Describes the country's standards landscape, identifies the national standards and accreditation bodies, and lists the main national testing organization(s) and conformity assessment bodies.

Overview

Standards New Zealand, a business unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is New Zealand’s leading developer of standards and standard-based solutions. New Zealand Standards cover a wide variety of subjects, including design, safety, specifications, performance, and quality of products. Adoption of these standards is generally voluntary but can be made compulsory through a statutory reference. Compliance with these Standards may be an important factor in sales promotion and production certification (“S” Mark). New Zealand operates under the metric system of weights and measures. New Zealand Standards use the identifier NZS. Joint Australian and New Zealand Standards use the identifier AS/NZS.

Standards New Zealand is the New Zealand member of the International Organization for Standardization.

Standards

New Zealand cooperates with several of its major trading partners on reciprocal recognition and acceptance of standards. The Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement (TTMRA) between New Zealand and Australia integrates both countries’ standards. Products sold in one economy may legally be sold in the other, regardless of differences in standards or other sale-related regulatory requirements.

As well, New Zealand has an agreement with the European Union known as the Mutual Recognition of Conformity Assessment (NZ/EU MRA) - for Conformité Européenne (CE) Marking. The NZ/EU MRA enables exporters to assess conformity (testing, inspection, and certification) with standards in their own country before the goods are shipped. This agreement does not consider the two sides’ standards as equivalent but has designated certification bodies in each country as competent to assess against the other party’s standards. The NZ/EU MRA currently covers a limited number of product sectors.

Testing, inspection and certification

The accreditation authority for ISO 9000 certifying bodies in New Zealand is the Joint Accreditation System - Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ), established in 1991. 

International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) is the national authority for accrediting technical professional services. Its primary role is the accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories and inspection bodies. IANZ accredits laboratories against the international standard ISO/IEC 17025: “General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories.” It also accredits specific professional activities, including radiology services and pharmacies.

The Quality Assured Supplier (QAS) Mark demonstrates that a company is committed to quality, assuring customers that an effective quality assurance system is in place. QAS is verified by independent assessors for meeting NZSASISO 9000 Quality Standards.

Within New Zealand’s agricultural sector at least two organizations offer organic certification services to food producers. 

AsureQuality provides an organic certification service to organic producers and processors through its certification business Certenz.  The company provides independent testing, analysis, and quality assurance systems for farm, food, forestry, and plant products. Certenz markets its business processes as meeting ISO 65, enabling it to ensure market access to the European Union.  The AsureQuality Organic Standard is based on the international Codex Alinorm 99/22, EU Regulations and the Australian National Standard. BIO-GRO New Zealand is the business arm of the non-profit New Zealand Biological Producers and Consumers Council Inc. BIO-GRO itself is a registered trademark and has developed its own set of organic agriculture production standards.  The organization is accredited as a member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), based in Germany.

Another set of safety standards applies to gas and electrical appliances for the consumer market.  The Energy Safety Service (ESS) is a division of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and develops and applies internationally accepted standards to New Zealand's systems of electricity and gas safety.  The Regulatory Compliance Mark, or RCM, indicates an appliance complies with the relevant safety Standard.

The New Zealand Council on Healthcare Standards operates through Quality Health New Zealand to provide national accreditation for hospitals and other health and disability services.  Quality Health also audits health services to determine compliance with its own standards in order to establish Ministry of Health certification. Quality of Health audits the following services:  hospitals, rest homes, mental health services, community and home care services, hospices, disability services, primary care services, and health non-profit organizations.

Publication of Technical Regulations

Standards New Zealand provides an online subscription called “Keep Me Up-To-Date” and “Touchstone”.  Keep Me Up-To-Date notifies changes to standards. Touchstone includes updates on new New Zealand standards; standards in development; amendments, drafts, superseded, and withdrawn NZS and AS/NZS standards; and updates on ISO, IEC, Australian, and British standards.

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify to the WTO proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade. Notify U.S.  is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected country(ies) and industry sector(s) of interest, and can also request full texts of regulations.  This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Contact Information

Standards New Zealand contact details are:
Free phone within New Zealand:   0800 782 632
Calling from the United States:       64 3 943 4259

Email:  enquiries@standards.govt.nz

Postal address:  PO Box 1473, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
Physical address:  Standards New Zealand, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, 15 Stout Street, Wellington 6011.

U.S. companies can also contact Janet Coulthart, U.S. Commercial Service, Wellington via email:
Janet.Coulthart@trade.gov

Prepared by the International Trade Administration. With its network of more than 100 offices across the United States and in more than 75 markets, the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.