Strengthening the Trans-Tasman Standards Partnership

Led by Board Chair Tracey Gramlick and Chief Executive Rod Balding, the Australian delegation included Board members Berne Gibbons, Marlene Kanga, Nick Koukoulas, Louise McGrath, Ken Slattery and Bill Tabourlos. They were joined by senior Standards Australia representatives Karen Batt and Brad Vermeer. The visit brought the Australian delegation together with the New Zealand Standards Approval Board, Standards New Zealand’s leadership team, Ministers, senior government officials, and representatives from the business and engineering communities.

The visit came at a time of renewed momentum in the relationship between Standards New Zealand and Standards Australia. The two organisations have a long history of collaborating on joint Australian and New Zealand standards, helping avoid unnecessary duplication, make better use of technical expertise, and provide businesses, regulators and consumers on both sides of the Tasman with consistent and trusted requirements.

Standards underpinning a major economic relationship

Australia is New Zealand’s most important economic partner, with two-way trade valued at NZ$32 billion annually. Australia is also often the first international market New Zealand businesses enter as they seek to grow, while New Zealand is the leading export destination for Australian small and medium-sized enterprises.

This relationship is founded on the Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Free Trade Agreement, commonly known as CER. Signed in 1983, CER covers substantially all trans-Tasman trade in goods and was the first free trade agreement to include free trade in services. It has progressively removed tariffs, quotas and other restrictions and now sits at the centre of a much wider network of agreements supporting trade, investment, mobility and regulatory cooperation.

The Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement, or TTMRA, builds on CER and is a cornerstone of the two countries’ Single Economic Market objective. Under the TTMRA, goods that may legally be sold in New Zealand can generally be sold in Australia, and vice versa. Similarly, people registered to practise an occupation in one country can generally seek registration for the equivalent occupation in the other. The arrangement is intended to reduce business costs, increase consumer choice and encourage greater cooperation between regulatory authorities.

Standards are an essential part of making these arrangements work in practice. Common and aligned standards can reduce differences in technical requirements, make products and services easier to trade, and give regulators, businesses and consumers confidence that agreed levels of quality, safety, performance and interoperability are being met. They transform the ambition of a seamless trans-Tasman market into practical specifications that can be understood and used by manufacturers, engineers, regulators, conformity assessment bodies and purchasers.

A broad programme of engagement

The Wellington programme began with the Standards Australia Board and members of the New Zealand Standards Approval Board, led by Chair Peter Harris, exchanging perspectives on the role of national standards bodies within the two standards systems.

The Australia delegation also met Minister for Trade and Investment Hon Todd McClay, Rt Hon Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister, and Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Hon Cameron Brewer. These engagements highlighted the wider economic and public policy context in which standards operate, including their contribution to trade, regulatory cooperation, business productivity and the Single Economic Market.

A session with some of the Standards New Zealand leadership team and Standards Australia Board of directors and executives was also an opportunity to discuss the relationship between the two organisations and the practical importance of continuing to coordinate standards development, stakeholder engagement and services for standards users.

The Australian delegation met representatives of Business New Zealand, including Director of Advocacy Catherine Beard and Executive Director of ExportNZ and ManufacturingNZ Joshua Tan. Their participation brought a business and exporter perspective to the day, including the importance of efficient regulatory settings, reduced duplication and standards that help firms demonstrate quality and access overseas markets.

Representatives of Engineering New Zealand also joined the programme. Board member Hamish McKenzie, General Manager Member Services Tania Williams and General Manager Strategy Jodi Caughley met members of the Australian delegation, providing an opportunity to consider the role of standards in engineering quality, professional practice, infrastructure and public confidence.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade also participated in a joint government engagement, reflecting the close connection between standards policy, trade policy and New Zealand’s broader economic relationship with Australia.

Turning shared interests into practical outcomes

The visit reinforced that the trans-Tasman standards relationship is not simply an institutional partnership. It supports a much larger economic and regulatory system connecting businesses, professions, governments and consumers across both countries.

Joint and aligned standards can help remove avoidable technical barriers, enable products to be designed for both markets, improve consistency for regulators and reduce the costs of demonstrating compliance. At the same time, collaboration allows New Zealand and Australia to combine technical knowledge and exert greater influence in international standards development, helping ensure international standards reflect the needs and experience of both countries.

As New Zealand and Australia continue to modernise the Single Economic Market, standards will remain an important part of that work. The Wellington visit strengthened relationships at governance, executive, government and stakeholder levels and provided a strong platform for Standards New Zealand and Standards Australia to continue converting shared trans-Tasman ambitions into practical benefits for both countries.