Committee opportunities

Want to participate?

To become a member of a new or an existing technical committee, you need to provide us with information that identifies your skills, qualifications, sector knowledge and experience.

The independent New Zealand Standards Approval Board reviews applicants and makes the final decision on whether to approve an individual for membership on a technical committee.

Getting involved with ISO and IEC standards

As a member body of ISO and IEC, New Zealand can choose to be either a non-member, observer member or a participating member of any of the ISO and IEC technical committees or subcommittees.

• Non-member: No participation or observation of the standard(s) being developed.
• Observing member (O): O-members follow the work of a particular committee without committing themselves to active participation.
• Participating member (P): P-members are required to play an active role in the work of a committee, as well as vote on all official committee ballots.

If New Zealand is not already a participating member of an international technical committee, Standards New Zealand can help establish such membership by approving the creation of a national mirror committee. This is a national committee that follows the standardisation work carried out at the central ISO or IEC level in Geneva. The mirror committee will discuss that work at a national level to establish a New Zealand perspective, which can then be communicated to the international level.

Standards New Zealand manages international balloting requirements, following the mirror committee’s decisions on drafts and other matters. Standards New Zealand also administers the committee member approvals by the New Zealand Standards Approval Board. A national mirror committee needs to: 

• be approved by the Board, 
• include at least three approved members, and 
• have paid the annual administration fee, which is NZ$5,060 + GST for the first year and NZ$3,560 + GST for each subsequent year.

New Zealand is currently a participating (P) member of 68 ISO committees and 15 IEC committees, and is also an observing (O) member of 140 ISO committees and 110 IEC committees. As an O-member of a committee New Zealand has no voting rights, which means that we cannot directly influence the content or design of the standards that the international committee produces. However, it is possible to convert membership from O to P status at any time.

You can see all the ISO and IEC committees New Zealand experts are actively involved with in the below links to the respective websites of the ISO and IEC:

ISO committees where New Zealand is a participating (P) or observer (O) member - ISO website(external link)

IEC committees where New Zealand is a participating (P) or observer (O) member  - IEC website(external link)

List of all IEC committees - IEC website(external link)

List of all ISO committees - ISO website(external link)

Getting involved with joint AS/NZS standards development 

Joint standards need both commissioners and committee members. Commissioners cover the administrative costs and committee members provide technical expertise to develop the content of a standard. If you would like more information on any aspect of joint standards development, email joints@standards.govt.nz  

Commissioning standards

Standards Australia holds the secretariat for the majority of joint Australian/New Zealand standards and as such manages development proposals. Standards Australia liaises with Standards New Zealand for representation as and when needed.

Standards New Zealand does not receive direct government funding and operates on a cost-recovery basis. This means that whenever New Zealand participates in an Australian-secretariat joint standard, we will need to recover fees for this participation. Fees are usually recovered from a third party, which will be either a regulator or an industry body that has an interest in the joint standard.

Joining a joint standards committee

There are no fees for an individual to participate in a joint AS/NZS committee, however you will need a nominating organisation to endorse your application. 

Current joint standards development committees seeking participants include:

• EL-005 – is standardisation in the field of design, construction, performance, installation and maintenance of: - secondary batteries; - battery ancillary equipment, for example: battery management systems; - battery hydrometers; and - battery chargers and associated equipment of the automotive, motive power and stationary type. 
• BD-038 – is standardisation in the design, installation and maintenance of waterproofing systems of buildings.  The following items are included in the scope of the BD-038 committee includes: Internal ; waterproofing; External waterproofing; Survey; Inspection; and Below ground waterproofing.
• WS-023 – to work on a new joint standard AS/NZS 2845.2 Water supply - Backflow preventions devices, Part 2: Registered air gaps and registered break tanks.

• EL-001 Wiring rules – to prepare Australian or joint Australian/New Zealand standards for electrical wiring and related matters in wiring rules containing essential requirements for ensuring safety of persons, livestock, and property from fire and shock, for electrical installations of buildings, structures ad premises including temporary and mobile premises. Included: Data cabling segregation, generator installations, electric vehicle charging installations, energy efficiency of installations, AC and DC installations, testing and verification of installations, safety systems in installations, connectable electrical installations, caravan park installations, recreational vehicles, non-recreational vehicles, relocatable units, shows and carnivals, marine installations, telecommunications networks excluded, medical installations, product performance and safety requirements, data cabling, installations, hazardous locations, high voltage installations, boats.

• EL-002 Safety of household and similar electrical appliances and small power transformers and power supplies – to prepare joint Australian/New Zealand standards for the safety of electrical equipment, appliances and small power transformers with respect to persons, livestock, and surroundings. Safety factors considered will include those involving personal protection against electric shock, effects of excessive temperature radiation, explosion, implosion, mechanical stability, and hazardous moving parts and protection against fire. In scope:

  • AS/NZS 60335 series Safety of household and similar electrical appliances 
  • AS/NZS 60745 series Hand-held motor-operated electrical tools - Safety 
  • AS/NZS 61558 series Transformers, reactors, power supply units, and combinations thereof 
  • AS/NZS 62115 Electric Toys - Safety 
  • AS/NZS 62841 series Electric motor-operated hand-held tools, transportable tools and lawn and garden machinery - Safety 
  • AS/NZS 3100 Approval and test specification - General requirements for electrical equipment 
  • AS/NZS 3102 Approval and test specification - Electric duct heaters 
  • AS/NZS 3136 Approval and test specification - Electrical equipment for spa and swimming pools 
  • AS/NZS 3160 Approval and test specification - Hand-held portable electric tools 
  • AS/NZS 4763 Portable Inverters 

   

• QR-012 Conformance marking to regulatory requirements: The scope of QR-012:

  1. AS/NZS 4417 Part 1: Use of the mark specifies the requirements for the Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM) and its placement on electrical and electronic equipment to indicate compliance with regulations applicable to aspects of the equipment as covered in Part 2.
  2. AS/NZS 4417 Part 2: Specific requirements for particular regulatory applications specifies the requirements for the Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM) and its placement on electrical and electronic equipment to indicate compliance with particular regulations applicable to aspects of the equipment; 
  3. AS/NZS 3820 Essential safety requirements for electrical equipment sets out requirements for electrical equipment, to ensure that electrical equipment is constructed in accordance with good engineering practice in regard to safety such that it does not endanger the safety of persons (particularly children, the elderly and people with disabilities), domestic animals or property, when properly installed and maintained and used in applications for which it was made. 

Getting involved with New Zealand standards development

Fewer New Zealand standards are developed yearly compared to international standards. If you are interested in New Zealand standards development, you will need a nominating organisation to endorse your application. Talk to your employer or industry body association.

Complete an expression of interest

If you think you have the skills and knowledge and would like to volunteer, complete the expression of interest form to register your interest.

Express your interest in joining a standards committee  

The standards development committee handbook explains the role and functions of the committees, the key relationships between committees and other statutory bodies, the legal obligations of members of the committees, and specific policies and procedures that members are required to follow.

Standards development committee handbook [PDF, 558 KB]

"When you have distinct specialisms it’s important to leave your mark for others to benefit from. That’s how we grow as industries, societies and individuals. Putting that knowledge into standards means you’ve given something back that will shape your area of work for years to come."
—Dr Sarah Broglio, seismic engineer and committee member