Commission a standard

A standard first needs to be commissioned to start the process for its development. This demonstrates that there is considerable interest in adopting an acceptable, workable, and practical solution for a certain purpose.

Anyone in New Zealand can commission the development of a standard if they can provide the necessary requirements including funding. In the past, standards have been commissioned by a wide range of private and public organisations, including industry bodies and government departments and funding may come from a range of contributors looking to share the benefits.

We develop standards using the same trusted, transparent and consensus-based approaches used by leading international standards bodies.

Why commission a standard?

Sometimes products, services and industries will need consistent solutions that address particular issues, resolve problems, provide a means of compliance with legislation, or support trading opportunities. Standards are good for this purpose because they are:

• independent, balanced, and consensus driven
• represented by a cross section of industries who use or are impacted by the standard
• widely accepted, workable, and practical solutions
• often based on international standards, which provide a common language to trade more effectively
• internationally recognised, efficient, and effective
• maintained and protected by the national standards body bringing legitimacy and quality control.

Commissioning a standard can help you and your organisation:

• Achieve industry goals. Commissioning a standard allows organisations to reach certain objectives and take advantage of opportunities within their industry.
• Reduce compliance costs. An organisation’s involvement with a new standard means that industry partners are more likely to accept the new standard, which in turn reduces compliance costs for everyone.
• Respond quickly to change. Standards can be developed and published more quickly than the time needed for legislation to change. In a world where the rapid development of new technology means that products and services are constantly changing, standards offer a responsive and flexible solution.

Why commission? The benefits of funding standards [PDF, 2.6 MB]

Every new or revised standard starts with a project commissioning brief

The project commissioning brief outlines the need, provides the rationale, and ensures the right process is followed to set up the project. It’s the first step in shaping future standards keeping New Zealand’s systems, products, and services safe, effective, and aligned with international best practice.

The project commissioning brief is a formal document used to propose the development, revision, or adoption of a standard and create a business case. It helps Standards New Zealand understand the scope, urgency, and potential impact of your proposal, and ensures your needs are accurately interpreted and costed.

Project commissioning brief form [DOCX, 922 KB]

Once we receive and assess your completed brief, we will provide estimates of time and cost. If you are happy to proceed, we will then collate this information into a project proposal and submit this for review by the New Zealand Standards Approval Board.

Why it is important

Every standards project is unique. Some are straightforward, such as the identical adoption of an international standard, while others - like developing a new standard from scratch - can be complex and resource-intensive including understanding what might already be available to meet the need.

Regardless of complexity, all projects follow the same internationally recognised process, which ensures balanced representation, consensus-based decision making, and public consultation for transparency and user and consumer input.

This process is overseen by the Standards Approval Board, and all committee members are formally appointed under the Standards and Accreditation Act.

Please refer to our standards development process for more details on how a commissioned standard is developed and published.

How standards are developed

Understanding the brief

To complete the project commissioning brief you will need to consider details such as:

• The issue being addressed and its urgency.
• Type of project (new, revision, adoption).
• Scope of proposed changes.
• Stakeholder support and diversity considerations.
• Funding and access arrangements.
• Expected risks, benefits, and impacts.

This information helps Standards New Zealand assess feasibility, estimate costs, and plan the project effectively.

Next steps

1. Download and complete the project commissioning brief:
   Project commissioning brief form [DOCX, 922 KB]
2. Contact Standards New Zealand, including your completed form to discuss your proposal:  Enquiries@standards.govt.nz

We may also consult key stakeholders to ensure the scope is robust and well-supported.

Partnered development

We provide a partnered development option, which allows us to work collaboratively with commissioners to update and create new important standards for New Zealanders. This approach provides flexible and affordable ‘partnering’ options for working with us and developing standards.

If a commissioning organisation is able and willing to contribute resources to a project, the partnered development approach provides an option to share project management tasks with us. This allows new or updated standards to be developed at a substantially lower cost. You still work with our internationally-aligned process and expert-led services — including independent oversight and guardianship of that standard for its lifetime.

This approach has successfully produced several standards, including the Ministry of Health’s Ngā Paerewa health standard and New Zealand’s dairy herd testing standard.

Ministry of Health’s Ngā Paerewa health standard

New Zealand’s dairy herd testing standard

Help and further information

We’re here to guide you through the process. Complete and submit a project commissioning brief and we can then arrange a call to discuss your project idea, scope, and what would be involved in developing or revising a standard.

Email the Standards Development team:

Enquiries@standards.govt.nz

Capability statement: Prosperity and protection through trusted standards [PDF, 835 KB]