We specialise in managing the development of Standards. Standards provide potential solutions to issues, resolve problems, provide a means of compliance with legislation, and create commercial benefits such as trading opportunities.
We use a robust and recognised process that relies on expert committee consensus and widespread consultation with affected parties, including public input. Our Standards are formally approved by the Standards Council (in accordance with the requirements of the Standards Act 1988).
We do not test products to particular Standards and we are not a certification body. If you wish to be tested or certified to a Standard you will need to contact a certifying body. For a list of these organisations, please contact either International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) or Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ).
Who initiates the development of a Standard?
A wide range of private and public organisations help initiate and fund the development of Standards. In many cases these are industry bodies or government departments.
Why fund the development of a Standard?
- The process is independent, balanced, and consensus based.
- Standards New Zealand coordinates a cross-section of representatives across a range of sectors.
- The industry/sector is fully involved in developing Standards, resulting in widely-accepted, workable, and practical solutions.
- The inclusive process, involving consultation and public comment, generates wide support and interest.
- Standards New Zealand is able to draw on international Standards.
- Developing Standards through the Standards New Zealand process is cost effective compared to developing similar documents in-house.
To find out more about funding the development of a Standard contact:
→ Read Sponsoring Standards Development [PDF 2.9 MB]
How is a Standard developed?
The content in a Standard is developed by independent expert committees. Committees are made up of volunteers nominated by organisations (public and private) that have an interest in the subject covered by the Standard.
Once the content for the Standard is written a draft is made available on our website in for anybody to comment on. This process is called public comment. Comments submitted during the public comment period are reviewed by the committee and if necessary the Standard is modified.
More information on the Standards development process and the benefits of involvement are outlined in What's involved? Standards technical committees. [PDF 1 MB]
Standards development process
What is Standards New Zealand’s role in developing Standards?
Our role is to manage the process described in the diagram above using internationally recognised best practices. The processes we use comply with the directives from the International Organization for Standardization, the International Electrotechnical Commission, and the Standards Act 1988.
We market and distribute published Standards to the people that the Standard was developed to help.
→ The economic benefits of standardisation to New Zealand
