enough. It was free in name only.

And the NCC made it worse

The National Construction Code (NCC) directly or indirectly references hundreds of Australian Standards. Every time you’re working on residential, commercial, or any compliance-related work, you’re effectively required to know what those standards say. But to know what they say, you had to pay.

The full implementation details are still being worked out by the government and Standards Australia, but here’s what we know so far based on the budget papers and Standards Australia’s response.

Who funds it?

The Federal Government — to the tune of $42.7 million over four financial years starting from 2026–27. The money goes to Standards Australia as ongoing grants, not as a one-off payment. This is structured to be a permanent change to how standards are accessed in Australia, not a temporary trial.

What’s included?

Mandatory Australian Standards referenced in legislation. This is the key phrase. If a standard is referenced in a Commonwealth, State or Territory law (which includes the NCC, the WHS Regulations, and many other instruments), it will be made freely accessible. That captures the bulk of what builders, electricians, plumbers, and other tradies need on a daily basis.

What’s NOT included?

Standards that aren’t mandated by law — those used for voluntary certification, internal quality systems, or specialised industries — will likely still be subject to the existing commercial model. So this isn’t a free-for-all on every standard ever published, but for the construction industry, it covers most of what we actually use.

When does it start?

The funding kicks in from 2026–27 onwards. Implementation details are still being worked through with Standards Australia, so expect a phased rollout rather than a single overnight switch. Watch the Standards Australia website (standards.org.au) for updates on access.

Read-only access

The access is ‘read-only’ — meaning you can view standards online but probably won’t be able to download or print them in the same way you would with a purchased copy. For most practical purposes on a job site, read-only on your phone or tablet works fine. For builders who need printed copies for site files or training, you may still need to purchase those separately.

1. Compliance gets easier and cheaper

If you’re a licensed builder in NSW, you’re legally required to construct in accordance with the NCC and the standards it references. When those standards are free, there’s no longer a cost barrier between you and the rules. That’s good for everyone.

2. Apprentices and trainees finally get access

This is huge for the next generation of tradies. Apprentices working through Cert III and Cert IV qualifications have always needed to reference standards — but most couldn’t justify the cost. Now they can. Expect training quality and compliance awareness to lift across the board.

3. Defect disputes and HBCF claims become more transparent

When builders, certifiers and homeowners all have equal access to the same standards, defect disputes become less about ‘who has the document’ and more about ‘what does the standard actually say’. That’s a healthier conversation for the industry.

4. Better take-up of the NCC and modern building practice

The HIA specifically called out that this reform ‘directly supports better use of the National Construction Code and modern building practices’. When the standards are freely accessible, there’s no excuse for builders not to reference them.

5. Real money back in your pocket

Up to $1,600 a year. For a sole-trader builder or a small construction business, that’s a meaningful saving — enough to pay for a year of CPD, a decent power tool upgrade, or your professional indemnity premium increase.

•       Bookmark standards.org.au and watch for announcements on the new free access portal

•       Once it goes live, train your team — especially apprentices — to use it as the first point of reference for compliance questions

•       Update your project files to reference current standards directly (not memory or hearsay)

•       Cancel any unnecessary paid subscriptions once free access covers what you actually use

•       Stay across CPD on regulatory and code changes — understanding new standards is exactly what your CPD obligations are for