Standards system bill goes to select committee

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith today welcomed the next step in reforms aimed at enhancing the sustainability of the New Zealand Standards system.

The Standards and Accreditation Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today and will now be considered by the Commerce Committee, which will report back to Parliament by 31 March 2015 after a public consultation process.

“The Bill is part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda – aimed at ensuring our Standards system is viable and well-functioning and meets the needs of business, regulators and consumers into the future,” Mr Goldsmith says.

A 2012 review of New Zealand’s Standards regime found the Standards Council was not financially sustainable in the medium to long term. The review also found a need to improve the current arrangements for delivering Standards better to meet the needs of business, consumers and regulators, and to increase their contribution to economic growth, international trade, innovation and health and safety.

“Standards underpin billions of dollars of exports and enable New Zealand firms to be internationally competitive. They provide for access to markets, interoperability of technology, and provide an assurance of product quality for customers,” Mr Goldsmith says.

Key aspects of the Bill include:

• Establishing a new independent statutory board to approve New Zealand Standards and membership of Standards development committees.
• Retaining and strengthening key elements of the current arrangements, such as codifying in legislation the role of technical experts in developing Standards
• Locating the Standards  development function in the Ministry of Business, Innovation  and Employment ensuring closer alignment with government objectives such as economic growth, international trade, innovation and health and safety
• Strengthening the existing cost recovery arrangements, by providing for full lifecycle costing of Standards and improved access to Standards. Life cycle costing of Standards includes the cost of development, approval, maintenance and access to Standards. Costs are recovered through a combination of upfront funding by those commissioning Standards (industry and regulators) and access fees from users of Standards.

The Bill will also repeal the Testing Laboratory Registration Act 1972 and incorporate its provisions into the Standards and Accreditation Bill.

Other amendments aim to better reflect the Testing Laboratory Registration Council’s accreditation activities, including renaming the Council the Accreditation Council.

Standards New Zealand and the Standards Council will continue to provide support for Standards development approval and access while the Bill progresses through Parliament.

For more information visit http://www.med.govt.nz/business/standards-conformance/standards-and-conformance-infrastructure-review