Australian Standards – Security Systems – Part 1

Recently I have had much discussion with industry work mates relating to the use, reference and implementation of the Australian standards relating to security systems. The standards that relate to installers are mainly:

AS NZS 2201.1-2007 Intruder alarm systems – Clients premises – Design installation commissioning and maintenance.
AS 2201.3-1991 Intruder alarm systems – Detection devices for internal use.

The vast majority of tech’s, sales people and suppliers I talk to have not looked at the actual standards in years if at all but are happy to paraphrase what they think is in the standards, often incorrectly.

To set the record straight Australian standards are not legislation and are not enforceable by law. That being said may contracts and specifications reference the standards and failure to comply in these cases may leave installers open to civil liability.
I have to admit that I paid little attention to the Australian standards for a long time. I just installed to a standard that I believed to be correct from general industry practices and experience. I now own copies of both the above standards and will discuss some myths and realities in the following posts.