About Standards New Zealand
Standards New Zealand is a business unit within the Market Integrity branch(1) of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment/Hīkina Whakatutuki (MBIE). Standards New Zealand manages the development, publication and sales of standards and standards-related solutions.
Standards are agreed specifications for products, processes, services and performance. They are generally voluntary but can be mandatory when cited in Acts, regulations, or other legislative instruments. They provide solutions to issues, help resolve problems, are a means of compliance with legislation and regulations, and create commercial benefits such as trust and confidence in a sector, profession, service, or product – all of which supports both domestic and international market access and trade opportunities.
Standards New Zealand's ambition is to be recognised as a leading and innovative national standards body that safeguards market fairness and integrity, contributes to New Zealand’s economic prosperity, supports quality assurance, defines and encourages consistent good industry practice, helps protect people and the environment, and improves the safety and well-being of all New Zealanders.
Our structure | Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (mbie.govt.nz)(external link)
Standards New Zealand Value proposition
Independence: Statutorily independent decision-marking board, free from undue industry, Government or political influence.
Global reach and impact: International recognition, alignment and contribution. Participation on a global front to represent New Zealand's expertise and interests and make a valuable contribution to global needs and international standardisation.
Quality assurance: Helping to ensure that products and services are current and fit for purpose. Setting requirements for quality management and quality control.
Representative: Standards development committees are made up of industry, subject matter experts, and consumer and government representation.
Consensus: A consensus-based standards development approach that is unbiased, representative and fair, and which achieves agreement.
Trust, confidence and assurance: Reliably developed standards that carry weight, influence and credibility. Help provide assurance to support international trade, market access and economic prosperity.
Protecting people: Standards support people's health, safety, security and well-being by setting requirements for the protection of people and management of risk.
Help to define industry practice: Standards can define an accepted industry practice that's captured the professional skills, expertise, diligence, prudence and foresight of a representative development committee.
Innovation: Standards can serve as a catalyst for innovation by helping to anchor new solutions into markets and value chains. Proving that a product or service meets a specified requirement can provide market confidence to try new ideas and embrace change.
Cost savings: Standards can enable efficiency improvements and cost savings. They can help rationalise and reduce production and service costs, and thus satisfy consumer demands for lower cost while maintaining quality.