{"id":"F2016L00538","name":"National Measurement Guidelines 2016","slug":"national-measurement-guidelines-2016","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":438679,"registerId":"F2016L00538-fast-fetch-1775955005754","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"National Measurement Guidelines 2016","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\ntitle: National Measurement Guidelines 2016\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\nNational Measurement Guidelines 2016\n\n \n\nNational Measurement Act 1960\n\n \n\n \n\nI, PETER FISK, Chief Metrologist, make these Guidelines under subsection 7B (1) of the National Measurement Act 1960.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nDated 31 March 2016\n\nPETER FISK\n\n______________________________\n\nPeter Fisk\n\nChief Metrologist\n\nContents\n\nReader’s guide\n\n1  - Name of Guidelines\n\n2 - Authority  \n\n3  - Commencement  \n\n4 - Revocation  \n\n5 - Objects  \n\n6 - Definitions  \n\n7  - Physical quantities\n\n8  - Combining Australian legal units of measurement\n\n9 - Combining Australian legal unit of measurement and prescribed SI prefix\n\n10 - Australian legal units of measurement that must not be combined with prefixes\n\n11 - Australian legal units of measurement that may only be combined with prefixes that form multiples of the unit\n\n12 - Combination of a prescribed SI prefix with a combination of Australian legal units of measurement\n\n13  - Expression of Australian legal units of measurement\n\nReader’s guide\n\nAim of the guide\n\nThe aim of this guide is to assist your understanding of the National Measurement Guidelines 2016 (the Guidelines). However, the guide is not part of the Guidelines and has no legal force.\n\nThe Guidelines are made under the National Measurements Act 1960 (the Act).\n\nIntroduction\n\nThe Act and the National Measurement Regulations 1999 (the Regulations) prescribe the International System of Units (SI) base, supplementary and certain derived Australian legal units of measurement for specified physical quantities. They also prescribe certain additional, non-SI, legal units of measurement that may be used for particular purposes. The purpose of the Guidelines is to supplement those provisions.\n\nAustralian legal units of measurement\n\nThe Guidelines set out how to form Australian legal units of measurement for physical quantities from the Australian legal units of measurement prescribed by the Regulations.\n\nSubsection 3 (1) of the Act defines Australian legal units of measurement as:\n\n(a)  a unit of measurement prescribed for the purposes of subsection 7A (1); or\n\n(b) a unit of measurement derived by the application of guidelines issued by the Chief Metrologist under subsection 7B (1), or 2 or more successive applications of those guidelines.\n\nSections 7 and 7A of the Act provide that the Australian legal units of measurement of a physical quantity are the sole legal units of measurement of that physical quantity and may be prescribed by the regulations.\n\nThe Regulations contain the following schedules pertaining to the Guidelines:\n\n- Schedule 1, Part 1 — SI base units of measurement\n- Schedule 1, Part 2 — SI derived units of measurement with special names\n- Schedule 1, Part 3 — Non-SI units of measurement used with SI units of measurement\n- Schedule 1, Part 4 — Additional derived units of measurement\n- Schedule 2, Part 1 — Additional Australian legal units of measurement\n- Schedule 2, Part 2 — Purposes for which additional legal units of measurement may be used\n- Schedule 3 — SI prefixes\n\nGuidelines\n\n1                            Name of Guidelines\n\nThese Guidelines are the National Measurement Guidelines 2016\n\n2                            Authority\n\nThese Guidelines are made under subsection 7B (1) of the National Measurement Act 1960.\n\n3                            Commencement\n\nThese Guidelines commence on 1 April 2016.\n\n4                            Revocation\n\nThese Guidelines revoke the National Measurement Guidelines 1999 (the former Guidelines) on 1 April 2016.\n\n5                            Objects\n\nThese Guidelines govern the way in which Australian legal units of measurement may be combined:\n\n(a)   to produce an Australian legal unit of measurement; and\n\n(b)   with prefixes to produce Australian legal units of measurement.\n\nNote   These Guidelines are a disallowable instrument: subsection 7B (2) of the Act.\n\n6                            Definitions\n\nIn these Guidelines:\n\nProduct Symbol means a symbol used to indicate the product of 2 or more Australian legal units of measurement.\n\nRegulations mean the National Measurement Regulations 1999.\n\nSI Prefix means a prefix mentioned in Schedule 3 of the Regulations.\n\nNote   Several other words and expressions used in these Guidelines have the meaning given by section 3 of the Act.\n\n7                            Physical quantities\n\nAustralian legal units of measurement may be formed only for the physical quantities as prescribed under the Regulations.\n\n8                            Combining Australian legal units of measurement\n\n(1)     An Australian legal unit of measurement for a physical quantity may be formed by combining Australian legal units of measurement according to the mathematical relations linking the corresponding physical quantities.\n\n(2)     The resulting Australian legal unit of measurement may be represented by using a name or symbol that is itself formed from derived units.\n\nExample   pascal (pressure in newtons per square metre): Pa = N/m2.