The recent COVID restrictions have forced New South Wales and other states into lockdown again, and for the first time, have put the brakes on the construction industry, impacting almost 250,000 trades professionals.

While tools are down, Standards Australia, in partnership with the NSW Office of the Building Commissioner and TAFE NSW, has decided to temporarily give free access to the e-learning module The value of Australian Standards.

The module provides an overview of Australia’s building and plumbing regulatory framework, Standards Australia’s responsibilities to the NSW government and the National Construction Code, how and why standards are used in construction and the implications of not adhering to relevant standards. Participants will also get insight into standards development and the different types of existing standards.

Once enrolled, participants will have six months to access the two-hour online course and obtain a certificate upon completing the assessment quiz.

This course was created late last year through a partnership with Standards Australia, the NSW Office of the Building Commissioner and TAFE NSW. The launch of this module represents an in-depth resource on construction standards and where they sit in Australia’s regulatory framework. Until 1 July 2021, the module was voluntary, however, when NSW Fair Trading introduced residential building industry reforms, it became mandatory for Design and Building Practitioners prior to registration.

“This is a challenging time for the New South Wales construction industry. We are committed to providing access to this module so that industry professionals can have the opportunity to understand standardisation and its impact on the safety of our community,” Standards Australia chief executive Adrian O’Connell says.

“In order to show our support of the construction industry during this challenging time, we have decided to provide free access to this online module.”

NSW building commissioner of customer service David Chandler adds: “With tools temporarily down, now is a great time for construction professionals to develop new skills from the comfort of their homes.”