Who we are
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 a business unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). We are also New Zealand’s internationally recognised and statutorily independent national standards body. We manage the development and publication of national and regional standards and standards-related solutions. We adopt and modify for adoption international standards for the New Zealand market. We also publish and sell New Zealand, joint Australian/New Zealand and international standards.
Internationally connected
Our extensive experience, gained over more than 90 years, means that our products and services carry a reputation for being trusted, authoritative, accurate and credible. During this time, we have forged and maintained strong working relationships with a wide range of government organisations, industry groups and the business sector.
Our international connections have ensured that we keep up to date with the latest standards innovations, and that we are strongly aligned to international best practice for standards development, with New Zealand standards being recognised, and utilised, internationally. For 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.
As New Zealand’s representative for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the National Committee and our secretariate function, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), we ensure New Zealand has a voice in the international standards community by participating in international standards development activities, forums, workshops, general assemblies and other activities.
As a part of MBIE, Standards New Zealand is well placed to engage with a wide range of government agencies, providing new opportunities for standards to be adopted as a means for supporting existing and planned government regulations and regulatory reforms.
Standards New Zealand's team
Standards New Zealand works with hundreds of dedicated committee members working across hundreds of New Zealand, joint Australian/New Zealand and international standards development. The team works to support the functions of the national standards bodies and includes:
Standards New Zealand organisational chart [PDF, 216 KB]
What we don't do
Standards New Zealand is not:
- subject matter nor technical experts in the content of all of our standards. Standards are developed through a consensus and representative process utilising industry and Government subject matter experts.
- a regulator and does not enforce or ensure compliance with standards. Where standards are cited/referenced in legislation of regulation as a means of compliance under a particular regulatory system, the relevant Government regulator for that sector may have an enforcement or compliance role.
- a certification body, so we cannot determine whether products comply with standards. This role is fulfilled by certification, testing and inspection bodies, which could be accredited by accreditation bodies.
International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) has a directory of accredited laboratories including a description (scope) of the product or service testing capabilities of each accredited laboratory.
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 your query is about inspection body services, you can contact either IANZ(external link) or JAS-ANZ(external link), as both organisations offer accreditation of this service.