Committee opportunities

Want to participate?

To become a member of a new or an existing technical committee, you need to provide us with information that identifies your skills, qualifications, sector knowledge and experience.

The independent New Zealand Standards Approval Board reviews applicants and makes the final decision on whether to approve an individual for membership on a technical committee.

Getting involved with ISO and IEC standards

As a member body of ISO and IEC, New Zealand can choose to be either a non-member, observer member or a participating member of any of the ISO and IEC technical committees or subcommittees.

• Non-member: No participation or observation of the standard(s) being developed.
• Observing member (O): O-members follow the work of a particular committee without committing themselves to active participation.
• Participating member (P): P-members are required to play an active role in the work of a committee, as well as vote on all official committee ballots.

If New Zealand is not already a participating member of an international technical committee, Standards New Zealand can help establish such membership by approving the creation of a national mirror committee. This is a national committee that follows the standardisation work carried out at the central ISO or IEC level in Geneva. The mirror committee will discuss that work at a national level to establish a New Zealand perspective, which can then be communicated to the international level.

Standards New Zealand manages international balloting requirements, following the mirror committee’s decisions on drafts and other matters. Standards New Zealand also administers the committee member approvals by the New Zealand Standards Approval Board. A national mirror committee needs to: 

• be approved by the Board, 
• include at least three approved members, and 
• have paid the annual administration fee, which is NZ$5,060 + GST for the first year and NZ$3,560 + GST for each subsequent year.

New Zealand is currently a participating (P) member of 68 ISO committees and 15 IEC committees, and is also an observing (O) member of 140 ISO committees and 110 IEC committees. As an O-member of a committee New Zealand has no voting rights, which means that we cannot directly influence the content or design of the standards that the international committee produces. However, it is possible to convert membership from O to P status at any time.

You can see all the ISO and IEC committees New Zealand experts are actively involved with in the below links to the respective websites of the ISO and IEC:

ISO committees where New Zealand is a participating (P) member - ISO website(external link)

ISO Committees where New Zealand is an observing (O) member - ISO website

IEC committees where New Zealand is a participating (P) member - IEC website(external link)

IEC Committees where New Zealand is an observing (O) member - IEC website

List of all IEC committees - IEC website(external link)

List of all ISO committees - ISO website(external link)

Getting involved with joint AS/NZS standards development 

Joint standards need both commissioners and committee members. Commissioners cover the administrative costs and committee members provide technical expertise to develop the content of a standard. If you would like more information on any aspect of joint standards development, email joints@standards.govt.nz  

Commissioning standards

Standards Australia holds the secretariat for the majority of joint Australian/New Zealand standards and as such manages development proposals. Standards Australia liaises with Standards New Zealand for representation as and when needed.

Standards New Zealand does not receive direct government funding and operates on a cost-recovery basis. This means that whenever New Zealand participates in an Australian-secretariat joint standard, we will need to recover fees for this participation. Fees are usually recovered from a third party, which will be either a regulator or an industry body that has an interest in the joint standard.

Joining a joint standards committee

There are usually no additional fees to be a committee participant, however you will need a nominating organisation to endorse your application. 

Current joint standards development committees seeking participants include:

• EL-005 – is standardisation in the field of design, construction, performance, installation and maintenance of: - secondary batteries; - battery ancillary equipment, for example: battery management systems; - battery hydrometers; and - battery chargers and associated equipment of the automotive, motive power and stationary type. 
• BD-038 – is standardisation in the design, installation and maintenance of waterproofing systems of buildings.  The following items are included in the scope of the BD-038 committee includes: Internal ; waterproofing; External waterproofing; Survey; Inspection; and Below ground waterproofing.
• WS-023 – to work on a new joint standard AS/NZS 2845.2 Water supply - Backflow preventions devices, Part 2: Registered air gaps and registered break tanks.

Getting involved with New Zealand standards development

Fewer New Zealand standards are developed yearly compared to international standards. If you are interested in New Zealand standards development, you will need a nominating organisation to endorse your application. Talk to your employer or industry body association.

Complete an expression of interest

If you think you have the skills and knowledge and would like to volunteer, complete the expression of interest form to register your interest.

Express your interest in joining a standards committee  

The standards development committee handbook explains the role and functions of the committees, the key relationships between committees and other statutory bodies, the legal obligations of members of the committees, and specific policies and procedures that members are required to follow.

Standards development committee handbook [PDF, 558 KB]

"When you have distinct specialisms it’s important to leave your mark for others to benefit from. That’s how we grow as industries, societies and individuals. Putting that knowledge into standards means you’ve given something back that will shape your area of work for years to come."
—Dr Sarah Broglio, seismic engineer and committee member