Rationale for Consultation Drafts

In April 2025 the DSB started publishing consultations as Consultation Drafts. This aligns consultation naming conventions with the CDR Rules.

A consultation draft is specified as the medium for CDR data standards consultation in CDR Rules, Part 8 - Rules relating to data standards, Division 8.3 Reviewing, developing and amending data standards, 8.9 Consultation when developing or amending data standards. 

For details of the consultation process for Consultation Drafts, see Guide to Consultation Drafts. 

Consultation Drafts contain only draft standards. The accompanying Explanatory Document contains context, analysis, and other supporting documentation. This clarifies the core issues of the consultation and separates additional material from the core.

For consultation on matters other than draft standards, the DSB publishes Consultation Papers. 

For notification purposes, the DSB publishes Noting Papers. These are not intended as a consultation, and do not invite feedback.