About Standards New Zealand
Discover how Standards New Zealand connects industry, government and consumers with standards for a better New Zealand.
From the moment you wake up, almost everything you interact with is based on standards. The food you eat, the appliances and technology you use, the car you drive, even the buildings you occupy.
The world is changing at an ever-increasing pace, from climate change to the digital economy. As the national standards body Standards New Zealand ensures New Zealand has the future-focussed standards it needs, for high-quality and safety, and an innovative and prosperous future.
What makes us leaders in developing standards, is our independent and consensus-based process.
It brings together government, industry and consumers through an unbiased, fair, representative, technically accurate and internationally-recognised approach. It’s proven to ensure better long-term engagement, buy-in and support.
With over 90 years of experience, we have built a reputation for high trust, confidence, quality and credibility, in New Zealand and around the world.
In each sector of the economy there are opportunities for government regulators, businesses, industry bodies and individuals to work with Standards New Zealand.
This could be through commissioning standards to help solve a particular problem, contributing your technical expertise on local and international standards development committees, or helping provide access to standards for your sector or profession.
We also support the development and adoption of international standards and are the gateway for participation with the International Organisation for Standardisation and International Electrotechnical Commission.
Our work gives New Zealand a voice in developing international standards, and global influence, to shape and support trade and market access. So contact us and get involved – whether it’s commissioning or helping develop standards, joining a standards development committee or buying the latest standards to improve your product or service. Standards matter to everyone. www.standards.govt.nz
Standards New Zealand is New Zealand's leading developer of standards and standards-based solutions and national standards body. Our role includes:
- Standards development. We work with stakeholders from a variety of sectors to develop new standards, update existing standards, or adopt overseas standards for New Zealand industries. Most of our standards are developed in partnership with Standards Australia.
- International participation. We are the internationally recognised and statutorily independent national standards body for New Zealand. We coordinate international review group membership so that New Zealanders can participate in the development of international standards. This ensures New Zealand has a voice in the international standards community.
- Access to standards. We publish, sell and facilitate access to New Zealand, joint Australian/New Zealand, and international standards.
Our services and history date back to 1932, when following the devastating 1931 Hawkes Bay earthquake it became clear New Zealand needed building standards that were appropriate to its unique environment.
History of Standards New Zealand
Our extensive experience means that our products and services carry a reputation for being trusted, authoritative, accurate and credible. Over the years, we have forged and maintained strong working relationships with a wide range of government organisations, industry groups and the business sector.
Although we develop and provide access to standards, we are not subject matter or technical experts in their content. We do not enforce or ensure compliance with standards, and we are not a certification body that determines whether products or practices comply with standards.
We are a business unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). However, we do not receive direct government funding, and operate on a cost recovery basis.
As a part of MBIE, Standards New Zealand is well-placed to engage with a wide range of government agencies. This produces new opportunities for standards to be adopted as a means for supporting existing and planned government regulations and regulatory reforms.
Standards development
We manage the development of standards in New Zealand. This includes standards that are entirely created in New Zealand, developed jointly with Australia or adopted from international guidelines for use in New Zealand.
Our standards are developed using a detailed process that uses internationally-recognised practices. This process relies on expert involvement, consensus, and public consultations.
International participation
As the national standards body for New Zealand, we work with a number of international organisations. This gives us access to a collection of globally-recognised guidelines and practices, as well as the ability to share our knowledge and feedback with other countries.
Working with international partners
Our international connections enable us to keep up to date with the latest standards innovations. These also ensure that we are strongly aligned to international best practice for standards development, and also allow New Zealand standards to be recognised and used internationally. For the last 50 years we have worked with Standards Australia to develop, manage and sell joint Australian/New Zealand standards that bring interoperability across the Tasman and support market access.
We are New Zealand’s representative for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), through the National Committee and our secretariate function. This enables us to give New Zealand a voice in the international standards committee, through participation in international standards development activities, forums, workshops, general assemblies, and other channels.
Access to standards
We publish standards and make these available to individual users, businesses, organisations and industries. These include New Zealand, joint Australian/New Zealand and international standards. We provide a range of options to make these standards available to those who need them.
We operate on a cost recovery basis, and therefore charge for access to most standards. This helps us recover the cost of developing standards, and maintaining our operations and international memberships as national standards body. We have worked with regulators to sponsor access to many key standards used across building compliance and energy conservation.
Types of standards publications
Standards New Zealand's team
Standards New Zealand works with hundreds of dedicated committee members working across New Zealand, joint Australian/New Zealand and international standards development. Our team also supports various national standards bodies.
Standards New Zealand organisational chart [PDF, 216 KB]
Touchstone newsletter
We publish Touchstone, a bimonthly newsletter that features matters relevant to standards across all sectors. You can sign up to receive our Touchstone newsletter by creating an account with us and updating your preferences.
Links to accreditation and certification bodies
Our services do not include compliance checks or certifications of compliance. If you are seeking assistance with these, you should consider the references below.
For product or service testing, International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) has a directory of accredited laboratories that provide this service. The directory includes a description (scope) of the product or service testing capabilities of each accredited laboratory.
IANZ directory (external link)
For specific product certification, including certification against particular management system standards like ISO 9001, ISO 14001 or ISO 22000, you can find certification bodies that are accredited by the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ).
JAS-ANZ directory (external link)
If you have a query regarding inspection body services, you can contact either IANZ or JAS-ANZ, as both organisations offer accreditation of this service.
The way we work
Independently - Our standards development decision making is statutorily independent, and free from undue industry, government, or political influence.
Representatively - Our standards development committees are made up of technical and industry subject matter experts, and consumer and government representations.
By consensus - We take a consensus- based standards development approach that is unbiased, representative and fair, and which achieves agreement.
Globally connected - We participate internationally to represent New Zealand’s expertise and interests and make a valuable contribution to global needs and international standardisation.
Our products and services
Trusted - Our reliably developed standards carry significant influence and credibility.
High quality - Our standards set requirements for quality and performance, helping to ensure that products and services are safe and fit for purpose.
Good practice - Our standards can help establish consistent industry practice as they are based on the combined professional skills and expertise of standards development committees.