Austroads takes over cementitious materials scheme

Austroads has taken over management of the Cementitious Materials Registration Scheme for the Australian road sector.

It has also assumed responsibility for the Australian Technical Infrastructure Committee and related technical documents.

The change creates a long-term operating model for assessing and registering cementitious materials used in road projects across Australia. The scheme assesses products against technical specifications and scheme requirements, then maintains a registered products list used by industry and road authorities.

The transition was agreed by participating government agencies and the ATIC management committee. Austroads is now responsible for administering and managing the scheme, while technical oversight will sit within a new governance structure drawing on senior engineers from the states and territories.

Existing registrations will remain in place under the new arrangements. Suppliers will not need to submit new applications because of the transfer, and applications already under assessment have moved to Austroads and will continue through the current process.

The transfer does not change the technical requirements for registration or add testing requirements. Verification testing, where needed, will continue through the Transport for NSW Russell Vale Labouratory, which was established for the scheme.

Historical test data and registration records have also moved to Austroads as part of the transfer. The organisation has appointed a dedicated CMRS administrator to run day-to-day operations and support participants.

Technical oversight

The new oversight structure replaces the former CMRS Technical Committee with the Concrete and Cementitious Materials Technical Reference Group. The group will provide technical review and advice when specialist input or decisions are required.

The scheme's governance draws on senior engineering expertise from the states and territories, and that approach will continue under the new framework. The monthly update cycle for the CMRS Registered Products List will also continue.

"The transition was agreed by participating government agencies and the ATIC management committee to support continuity for industry and road authorities while establishing a sustainable model for the scheme's ongoing operation," said Paul Davies, General Manager Research, Guidance and Practise, Austroads.

The transfer also covers a number of ATIC specifications and scheme documents. Specification SP43, Cementitious materials for concrete, will continue to be maintained, including future reviews, updates, approvals and publication.

Other documents will be archived rather than actively maintained. These include ATIC specifications SP38 Metal Anchors for Use in Concrete, SP39 Fasteners for structural purposes and SP60 Structural steel products, along with conformity assessment scheme 21 Mechanical fasteners and scheme 10 Structural Steel Products.

Archived documents will remain accessible, but they will no longer be updated. This creates a split between the parts of the former ATIC framework that remain active for road materials assessment and those retained only as records.

Scheme continuity

The CMRS plays an administrative role in assessing cementitious materials used by the road sector. By keeping current registrations valid and allowing pending applications to continue without requiring suppliers to start again, Austroads is seeking to limit disruption for manufacturers and road authorities that rely on the register.

The arrangement also preserves the existing assessment pathway, including historical testing and verification processes already linked to the scheme. That continuity is likely to matter for suppliers whose products are already approved or under review, as well as for public sector buyers using the register as a reference point.

ATIC has previously been associated with a broader set of technical specifications and conformity assessment schemes covering products beyond cementitious materials. Under the new structure, Austroads will keep only some of those documents under active maintenance, while others will move to archive status.

"The new arrangements retain technical expertise from across the jurisdictions, with a clear process for matters requiring specialist review or advice," said Davies.