The Australian Standards (AS) are guidelines designed to assist both industry and the public in selecting quality products and services that meet minimum requirements. Products and Services independently tested and holding Australian Standards Certification can be relied upon to meet minimum industry determined standards, but are not legal standards as such.

When purchasing products and/or services, companies and government may require any product or service they purchase to hold the relevant Australian Standard.

For alcohol and drug testing, the relevant Australian Standards are:

Alcohol – AS 3547:2019 – Breath alcohol testing devices

Most industry users require alcohol testers to be AS Certified. Australian Police usually tender with AS Certification as a minimum requirement (to eliminate inferior instruments) but then have their own Police Laboratories test tendered instruments to far more stringent accuracy and reliability standards.

Drugs – AS/NZS 4760:2019 Procedure for specimen collection and the detection and quantification of drugs in oral fluid

Sets out procedures for oral fluid specimen collection, storage, handling, on-site screening tests and, if required, dispatch to the laboratory. It also covers applicability of oral fluid for drug testing and general issues related to drug screening on-site and drug screening and/or confirmation in the laboratory.

Drugs – AS 4308:2008 – Procedures for specimen collection and the detection and quantitation of drugs of abuse in urine

The objective of this Standard is to ensure that the detection of drugs in urine meets the expectations for testing of specimens for medico-legal, workplace or court-directed purposes.

For more information regarding Australian Standards contact our Alcohol and Drug advisory team by clicking here or call us on 1300 789 908.