"Harmonisation and national consistency of standards and practices" has been designated as one of six priority issues in the Austroads Strategic Plan 1998-2001. Austroads' stated outcome for this issue is a coordinated approach to regulatory and administrative practice, research, and technical standards, to achieve national consistency and minimise duplication of effort. The asphalt industry has a similar objective in the Research and Development Program of its "Future Directions - the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association's (AAPA's) Five Year Plan 1997-2002". Recently industry estimated that around two percent of the cost of asphalt products in Australia is directly related to the lack of a uniform national specification for asphalt production. Industry, through AAPA, has released a National Asphalt Specification (NAS), Edition 1, January 2000, as an aid to promoting national uniformity in asphalt specifications. As well as conventional mix design criteria, it incorporates performance related criteria developed through the co-ordinated national research programs of AAPA, Austroads and ARRB Transport Research Ltd. The specification is intended for use in all types of roadworks and related asphalt applications. State road authority (SRA) responses to industry's NAS have varied from qualified support to strong opposition. This paper examines the philosophy, structure and some of the major features of industry's NAS to highlight areas requiring further discussion and areas where greater uniformity should be pursued. (a)
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