Originally in 1995 The Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Australia’s Standards and Conformance Infrastructure (Kean Inquiry) was released and actively encouraged standards developers in Australia. The Kean Inquiry recommended:

Recommendation 26

Standards Australia reorganise its structure to enable it to serve more effectively as peak body for standards writing in Australia specifically by

• establishing a process for accreditation of other standards writers which is be [sic] entirely independent of its existing procedures for standards writing
• establishing a comparable independent process for approval of standards, both written in-house and by other standards writers
• establishing for distribution and publication of standards fixed and public procedures and prices which allow for an appropriate return to the standards writer for the intellectual property

In 1996 the Standards Accreditation Board (SAB) was created.

In 2005/2006 Standards Australia undertook a significant internal review of its direction, structure and focus.  This review identified the need for a significant upgrade in the role of the SAB, not least because Standards Australia decided to seek accreditation for its own Australian Standards development activities.

In 2006 the Productivity Commission report on <Standard Setting and Laboratory Accreditation> was presented in November and considered the role of the SAB both in general Australian Standards development and within the context of the Standards Australia organisation.

Recommendation 5.2:

The Australian Government should continue to recognise the role of the Standards Accreditation Board in accrediting other standards development organisations to make Australian Standards providing:

• The Board has sufficient separation and autonomy from the other functions of Standards Australia;
• Requirements for accreditation are rigorous transparent and consistently applied; and
• The Board should be renamed the Accreditation Board for Australian Standards.

In 2006 the SAB was reconstituted as the Accreditation Board for Standards Development Organisations (ABSDO).