\n\n9                            Combining Australian legal unit of measurement and prescribed SI prefix\n\n(1)      A decimal multiple, or submultiple, of an Australian legal unit of measurement must be formed by using a single SI Prefix.\n\nExample   Nanometre: 1 nm or 1 x 10-9 m, but not 1 mµm.\n\n(2)      Subsection 9(1) of these Guidelines does not apply to kilogram.\n\nExample   kJ/kg\n\nNote   Kilogram is an SI base unit of measurement: see Regulations, Sch 1, item 1.1.\n\n(3)      An additional derived unit of measurement, mentioned in Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations, may be combined with another Australian legal unit of measurement to form an Australian legal unit of measurement.\n\nNote   An exponent associated with a symbol for an Australian legal unit of measurement indicates that the multiple, or submultiple, of the unit is raised to the power expressed by the exponent.\n\n(4)      The combination of the unit and a prefix may be combined with other Australian legal unit of measurement symbols to form the symbol for a compound unit that is an Australian legal unit of measurement.\n\nExample   Speed in kilometres per hour: km/h.\n\n10                        Australian legal units of measurement that must not be combined with prefixes\n\n(1)      The following Australian legal units of measurement must not be combined with SI prefixes:\n\n-        kilogram\n-        minute\n-        hour\n-        day\n-        decibel\n-        inch\n-        foot\n-        hectare\n-        ounce\n-        foot/minute\n-        degree\n-        minute\n-        second of arc\n-        radian\n-        steradian\n-        degree Celsius\n\n(2)      A decimal multiple or sub-multiple of kilogram must be formed by attaching a prefix to gram.\n\nNote   For historical reasons, kilogram already contains a prefix.\n\n11                        Australian legal units of measurement that may only be combined with prefixes that form multiples of the unit\n\n  Tonne may be combined only with an SI Prefix that gives a decimal multiple of tonne.\n\nExample   kilotonne, but not millitonne.\n\n12                        Combination of a prescribed SI prefix with a combination of Australian legal units of measurement\n\n  An Australian legal unit of measurement may be formed from a combination of Australian legal units of measurement under section 8 of these Guidelines and the use of an SI Prefix.\n\nExample   speed (km/h):\n\nMetre and hour are Australian legal units of measurement: see subsection 3 (1) of the Act, definition of Australian legal unit of measurement, para (a) and Sch 1 of the Regulations.\n\nMetre and hour may be combined to form the Australian legal unit of measurement metre per hour (m/h): see subsection 3 (1) of the Act, definition of Australian legal unit of measurement, para (b).\n\nMetre per hour may be further combined with the SI Prefix kilo (k) to form the Australian legal unit of measurement kilometre per hour (km/h): see subs 3 (1) of the Act, definition of Australian legal unit of measurement, paragraph (b).\n\n13                        Expression of Australian legal units of measurement\n\n(1)      Names and symbols of Australian legal units of measurement must not be used together in the same expression.\n\nExample   km/h, but not kilometre/h.\n\n(2)      An adjective or sign must not be added to the name or symbol of an Australian legal unit of measurement.\n\nExample   Wa cannot be used as the unit of acoustic power.\n\n(3)      The symbol for an SI Prefix must be placed immediately before the symbol of the Australian legal unit of measurement to which it refers, without an intermediate space.\n\nExamples\n\n1   milliwatt: mW\n\n2   kilometre: km\n\n3   gigatonne: Gt\n\n4   megajoule: MJ\n\n(4)      For a decimal multiple or submultiple of an Australian unit of measurement that is expressed as a fraction, an SI prefix:\n\n(a)   may precede the Australian legal unit of measurement in the numerator or the denominator, or both if there is no other way to form an unambiguous expression; and\n\n(b)   should precede the Australian legal unit of measurement in the numerator.\n\nExamples\n\n1   km/s, but not mm/s or m/ms\n\n2   mm/s, but not m/ks\n\n(5)      Only a single SI Prefix may be used to form a multiple of a derived Australian legal unit of measurement.\n\n(6)      The product symbol is:\n\n(a)   a dot (·);\n\n(b)   if the resulting expression is unambiguous — a full stop (.); or\n\n(c)   if the symbol for an Australian legal unit of measurement is not the same as an SI prefix — a space.\n\nExample   Thermal resistivity (metre kelvin per watt): m·K/W, not m K/W which may be confused with millikelvin per watt (mK/W).\n\n(7)      The product symbol must be used only with symbols that represent Australian legal units of measurement.\n\nExample   N·m or N m, but not Newton·meter\n\n(8)      An Australian legal unit of measurement derived from the division of 2 other Australian legal units of measurement may be expressed using an oblique stroke (/), a horizontal line or a negative exponent to produce an unambiguous expression.\n\nExample   m/s, ![](image.002.png) or m·s-1\n\n(9)      The oblique stroke must not be repeated on a line unless ambiguity is avoided by the use of parentheses.  In a complex expression, negative exponents or parentheses must be used.\n\nExamples\n\n1   m/s2, ![](image.003.png) or m·s-2, but not m/s/s\n\n2   m·kg/(s3·A) or m·kg·s-3·A-1, but not m·kg/s3/A\n\n(10)  A space must be left after the numerical value of an Australian legal unit of measurement and before the name or symbol of the unit of measurement.