About the Standards Council and the development of New Zealand Standards

Our genesis followed the 1931 Hawke’s Bay magnitude 7.8 earthquake in which 256 people are reported to have died. At the time, the combined population of Napier and Hastings was estimated at 27 000.

The work of this organisation was founded by the Government of the day in the year following the Hawke’s Bay earthquake to ensure future such events did not result in the same structural devastation and loss of life.

Within one year of its founding, the first earthquake Standard was developed. There are now more than 650 building-related New Zealand Standards.

Today, we are New Zealand’s leading developer of Standards and Standards-based solutions. Standards New Zealand is the operating arm of the Standards Council, a self-funded autonomous Crown entity.

New Zealand Standards are published documents setting out agreed practice.

Our Standards are developed by expert committees using a consensus-based process that includes public input. They are approved by the Standards Council, under the Standards Act 1988.

Our Standards are used by a range of organisations to enhance their products and services, improve safety and quality, meet industry good practice, and support trade into existing and new markets.

Our role is to facilitate and manage the Standards development process described in the diagram below, using internationally recognised best practice. We follow directives from the International Organization for Standardization, the International Electrotechnical Commission and the Standards Act 1988.

We market and distribute published Standards.

The content in a Standard is developed by independent expert committees.  Balanced committees are made up of individual members 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 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 the document Standards Development Committees [PDF 1.8 MB].

Standards are agreed on a 'consensus basis'. This form of general agreement follows international best practice.

The committee will be focused on changes that bring value for the users and wider New Zealand community, which might include:

• making the development, manufacturing, and supply of products and services more efficient, safer, and cleaner
• providing governments with a technical base for health, safety, and environmental legislation, and conformity assessment
• safeguarding consumers, and users in general, of products and services
• sharing technological advances and good management practice
• disseminating innovation
• making life simpler by providing solutions to common problems
• facilitating trade between countries and making it fairer

To do this, the committee will draw on knowledge from a range of stakeholder organisations and from the public through a comment process.  Input is regularly gathered from local and international experts as well as experience with the Standard.

Standards are generally voluntary. New Zealand Standards are used by a range of people and organisations to enhance their products and services, improve safety and quality, meet industry good practice, and/or support trade into existing and new markets, for example, SNZ HB 4102:2011 Safety in the home, AS/NZS 1102 Graphical symbols for electrotechnical documentation, and AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk management – Principles and guidelines.

However, they can be given a different status by regulators and Government agencies. Standards can become enforceable when empowered in legislation, regulations, or in a legal contract by the relevant agency/organisation. For instance, building and construction design Standards become compulsory when ‘cited’ or ‘referenced’ by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as part of the New Zealand Building Code. Similarly, health Standards can be empowered by the Ministry of Health, safety Standards by the Ministry of Building, Innovation and Employment, and Standard model bylaws by local authorities.