There are many sets of guidelines for risk assessment and for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic vascular disease. Most guidelines have much in common, with a growing recognition that global risk is a function of the interaction between a number of known risk factors. Most guidelines agree on which risk factors are important but differ widely in how they can are used to define global risk. The Australian guidelines represent just one of many possible approaches. However, several principles that were adopted in their development are universal and should be a component of all guidelines. These include simplicity, collective ownership, emphasis on areas of agreement rather than of disagreement, ensure that the guidelines are living documents and emphasise that guidelines are only guidelines that should be promoted as aids to help decision-making and not as rigid prescriptions for management.