The National Standards Commission was created under Section 13 of the Weights and Measures (National Standards) Act 1948, which was to provide for the establishment and use throughout Australia of uniform units of measurement, and uniform standards of measurement, of physical quantities. The Commission was to consist of five members; one selected by the Minister, three to be nominated by the Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and one to be nominated, on account of his scientific knowledge, by the other four members of the Commission.

In May 1950, the Secretary of CSIRO, G.A. Cook, submitted the Executive's nominations to the Minister, the Rt. Hon. R.G. Casey, CH, MP.  The Organization nominated N.A. Esserman, Chief of its Division of Metrology and then heading the National Standards Laboratory in Sydney, Dr. G.H. Briggs, Chief of its Division of Physics, and F.J. Lehany, Chief of its Division of Electrotechnology.  It recommended that the Minister select Professor L.G.H. Huxley, Professor of Physics of the University of Adelaide, as the fourth member and further, that Professor Huxley be appointed as Chairman of the Commission.  The letter also conveyed the view that the four members would probably wish to nominate W.A. Holmes, the recently retired Superintendent of Weights and Measures for Victoria, as the fifth member.

The Minister approved the appointment of the nominated members on 10 July 1950.

In March 1955, following the death of Mr. Holmes, the four members of the Commission nominated S.J. Proctor, the current Superintendent of Weights and Measures in Victoria, to replace him.  The CSIRO Executive endorsed the proposal, recommending a term of appointment ending on 31 May 1960, coinciding with the end of the term of office of the other four members. 
 
The original Act was repealed by the Weights and Measures (National Standards) Act 1960 which, under Section 16, provided for the continued existence of the Commission and the holding of office of appointed members.  Units of measurement under the Act were specified and set out in 23 schedules as part of Weights and Measures (National Standards) Regulations made in November 1961.  The Commission became a member of the International Organisation of Legal Metrology in 1960.
 
The members of the Commission as at December 1962 were:
 
 Chairman: Emeritus Professor L.G. Huxley
 Members: N.A. Esserman, Dr R.G. Giovanelli, F.J. Lehany,
          S.J. Proctor
 Secretary: F.G. Nicholls
 Assistant Secretary: A.F.A. Harper

A further Act was passed in 1964, and Amendment Acts in 1978 and 1984. The Commission's objectives were clarified and expanded by the amended legislation, retitled as the National Measurement Act 1960.  Membership of the Commission, established as a body corporate, consisted of a Chair, an Executive Director, and 8 other members.  Further amendments to the Act were passed in 1998 and, relating to utility meters, in 1999.
 
The Commission was responsible for the operation of the Pattern Examination (now Approval) Laboratory, set up in 1965, which controls the quality of measuring instruments for trading purposes in Australia, as well as providing the Chairman and the Secretariat for the Standing Committee on Trade Measurement (Packaging).

A National Measurement Institute (NMI) was first recommended in a report by the Chief Scientist in 2000, and announced by the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources in 2003.  The NMI was established on 1 July 2004, formed from and replacing the National Standards Commission, the National Measurement Laboratory (CSIRO), and the Australian Government Analytical Laboratories (AGAL). 


References

1. Weights and Measures (National Standards) Act 1948 (No. 29 of 1948). Assented to 24 June 1948, date of commencement 22 July 1948.  
2. Weights and Measures (National Standards) Act 1960 (No. 64 of 1960). Assented to 30 November 1960, date of commencement 28 December 1960.
3. Weights and Measures (National Standards) Regulations.  Statutory Rules 1961, No. 142. 25 November 1961.
4. Agency correspondence files, CRS C3237. 
5. Commonwealth Directory, Dec. 1962, p. 138 (This is the first time the Commission is mentioned in Federal Guides and Commonwealth Directories).
6. Commonwealth Government Directory, 1979, p. 261

Historical agency address
  1950-by1964: 314 Albert Street, East Melbourne, Vic
by1964-  1976: c/- National Standards Laboratory, (CSIRO, University
               Grounds, City Road, Chippendale NSW) 
  1977-      : 12 Lyonpark Road, North Ryde NSW

Agency controlled unregistered

Pattern Approval Laboratory