New standards adopted for identifying products

Standards provider GS1 Australia has announced the release of new Australian Standards by Standards Australia, marking a pivotal milestone towards a more uniform Australia.

These new standards incorporate the use of standard GS1 keys, which enable organisations to assign standard identifiers to products, components, documents, assets, and physical locations, according to an announcement.

The keys include the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) for identifying products, the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) for identifying logistics units, the Global Shipment Identification Number (GSIN) for identifying logistics units delivered to a customer together, the Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI) and Global Individual Asset Identifier (GIAI) for identifying assets, and GS1 Application Identifiers for standardising the encoding of supplementary data in barcodes, tags and other media.

In line with internationally recognised compliance and harmonisation, these standards also incorporate equivalent ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards that have been scrutinised and ratified as meeting Australian requirements.

The process of establishing the new standards was collaborative and involved contributions from a Standards Australia working group which included representatives from the Australian Industry Group, Bureau of Steel Manufacturers, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, along with GS1 Australia and other industry associations and experts.

General Manager of Engagement and Communications at Standards Australia Adam Stingemore said: “Adoption of international standards in this space has the potential to support consistent, uniform, reliable marketplaces, and help facilitate international trade, enabling Australia to have a leading voice in the global economy.”

According to GS1 Australia, the adoption of these standards in Australia and Australia’s contributions to their development internationally empowers our economy with a voice in the continued development and maintenance of their global equivalent, thereby influencing international business operations, particularly in areas that are currently active including sustainability and circular economy.

“Conformity to ISO/IEC standards and the incorporation of GS1 keys demonstrates our commitment to promoting reliable, efficient and transparent marketplaces, while also securing Australia’s standing on the global business landscape.”

For detailed information about these new Australian standards, more information is available here.

Australian Standards can be purchased from Standards Australia or one of its distribution partners: www.standards.org.au/access-standards/buy-standards

Image: Gs1 Australia