\n\nExamples\n\n1   22 m, but not 22m\n\n2   27 volts, but not 27volts\n\n3   15 ºC, but not 15ºC\n\nNote 1   When expressing temperature in degrees Celsius, a space must not be left between the symbol for degrees and the symbol for Celsius.  See example 3.\n\nNote 2   When expressing a percentage in relation to an Australian legal unit of measurement, a space must not be left between the number and the symbol for percentage: eg 25%, but not 25 %.\n\n(11)  However, subsection 13(10) of these Guidelines do not apply to geographic coordinates. When expressing geographic coordinates no space must be left between the numerical values and the symbols for degrees, minutes and seconds.\n\nExample   33°43'03.0\"S 151°09'37.1\"E\n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Guidelines remain tightly focused on their original purpose: providing technical rules for forming and expressing Australian legal units of measurement. The 2016 version is a direct replacement of the 1999 Guidelines with the same scope — governing unit combination, prefix attachment, and symbolic expression. No significant scope creep is evident; the document does not expand into new regulatory areas like digital measurement or data standards."},"complexity_factors":["13 operative sections with extensive subsections and nested numbering","Heavy cross-referencing to the National Measurement Act 1960 and National Measurement Regulations 1999 (multiple schedules referenced)","Multiple defined terms including 'Product Symbol', 'Regulations', 'SI Prefix' with note that other terms are defined in the parent Act","Numerous exceptions and specific prohibitions (Section 10 lists 16 units that cannot take prefixes; Section 11 restricts tonne to multiples only)","Complex conditional formatting rules in Section 13 with 11 subsections covering symbol placement, spacing, punctuation, and geographic coordinate exceptions","Nested examples throughout that illustrate edge cases (e.g., 'm·kg/(s³·A)' vs prohibited 'm·kg/s³/A')","Historical anomaly handling (kilogram already contains a prefix, so you prefix 'gram' instead)"],"plain_english_summary":"These Guidelines set the precise rules for writing and combining measurement units in Australia for trade, legal documents and technical work. They define which units and prefixes are allowed, ban certain combinations, and prescribe formatting (spacing, multiplication/division notation).\n\nThey affect businesses, instrument manufacturers, scientists, engineers and anyone drafting contracts or labels — ensuring consistent, legally compliant use of metric units to avoid contractual or regulatory disputes."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Guidelines revoke the 1999 Guidelines (section 4) and set out rules governing how Australian legal units may be combined and prefixed (section 5 and Reader’s guide). They explicitly supplement the National Measurement Regulations and Schedules (Reader’s guide; section 6). The text gives no internal indication that the set of physical quantities for which legal units may be formed is expanded or narrowed beyond the Regulations (see section 7), so scope appears to continue the prior purpose rather than change it."},"complexity_factors":["Technical notation and formatting rules (many specific, prescriptive subrules on symbol placement, spacing, product symbols, fraction/exponent forms) — section 13.","Detailed prefix rules, single‑prefix requirement, and special exceptions (kilogram, tonne) that alter normal SI practice — sections 9(1)–(3), 10(1)–(2), 11.","Rules on how units may be formed by combining other legal units and by successive applications of the Guidelines — sections 7, 8 and 12.","A non‑exhaustive list of forbidden prefix combinations and unit‑specific restrictions introducing case‑by‑case complexity for compliance — section 10.","Cross‑references to the National Measurement Act 1960 and the National Measurement Regulations 1999, including multiple Schedules (SI base units, derived units, prefixes) that must be consulted alongside the Guidelines (see Reader’s guide and section 6).","Revocation of prior Guidelines and status as a disallowable instrument creates interaction with parliamentary oversight and regulatory stability — sections 4 and 5 (note).","Operational compliance burden falls on any entity that labels, measures or reports quantities under Australian legal units (formatting, labelling and unit selection obligations) — e.g. spacing/percent/coordinate rules in section 13(10) and related notes.","Potential for ambiguity that the Guidelines resolve by prescriptive examples, but which nonetheless requires technical judgment where complex compound units arise (parentheses, negative exponents, exclusion of repeated slashes) — section 13(8)–(9)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets the technical rules for forming and writing Australian legal units of measurement from the SI and certain non‑SI units, and for using SI prefixes. It tells businesses, manufacturers, laboratories and regulators exactly how to combine unit names and symbols, where prefixes may or must not be used, and how values must be presented. The rules matter because they create binding formatting and combination requirements that affect labelling, reporting and compliance costs."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/national-measurement-guidelines-2016","history":"/api/acts/national-measurement-guidelines-2016/history","analysis":"/api/acts/national-measurement-guidelines-2016/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/national-measurement-guidelines-2016/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/national-measurement-guidelines-2016/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/national-measurement-guidelines-2016/documents"}}