Australian non-profit organization, Standards Australia recently released a roadmap for Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), commonly known as blockchains. The report, termed ‘Roadmap for Blockchain Standards Report’ highlights how the organization will deliver measures to support the privacy, security, and interoperability of blockchain systems.
A blockchain has been defined as “a digital platform that records and verifies transactions in a public and secure manner, with a decentralized, cryptography-based solution having the potential to redefine transactions by removing the need for middlemen.”
Standards Australia’s main responsibility lies in the development and adoption of standards throughout the country. They also facilitate Australian participation in international standards development. The organization works to enhance the nation’s economic efficiency, international competitiveness and contributes to community demand for a safe and sustainable environment.
The report aims to identify blockchain uses in Australia, further identifying standards development activities that can be carried on in the development of blockchain standards.
The report has consolidated consultations, workshops, and a survey over a period of 2016-2017. 100 respondents from the academia, consumer organizations, government, and industry participated in the survey. Terminology, privacy, governance, interoperability, security, and risk were some of the most important issues brought to light.
88 percent of respondents believe that either national standards or international standards are required for a co-regulatory framework for blockchain-related industries to operate. On the other hand, approximately three percent of respondents felt that laws alone would be sufficient. CEO of Standards Australia, Dr. Bronwyn Evans states that,
Blockchain has the potential to support efficient and secure real-time transactions across a number of sectors, including financial services.
She believes Australia will play a “leading international role” in the development of blockchain.
The country will host its first international Blockchain standards meeting in April 2017. Standards Australia is the secretariat for the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) technical committee. There are 33 member nations in the ISO, including Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Russia, France, Singapore, China, and USA.
